Mister Chocolate 's restaurant

No question of allowing the Fief de Gambert, the Louis Gambert de Loche historic house, planted in the vines of Syrah wine, lose its haughtiness. Restoration of the Cave de Tain l'Hermitage at first, then simply restoration with the opening of a gourmet restaurant on the ground floor of the tasting room.

The project was ambitious and it aimed to welcome foreign clientele coming from the four corners of the earth to enjoy the exceptional wines produced in the Tain l'Hermitage area.

For that purpose, it was necessary to call on Frédéric Bau, the executive Chef of the Ecole du Grand Chocolat of Maison Valrhôna justly known by chefs and gourmets all over the world.

This man, who has more than one string to his bow, has accepted the challenge. No way indeed to neglect his activities and cook himself. Thus he called on Damien Nardecchia, formerly of Régis Marcon's, three starred chef in Saint-Bonnet-Le Froid. And since, Frédéric's wife, Rika, is a true lover of cuisine who really wished to involve herself; she did a cookery training course for two weeks in the Auberge des Cîmes.

Thus armed, it only remained to give a style to the house... And a name. It was "Umia" which means "it is delicious" in Japanese dialect in the Nagoya region.

The carte mixes French and Asian cuisine and marries olive oil, rice vinegar and black pepper from Hawaii, Charolais beef rib and potted lamb cooked for fifteen hours in the infrared clay oven. First customers? Paul Bocuse, Régis Marcon of course and the pastry cook Pierre Hermé. And in the cellar and on the table, the best of Hermitage wines.