France for Gourmet - Chez JUJU In The Camargue

I’ve always been a fan of celebrity chef Rick Stein because of his unrestrained enthusiasm for first class ingredients and good food, simply cooked. So when the BBC ran his French Odyssey, a culinary journey from Bordeaux to Marseille by barge, I could hardly wait for each episode.

Early on in the series he visited my favourite Bordeaux restaurant, La Tupiña. In a later programme he called in at a favourite bar in Toulouse, Père Louis, as well as another of my regular Toulouse haunts; all places I’d written about in FRANCE Magazine. Clearly we shared a liking for authentic and unusual eating experiences in France. So when, towards the end of the series, he raved about a resto-poisson called Chez JUJU, little more than a seaside shack in the Camargue, I decided to search it out.

Chez JUJU had been a local legend for more than 20 years. The restaurant only served fish and that depended on the catch, so quite often there was little choice. Stuck out on a low sand spit at Beauduc, a mere smear on the map miles from anywhere, it drew eager clients from all over the world—Jack Nicholson, Sigourney Weaver and Roman Polanski among them. They, and a steady stream of discerning people from Arles and Marseille, beat a path to the door for the fresh sea bream and their speciality starter tellines à l’aïoli, a tiny local clam.

EYE-OPENER

Then, at the end of the programme came a disappointment. Chef Stein reported that Chez JUJU had been bulldozed into oblivion by the local authorities just a few weeks after his visit. I was not sure if this drastic ending was a ploy to keep hordes of tourists away or whether it really had disappeared from the foodies’ map. So I headed for the Camargue to see what I could find. And what an eye-opener it is to drive those reed-lined back roads behind the étangs and salt pans.

The Camargue is a very special place. Once thought to be an entrance to the underworld, it is now recognised as one of Europe’s great wildernesses. For millions of years the mighty Rhône has been depositing alluvial silts as it fans out to meet the sea. Today’s semi-tamed Camargue is a patchwork of grey-green salt marshes, brackish étangs, shimmering rice paddies, and matt pink saltpans. In the grey morning light the land, cradled by the two arms of the Rhône, merges with the sea like a distant mirage. There is little sign of mankind other than the occasional farmstead surrounded by gnarled trees and a few whitewashed cabanes—the traditional thatched Camargue dwelling with its rounded end facing north to deflect the harsh winter mistral.

PARADISE

With so much wild marshland the Camargue is a bird-watchers’ paradise where you will see pink flamingoes, egrets, shrikes, marsh harriers, herons and shelduck. White horses graze the reed-fringed polders, buzzards perch in the tamarisks and stomping black bulls glower from the marais.

The best way to see the flora and fauna is not by car. Many of the Camargue roads are like corridors through reed beds giving only glimpses of the wonderland beyond. Much better is a boat trip, a 4x4 safari, guided ride on horseback or you can even hire a bicycle and follow a special circuit. Boat trips go from Les-Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer up the Petit Rhône. Four-wheel-drive trips leave from Arles and Les-Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer and can be booked for anything between 90 minutes and a whole day. Bicycles are rentable from several locations and promenades à cheval are advertised all over the place.

GLORY DAYS

I stuck to the 4x4 option and was taken to some truly wild spots to see white horses, wild bulls and flamingoes in their natural habitat. It was from the back of a Landrover on one of the backroads that I spotted a small blue and white sign with an arrow pointing to Chez JUJU. Not knowing if the sign was a leftover from the restaurant’s glory days on the beach, I returned later by car and followed the arrow for several kilometres.

As my car scrunched to a halt on the gravel, there before me was a cheery-looking terrace crammed with tables and chairs and lunchtime diners. I am happy to report that Chez JUJU lives on. No longer a driftwood shack, the new phoenix-like restaurant is a low building perched near a small lake and surrounded by bamboo fronds. Bright blue chairs and white tables are crowded onto a shady terrace and a wood fire burns brightly in a chest-high bread oven.

A quick chat with the owner revealed that this was the same team, the same menu and the same spirit that had captured Rick Stein’s imagination. Manu and Édith were circumspect about the reasons for their beachside shack’s demise, muttering something about safety issues and irregularities with planning permission, but were quick to say that their regular clientele are more than happy with the new location.

Over a pastis I scanned the limited menu and opted for the classic tellines à l’aïoli to be followed by daurade—sea bream. Édith asked me to choose my fish from the morning’s catch. Give Manu 24 hours’ notice and he’ll rustle up a bouillabaisse for 35€, otherwise the only main course is an entire fish cooked over the embers in the bread oven. As well as the daurade there was also loup de mer (sea bass) available that day.

The sound of the Gypsy Kings drifted from loudspeakers as the fire spat and crackled. Bright white posts support a frail bamboo roof that shelters diners from the glaring sun. On the wall are original posters advertising Marcel Pagnol films like Marius, La Femme du Boulanger and La Fille du Puisatier.

PUNGENT

The tellines arrived piled high on a platter along with a pichet of chilled local rosé. Tellines are very small clams that when cooked open out flat. The tiny amount of flesh probably means you burn up more calories eating them than are piled on the plate. The way to eat them is to hold on to one half and pull the clam from its shell with your teeth. The rich creamy aioli, a pungent garlic mayonnaise, is so strong that it almost burns your mouth—not a dish to eat before visiting your dentist!

It took almost an hour to demolish the tellines, a starter I doubt you can find anywhere other than the Camargue. As the empty shells pile up on your plate they look like tiny white and purple butterflies. As they winged their way back to the kitchen I realized that without exception, all the other diners on that busy Sunday lunchtime had also opted for tellines.

My daurade arrived on a huge platter and was flambéed at the table with a local eau-de-vie. Manu had cooked it to perfection. Served with a bowl of red rice grown only a few kilometres away, it was a dish fit for Neptune himself. Good meals are rarely cheap however, and at 5.60€ per 100 grams my daurade weighed in at a hefty 47€. Sitting in the Provençal sunshine with a glass of rosé though, it seemed a small price to pay for Perfection. I shall be dropping a line to Rick Stein to tell him the good news that Chez JUJU lives on; or then again, I could just wait until he reads about it in FRANCE Magazine.

How to find Chez Ju Ju

Restaurant Chez JUJU
Route de Vaccarès
RD36-13129
Salinde Giraud
Tel: (Fr) 4 42 86 83 86
www.resto-chezjuju.com

From Arles take the D570 along-side the River Rhône turning left along the D36. After 5kms there is a turn to the right signed to Gageron. Take this road and after 7 kms you will come to a crossroads with a restaurant on the left. Diagonally opposite is a small blue and white sign advertising Chez JUJU. Follow the directions until you see another blue and white sign on some low railings and you have arrived.

Where to Stay

The Nord Pinus in place Forum in the old quarter of Arles is excellent.
Tel: (Fr) 4 90 93 44 44

If they are full, try the nearby

Hôtel d’Arlatan on rue Sauvage.
Tel: (Fr) 4 90 49 68 45

Camargue Excursions

On horseback

Cabanes de Cacharel on the D85a backroad from Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. Tel: (Fr) 4 90 97 84 10 www.camargueaucheval.com

By bicycle

Le Vélo Saintois,
Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer
Tel: (Fr) 4 90 97 74 56

Le Vélociste,
Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer
Tel: (Fr) 4 90 97 83 26 www.levelociste.com

4x4 safaris
Camargue Safaris,
Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer
Tel: (Fr) 4 90 97 86 93 or
Tel: (Fr) 4 90 93 60 31
www.camargue.fr/safari4x4.html

Boat trips

Les Quatre Maries,
Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer
Tel: (Fr) 4 90 97 70 10
www.lesquatremaries.com

Hervé Villevieille, Bateau Camargue,
Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer
Tel: (Fr) 4 90 97 84 72
www.bateau-camargue.com