Plat du Tour

The Tour begins this year in the Spanish Basque region. Guillaume takes the opportunity to meet Basque chef Josean Alija in his Michelin-starred restaurant Neura at the Guggenheim Museum. On the terrace of the museum, Guillaume creates pintxos, the Basque version of tapas – small, delicious bar snacks filled with the best of Basque produce.

Today, the tour continues through the Spanish Basque region, finishing the day in Saint-Sébastien. Here, Guillaume joins chef Elena Arzak in the testing lab of her three Michelin-starred restaurant Arzak. Elena gives Guillaume a sneak peek at a brand new dish, explaining its development before it takes its place on Arzak’s menu. Guillaume makes a burned Basque cheesecake as a tribute to his time in the Spanish Basque region.

The Tour travels from the Spanish Basque across the border to the city of Bayonne. Here, he meets Eric Ospital, the most famous ham man in France. Eric creates ham for the top restaurants around the world. In his cold room, he introduces Guillaume to the secrets of curing top-quality meat. With Eric’s ham, local cheese, and other produce, Guillaume creates a tarte fine, mouthwatering savoury tart.

As the Tour meanders through the Landes region, Guillaume takes one of the area’s specialty ingredients – the white asparagus and makes a simple recipe that captures the essence of spring. With butter, lemon, parsley, and Jambon de Bayonne, Guillaume highlights the unique flavour of the favourite vegetable of King Louis XIV.

Today’s stage begins in Pau, the capital of the Béarn region. Leading local chef, Christian Etchebest shows his hometown of Pau to Guillaume, culminating in lunch in Christian’s restaurant La Cantine. Inspired by Christian’s enthusiasm for Bearnaisse cuisine, Guillaume makes his version of a local favourite, garbure – a chunky ham hock and vegetable stew.

As the Tour leaves from Tarbes in the Haute Pyrenees region, Guillaume discovers the secrets of Haricot Tarbes – the best white beans in the world. Verena Patacq, whose family have been growing white beans since the 1400s, hosts Guillaume at her farm. Using Haricot Tarbes, Guillaume creates a classic rack of lamb.

Today, the tour finishes in Bordeaux, and while most of us think immediately of wine when we hear the word ‘Bordeaux’, Guillaume introduces us to another of the city’s secrets – canelés. Chef Léo Forget uncovers the history of this historic small cake and inspires Guillaume to recreate it in his kitchen.

The Tour sets off from the historic city of Libourne today. This city on the Dordogne River is famous for its diverse produce and Guillaume takes the opportunity to visit their famous farmer’s market to gather the ingredients for one of his favourite desserts – pear clafoutis.

It’s a mountain stage today, in the Massif Central. An ancient chain of volcanoes sculpts this region and its rugged topography and climate have inspired many hearty dishes. In a tribute to the changeable French mountain weather, Guillaume makes a fine dining version of a rich, warming potato dish from the region – la truffade.

Today, the Tour begins in the centre of the Chaîne des Puys – an area made up of around 80 dormant volcanoes that border the city of Vichy. The locals are very proud of their volcanic heritage. They even have the world’s only volcano-themed amusement park. Guillaume creates his upscale version of vichyssoise to bring the temperature down, with horseradish cream and a touch of caviar.

With the tour in the Auvergne region today, Guillaume takes the opportunity to go fishing with local trout farmer Alexandre Viale. He learns about the fish only the best restaurants choose and proves his skills as a fisherman as well. On the banks of the trout ponds, Guillaume cooks up his catch for Alexandre, pairing it with the best of the region’s produce.

Today, the Tour finishes in Belleville-en-Beaujolais, deep in the historical Rhone wine region. Guillaume catches up with wine-making siblings Matthieu and Camille Lapierre, who share the secrets of Beaujolais Nouveau, the first wine of the vintage. Inspired by the Lapierres, Guillaume creates the classic French dish le coq au vin.

As the tour sets off from Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne, Guillaume walks the streets with historian Eiola Thuyen. Together, they discover the medieval history of the village, stopping at an open market that has been in operation for over a thousand years. Surrounded by this rich culinary heritage, Guillaume makes a smoked duck salad, loaded with local ingredients.

The race concludes today in the Haute Savoie, a stunning Alpine region that offers views from Mont Blanc to Switzerland. The Savoie region is rich in rustic cuisine, focused on cheese, meat, and vegetables. After sharing lunch with a view with chef Jules Lequertier, Guillaume creates a local favourite – poêlée montagnarde.

The village of Saint Gervais welcomes the Tour today. This community, nestled at the foot of Mont Blanc, is loaded with places for hikers, skiers, and even riders to refuel at the end of a long day. Guillaume uses favoured local ingredients to make one of his favourite hearty meals – parmentier of braised oxtail.

The Tour leaves from Passy today, a town only 30 kilometres from the Italian border. Inspired by the proximity to Italy, Guillaume decides to create a crayfish and saffron risotto. He co-opts the services of Giles Buissan and Roland Bel, two local fishermen, to help him source the main ingredient.

The Tour leaves the Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc region today, and Guillaume visits a chocolatier in the town of Sallanches. He is put to work creating a local sweet specialty while learning the secrets of fine chocolate. Guillaume makes a lush chocolate fondant to celebrate the importance of chocolate in the region.

Today, the race ends in Bourg-en-Bresse, a farming region with distinctive traditions, extraordinary architecture, and a long history of farming chickens. Guillaume spends time with world-renowned chef George Blanc, whose family won the first of three Michelin stars way back in 1929. George shares the coveted secrets of his poulet de Bresse with Guillaume, and immediately Guillaume recreates the dish for us.

The race reaches Poligny, the home of Comté cheese. The locals love this cheese so much that they have created a museum to celebrate it. Comté is a favourite of Guillaume’s too, so he cannot resist using it to create his luscious version of France’s cheese toastie – the croque monsieur.

The penultimate stage of Tour de France 2023 leaves from Belfort. Here in the Vosges Mountains, wild blueberries flourish, and foraging for berries is a popular mid-summer activity. Guillaume uses wild blueberries to create his twist on a local specialty – le tarte aux brimbelles, blueberry tart.

The Tour ends today with pomp and ceremony on Paris’s famed Champs-Élysées. But before the champion is anointed, Guillaume shares a meal with his friend Bertrand Auboyneau, owner of Bistro Paul Bert. Together, they discuss the heritage and conjure up the perfect steak.