Éco-Domaine La Fontaine

Located in the coastal harbor town of Pornic, just west of Nantes in northwestern France, the in-house restaurant of this charming seaside hotel, or “auberge,” has been regaling its guests with local Breton cooking for decades. But when Alexandre Gérard took over its management in 2019, he saw in the inn’s stunning natural surroundings an opportunity to raise awareness about environmentally friendly, farm-to-table practices. Today, the hotel hosts community workshops on permaculture, beekeeping, and vegetable gardening. For Julien Lainé, the hotel restaurant’s head chef, it a “wake-up call” for customers: “It really catches your attention when you can see the garden where some of the ingredients on your plate were grown.” Lainé has carefully groomed the hotel restaurant’s list of suppliers to include a selection of local producers, and the chef uses homemade ingredients wherever possible. Honey, jam, herbal teas, apple juice, and even two wines are made on site, alongside the fruits, vegetables, and herbs grown in the kitchen garden.