Pigments

“There was no way I was going to miss this opportunity,” says Florent Ladeyn, recalling visits to the LaM – Lille Métropole Musée d’art moderne, d’art contemporain et d’art brut with his father when he was a child and a teenager. The choice feels like an obvious one — it’s hard to imagine anyone else inhabiting the place with such coherence. A star in his region (and well beyond), Ladeyn is sincerely and wholeheartedly committed to working exclusively with local producers. Around his flagship restaurant, Auberge du Vert Mont in Boeschepe, he has built — still in northern France — a constellation of bistros and estaminets: Bloempot, Bierbuik and Krevette (all three in Lille). He now looks after the appetites of LaM visitors in two spaces: first, a café offering quick, accessible fare for all — sandwiches, salads, broths and a daily special (you can even leave with a loaf of bread and a basket of vegetables). Upstairs, overlooking the sculpture garden, is the restaurant Pigments, with a gastronomic offering open for lunch and dinner. The three-course lunch menu, reasonably priced at €35, is the perfect opportunity to discover the chef’s cuisine. True to his principles — no coffee, chocolate or olive oil — he serves generous, creative dishes. On the menu: aged Flanders squab fillets matured with hay, or Horizontales, a carrot-focused starter inspired by Wassily Kandinsky, a subtle nod to the museum’s current exhibition. A cuisine that is beautiful in spirit, in flavour — and in form.