Burnel

Bang in the heart of a rural village on the Plaine des Vosges, not far from the spa towns, this hotel-restaurant has been run by the same family since 1919. Hungry travellers happily take a seat in the lovely dining rooms, one of which, with an exposed timber ceiling, was once the village washhouse. Chef Maye Cissoko confidently finetunes a seasonal score, in which premium ingredients are allowed to shout their name, e.g.: scallops, served raw and as quenelles, or veal smoked in hay with coffee-laced Jerusalem artichoke and a gutsy gravy.