Starters & Salads

Served well chilled on a hot afternoon, cubes of cantaloupe, cool cucumber and torn mint want only a light dressing. Laurent Agnès’s Elderflower Vinegar, floral and subtly sweet, brings that clean, bright acidity, set off by salty feta.

Two minutes a side in a very hot skillet, then thirty seconds under a spoonful of glaze: Maison Perrotte’s Grapefruit, Turmeric & Orange Blossom Jam, from a recipe by chef Anne-Sophie Pic, gives the scallops a floral, gently spiced bitterness.

Bitter endive, crisp apple and crumbled blue cheese all need a dressing with some warmth, which is where the Walnut Mustard from Domaine des Terres Rouges comes in, rich and creamy with the nutty depth of cooked walnuts.

A bistro classic lives or dies by its vinaigrette, and for tender leeks scattered with chopped egg, Estoublon’s Shallots Vinegar, a red wine vinegar with fresh shallot softened by a gentle sweetness, strikes the right note.

Lentils still warm from the pot take in their dressing the moment it touches them. Whisked with Dijon, La Compagnie de Bouteville’s Le Fumé Vinegar, smoky from its final French oak barrel, echoes the smoked salmon laid on top.

For eight hungry guests, a whole block of feta sits atop chunky tomatoes and cucumbers, and Estoublon’s Koroneiki Olive Oil in the 4.5-liter bottle, fruity and vegetal, can be poured as freely as the conversation.

Ice-cold and velvety, a bowl of gazpacho gets its last touch at the table, a few sprays of Estoublon’s Red Wine Vinegar Spray, made from organic red wine, round, generous and lively across the whole surface.

Golden at the edges, barely opaque at the heart, seared scallops settle onto a pool of cream softened with the Riesling Mustard from Domaine des Terres Rouges, mild and refined, touched by the wine’s delicate floral notes.

Crisp, bitter endive leaves, shavings of aged Comté and a dressing with a secret: a spoonful of Maison Perrotte’s pear vanilla jam, whose Tahitian vanilla and hints of caramel and anise soften the vinegar.

Tomatoes heavy with juice, a thick slab of feta, oregano and olives, and at the very last moment a pinch of Les Terres Blanches’ Fleur de Sel Greece, gathered on the shores of the Ionian Sea, its fine grain still crisp.

It takes only a few sprays to make heirloom tomatoes glisten around a soft burrata, with Estoublon’s Couture Olive Oil Spray, an extra virgin olive oil with notes of freshly cut grass and a slightly fiery finish, in a genuine glass spray bottle.

In a glass, sweet crab rests on buttery avocado, and a few drops of the small-format Marine Vinegar from Domaine des Terres Rouges, briny with a gentle, rounded acidity, keep it all tasting of the coast.