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Published on January 5, 2008

Chances are his eyes will roll and his mouth water at the prospect of Salers beef, fine charcuterie and Cantal cheese.

In a country where food is more of an art form than a biological need, Auvergne has always stood out as a beacon of tradition and quality.

This spectacular landscape and unique heritage were masterfully tapped by Michel Bras and his son Sebastien when they chose to open their restaurant in Laguiole, right in the middle of the Massif Central, an ancient land of pastures and volcanoes.

"I wanted an architecture as rigorous as the land itself, something in tone with its codes and materials," explains Bras about the transparent, elegant building erected in 1992 on top of the Aubrac plateau.

"This place," he says, "is inhabited by light, stone and nature. I wanted everyone to come and be able to feel the Aubrac as their own."

The restaurant has been ranked over and again among the very best in the world, a distinction that did nothing to erode the chef's natural simplicity and easy-going temperament.

Quietly sublimated by the basaltic view over the plateau, the atmosphere always kept a pleasant family feel. The food, however, is nothing less than exceptional, with Bras delivering culinary prowess of tectonic proportions.

Strongly rooted in the French tradition, his cuisine relies on an intimate relationship with the natural forces that seem to lay asleep below the ancient volcanoes, making diner here a breath-taking, once-in-a-lifetime experience.