Sébastien Bras, in Laguiole, southern France, in 2016. BENJAMIN SCHMUCK. PHOTO TAKEN FROM 'LE GOÛT DE L'AUBRAC' ('THE TASTE OF AUBRAC')
In 1963, Salvador Dali declared that the center of the world was the train station in the southern French city of Perpignan. The Surrealist genius was, however, mistaken. The true center of the world is nestled a little farther north, in the heart of the Aubrac plateau near the southern village of Laguiole.
Getting there is no easy feat: You must travel for some time down winding, hilly, deserted roads, with the risk of falling in love with the region at every turn. Under the vast sky, sweeping pastures stretch as far as the eye can see.
Then, around a bend, an estate that resembles a fortress appears: Le Debezou. A 12th-century tower stretches its massive granite and basalt silhouette above a farmstead and cultivated plots. One could argue that it is here, in the garden of Lagardelle, that the center of the world has come to rest. How else to explain the presence, in this spot, of lemongrass from Madagascar, rau ram (a Vietnamese coriander with peppery notes), or tangy shiso leaves, which are served with sushi and sashimi in Japan?
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