Chardon

Chardon is a chef‑in‑residence creative project founded by Julia Mitton, Harry Cummins and Laura Vidal of The Small Group and has hosted visiting chefs since 2016. It stages nomadic residencies from a few weeks to several months so cooks can invent carte‑blanche, terroir‑ and season‑driven menus inspired by the Camargue and the Garrigue. The project emphasises slow, attentive hospitality with shorter seasons, local sourcing, reduced waste and an explicit commitment to short supply chains and sustainable farming and fishing; the team adapts dishes for common allergies and intolerances. Resident chefs include Zuri Camille de Souza (Goan coastal traditions and human ecology), Clément Garbez (French gastronomic training and fermentation techniques) and Félix Roy & Léo Côté (Québecois practice and international experience). Chardon opens seasonally in Arles and has been recognised in the Michelin Guide as Selected for modern cuisine. The space is intimate and art‑focused with a calm, slow‑living vibe; walls exhibit work by local artists and seating is arranged for seasonal service periods, cultivating a quiet, contemplative atmosphere between the Camargue and the Garrigue. Cuisine is seasonal and terroir‑driven, presented as carte‑blanche tasting menus by the resident chefs; dishes are often vegetable‑forward, attentive to local producers, may feature fermentation and concentrated juices, and dinner is served in shared rounds. Julia Mitton (Co‑founder). Specialties: chef‑in‑residence tasting menus (carte blanche), seasonal terroir‑driven dishes, vegetable‑forward tasting plates, fermentations and concentrated juices, dinner as three shared rounds.