To leave a solid gold job working as private chef for VIPs on the Côte d'Azur coast or working in one of Monaco's best establishments, and to come back with the ambition to liven up a table that has gone to sleep over time, you have to have a few recipes up your sleeve! Even if you were born here! Especially if you don't want to fall over your toque! Pascal Parisse, 42 years old, is here. He's like a cookery encyclopaedia. And this address suits him. His recent take-over of Pagnol's beloved "Cigalon" is a success. Customers who have come for the first time on tip-toe come galloping back, and the other way round. The enormous plane tree filters the summer's first rays of sunshine, it's nice on the patio with the panoramic view. Indoors will be great in the winter with the fireplace. We want the dishes now! Delicious! If you want proof then that's what you'll get! Mauricette has come along. She ruins my budget with all of the meals she has! The chef associates happy Provence and refined gastronomy. Our dishes sing nearly as loudly as the cicadas! "Le sentier des saveurs" four small dishes with ratatouille, mussels with saffron, artichoke mix, stuffed vegetables.

I say "our" because the lady with the green hat tucks into mine without blinking. 15/20. Her "profiteroles de chèvre sur saladine" (goat's cheese profiteroles) are delicious titbits with fresh mixed salad. 14,5/20. The lovely (and new) plates add to my pleasure with my "pieds et paquets du Cigalon" (pig's trotters). The authentic recipe dates back to 1896. Yes Sir. It's not me who says so, it is written. They are delicious, 15/20. Fresh products again with the "filet de loup poêlé sauce andalouse" (sea bass fillet Andalusian sauce) which is precise all the way through: cooking, preparation, presentation. Mauricette gives it 15,5/20! The desserts follow along the same track, a "poire au safran aux fruits acidulés" (pear with saffron and slightly acid fruit) with distinct flavours, completely the opposite to a mess, a work of art, 15,5/20. The "gaufre au beurre de caramel salé" (salted caramel butter waffle) simply does a wonderful job! 15/20. Patio in the summer, fireplace in the winter, delicious all year round. It's at La Treille in Marseilles' 13th district. You will note in passing that Mauricette and I adore this well brought up place. The past dances with the present. And what a chef!