Total time: 30 to 60 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

"Traveling from Versailles to Lunéville we could not believe we had changed places," wrote Voltaire. And he might just as easily have extolled the virtues of Adoménil if it had been there then. For in this magnificently-decorated 18th century noble house, you'll encounter excellence. It may be because the entire family spares no effort to ensure that your meal and your stay are perfect. It's certainly because this is such a pleasant place to stay and to discover, with its paintings, porcelain, wood panelling and draperies making you feel as if you're in a Balzac novel. And it's unquestionably because the four-handed cuisine of Michel Million and his son-in-law Cyril Leclerc provides unalloyed pleasure. It is regional cuisine of grace and refinement, expressed in such dishes as salad of frog legs with fresh mint and whipped pea cream; line-caught bass with whipped lemon butter, fig granita and caviar; fillet of red mullet "à la plancha" with onions and fennel slowly cooked with marrow; mallard duck with Jerusalem artichoke "Parmentier" and bitter chocolate guanaja sauce. The surprises are continuous, the delight total.

1. Soak the gelatin leaves in water, then squeeze out the water.
2. Combine the egg yolks, 75 g sugar, cornstarch, orange juice, orange juice concentrate and heavy cream.
3. Bring to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens.
4. Beat the egg whites, gradually adding the 300 g sugar, until they form stiff peaks.
5. Mix the gelatin into the hot cream mixture.
6. Whisk in the egg whites.