Jean Pierre Cheimol first arrived to Phuket in 1978 on a honeymoon and knew he had found his new home. He was a young Frenchman working in the wine and restaurant business at the time. He had already operated a French restaurant on the island of Martinique in the Caribbean and had represented fine French wines in Switzerland when he decided to move to Patong Beach and open Le Jardin in 1985, the resort's first French restaurant. Since then he has built more than 48 houses and created the intimate community which he also calls Le Jardin located on Nanai Road in the residential region of Patong.
Most recently, he decided to open Patong's most relaxing and sophisticated wine and cigar bistro, Le Chateau, next to Le Jardin.
"I love good French cuisine, the best wines, art, jazz and cigars so I decided to combine all of these in Le Chateau Wine Cigar Jazz Pub," he comments. "First, I looked for the best jazz musicians I could find. Fortunately, Marie Okawa and Romeo Navio were both available."
Marie is Japanese but grew up in France where she studied voice. She started working in recording studios behind jazz musicians and was soon in popular demand in caf้ bistros in Paris.
"Actually, I am like Jean Pierre. When I first came to Thailand, I knew I had found my new home. Even though, there are not many venues for jazz on Phuket, I am happy to be at Le Chateau where I can sing and interpret the great jazz classics," states Marie.
She is joined by Romeo who plays progressive jazz on the piano. Romeo has made his music at many of the finer island resorts including Le Royal Meridien Phuket Yacht Club, the Boathouse Inn and the Dusit Rayavadee. But he prefers the private club as he has more freedom to make the kind of music he loves. He is influenced by such great jazz interpreters as Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans and McCoy Tyner. Together, Marie and Romeo create beautiful music.
Le Chateau Wine Cigar Jazz Pub has an extensive wine list with a heavy concentration on red wines from Bordeaux as well as a number of "new world" wines.
"I have worked with and enjoyed fine wines for more than thirty years and I taste each label that is on my wine list," explains Jean Pierre. "There are some excellent wines from Chile and Spain which we offer but I concentrate on the famous wines from Bordeaux that are good value for money."
Jean Pierre invites guests into his wine cellar where he describes his inventory of fine wines. He takes as much interest in his fine cigar selection. His top-of-the-line cigar is a Vegas Robaina Unicos but he also has a number of other fine Cuban cigars.
Le Chateau is a quiet place away from the noise of Patong Beach to have good French cuisine surrounded by interesting art and the best jazz on Phuket," he comments. "I offer my guests a place to relax with the finest quality food and wine. I am very pleased to show visitors to our island the special world here at Le Chateau Wine Cigar Jazz Pub."
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