Monsieur Bertrand Hug is as rare as a bottle of 1945 Romanée-Conti. The French expat owner and ambassador of Rancho Santa Fe’s beloved Mille Fleurs for the past 40 years, despite spending his early childhood in the isolated bucolic village of Boussac, has had a life filled with globe-trotting adventures and risk-taking, gustatory trailblazing, and rubbing elbows with world leaders, entertainment celebrities, the culinary elite, and literary lions.
His cell phone ringtone of the roar of a powerful racecar’s engine reflects his bon vivant lifestyle, a journey that began with impoverished rural roots, his papa a country farmer who force-fed ducks to sell foie gras at the local marketplace to feed his family. His maman, a professor of classical languages, was determined for her son to get his own ducks in a row with an intensive education in economics and finance at the University of Toulouse, .
This followed by two pit stops, first in Toronto, Canada, then Washington D.C. where Hug continued his tutelage in monetary practices. Ironically, the finance student was running short on funds to pursue his studies, so the Francophone wrestling with English, sought out a job at a trendy French restaurant, Auberge Gavroche, in a posh Toronto neighborhood, first as a busboy, then working his way up the ranks to captain.
A year later in D.C. Hug had switched majors from cold cash to warm hospitality, becoming ensconced in the restaurant biz. While serving patrons at the swank Rive Gauche, he serendipitously met Norman Eisenberg, a bi-coastal ant with offices in the District and La Jolla. The bean counter urged Hug to open a much-needed French restaurant along the glorious SoCal coastal town and even offered to round-up investors for the venture. This ignited Hug’s launch cycle as a budding restauranteur mostly in the Golden State – the green racing flag waving him on to his new career path by the early 1970s. The succession of successful eateries helmed by Hug included La Jolla’s Le Cote d’Azur, Mon Ami in Solana Beach, La Maison du Lac along Carlsbad’s lagoon, and, of course, the renowned Mister A’s in San Diego’s Banker’s Hill, which later solidified his stellar restaurant legacy.
But by the mid 1980s Hug became enamored of the charming restaurant in the village of Rancho Santa Fe that vaunts one of the most affluent zip codes in the country. A wealthy Dutchman owned multiple lots mingled in one space along the main drag Paseo Delicias, including a gift shop, cheery courtyard, and small restaurant serving sensational food prepared by a ridiculously extravagant French chef, causing the eatery to struggle financially.
Hug took the next bold step up the ladder of famous restaurateurs by acquiring Mille Fleurs, opening its doors Jan. 3, 1985. He kept the name that reflected the priceless, hand-painted, floral-patterned Delft tiles called “Mille Fleurs,” which translates from the French 1,000 flowers, that adorned the courtyard and restaurant walls. But the interior décor has had about six rounds of iterations, alternating between French country and Provençal style, the latter showcasing soft yellows and striking blues. The main dining room is country cozy, and a couple of private rooms are tucked away for intimate parties. All the tables are draped in crisp white linen cloths–one of Hug’s few insistences.
Now for the food part. Hug does not fashion himself a James Beard acolyte or Michelin star-motivated man. Rather, he follows his rustic country cooking heritage, a culinary philosophy of freshness and simplicity instilled in him by his mother and grandmother. He discovered his foodie inclinations, while in college, as a courtship approach to women’s hearts. Having a purist palate, Hug appreciates uncomplicated foods, letting them shine au naturel. “I don’t want to be on the cutting edge of the culinary world with incredibly weird ingredients. Too pretentious,” he professes. “If Chino’s doesn’t have it, I don’t want it.”
Chino Farms, the Tiffany’s of produce and pioneer of the local farm movement, just a stone fruit’s throw from Mille Fleurs, is where Hug met his good friends Julia and Paul Child, and Wolfgang Puck, Chez Panisse’s Alice Waters, among other culinary giants. He’s since branched out with additional purveyors Schaner Family Farms, and Sage Hill Ranch Gardens, filling his menu with seasonal delights. His ranchers include Newport Meat, Thompson Heritage Ranch (for pasture-raised pork), and Brandt Farms. While Mille Fleurs is not a steak house, Hug always serves corn-finished prime fillet with the right amount of marbleization for melt-in-your-mouth texture. As for piscivores, he only chooses the freshest local fish, primarily from his mainstay fishmonger PureFish.
A Frenchman at heart, Hug cherishes most his million dollar-plus wine cellar he affectionately calls “his baby.” Mille Fleurs boasts over 600 titles on the coveted list changing daily depending on attrition and purchases. The collection includes a huge selection of white and red Burgundies and Bordeauxs, along with wines from Argentina, Chile, Spain, Mexico, and South Africa, and offers everything from a $5000 bottle for the well-traveled oenophile to a bottle of house wine for a more wallet-friendly option.
As for the menu, while classically French with a coastal twist, Hug’s treasured Chef de Cuisine for over 30 years, Martin Woesle, who navigated the small but well-equipped kitchen from opening until the pandemic hit, had true German roots. When Robert Strauss, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, dined at Mille Fleurs and discovered the chef was of German extraction, he requested wiener schnitzel even though it was not a menu item. At first, Woesle protested, refusing to serve “peasant food,” but with slight persuasion accommodated their guest. The dish became an instant smash, and decades later remains a popular menu staple tricked out with potatoes gratin and lemon caper sauce.
While the menu fluctuates with seasonal offerings, other timeless items include escargots drizzled in garlic herb butter, lobster bisque with crème fraiche, duck confit and baby rainbow carrots, miso-glazed local black cod dialed-up with lemongrass fumet, and herb-roasted rack of lamb. Of course, everyone loves the house-made “epi” baguette artfully crafted by Pastry Chef Kevin, who emblazons a chevron pattern in the golden crust to replicate wheat stalks.
The restaurant has amassed mounds of prestigious awards over the years including, “Best Restaurant in San Diego” by San Diego Magazine (by both readers and critics) consecutively from 1987 to 1990 and scattered throughout the decades, “Top Restaurant in America” (Food and Wine, 1992), and “Best California Restaurant” (Vogue, 1994).
Harrison Axelrod, the current executive chef, a classically trained Louisianian, continues the tradition of exquisite yet simple food preparation that pleases his owner’s ethos. But the restaurateur extraordinaire attributes the longevity and success of Mille Fleurs to elements beyond fine food at a decent price and quaint ambience. “My deal’s mostly the people, entertaining and waiting on them; I have an affinity for people, and they like to be around me,” he said matter-of-factly.
Hug is not the only showman at Mille Fleurs. Randy Beecher, the in-house pianist, has entertained guests for over 25 years on Friday and Saturday evenings, who was in the past frequently ed by the late Del Martian Burt Bacharach at the piano bar.
One final memory for the road, Hug recalls an accidental contretemps spilling red wine on Anne Bancroft’s pearl-gray suede dress when he met her and husband Mel Brooks at the racetrack. The restaurateur mended fences for the mishap by supplying Brooks and Bancroft with a Cadillac Brougham’s trunk full of their favorite organic produce from Chino Farms.
Hug has been pondering how to honor Mille Fleurs’ 40th anniversary. Instead of throwing a cocktail party, he will continue to welcome his many notable patrons and gift them an emblematic French confection in a commemorative tin as a keepsake and gratitude for their loyalty.
After four decades, Bertrand Hug takes his biggest victory lap by acquiring another milestone trophy in the winner’s circle.
Visit www.millefleurs.com for more information. Mille Fleurs is located at 6009 Paseo Delicias, Rancho Santa Fe.
