Travelling around the countryside in France, you can find plenty of charming guest houses or hotels in former nobles’ chateaux. Few are as exotic and as gastronomic as Chateau des Tesnières, just three hours from Paris. It has five rooms and a “botanical” restaurant. Both the rooms and the restaurant are quite extraordinary experiences. It is the creation of Chantel Dartnall and her family, of South African origin.
The Mosaic restaurant, the jewel of Chateau des Tesnières, opened in May 2025. But the chateau itself dates back to the mid-1800s. The name “Tesnières” was recorded as a place name here as early as 1196. The property has had many ups and downs over the years. A big noble family’s country estate, falling into disrepair, being renovated, becoming a countryside bed and breakfast…
But in 2021, when the Dartnall family bought it, a new era began. The family had run a boutique hotel and restaurant outside Pretoria, South Africa, for 15 years before selling that business. Already in South Africa, it was a very ambitious restaurant run by Chatel Dartnall. But now established in France, she has turned up the heat on her ambition. Sitting in the restaurant, one feels that the short-term goal is to earn a Michelin star. And then some more.
We’ll get back to the gastronomy soon, that’s the cherry on the chateau cake, but first, we have to have a few words about the rooms.
It is a very small hotel. Strictly speaking, it is not even a hotel, since it has only five rooms. But the rooms are very special. It is not surprising that it has taken four years of renovation. The result is a curious mix of elegant French countryside manor, ancient English Neo-Gothic style, boudoir intimacy and South African art.
Each room has a special theme and very special decoration: Queen Anne of Brittany with a tower room, Empress Mumtaz Mahal of India with an exotic Indian-inspired theme, Africa’s Queen of Sheba with an extraordinary bathroom mosaic and tower room bathtub, Chinese grandeur in the Dowager Empress Cixi room, the Persian storyteller Scheherazade, and finally the Yama and Thida Mandala from Burma. Yes, there are actually six rooms, but only five are available at any one time. Much of the decor has been brought from the hotel in South Africa. (The cupboards even had South African electricity plugs!) The rooms range from 340 euros to 420 euros.
The perfect way to start dinner is with a glass of wine, perhaps champagne, perhaps something else, in the salon. There, you will get an explanation from the head waiter of what is going to happen over dinner. By the way, it is not only the art and furniture (and wine cellar) that have been brought from South Africa, but also the entire staff. They have all (except one) been brought here by Chantel Dartnall.
You have three menus to choose from: the Menu Découverte, a three-course introduction to what the kitchen can do (95 euros). But three is, of course, liberally interpreted. There will no doubt be some more tasty things to nibble at. Then there is the Petite Dégustation with seven courses (190 euros). Or, ideally, you go for the full discovery, the Grande Dégustation, with nine courses (220 euros). If you stay the night, you will also be treated to an extraordinary breakfast.
You can, of course, combine this with a wine of your choice, from the very extensive wine cellar (more on that later), or you can go with the Enthusiast’s Wine Pairing, with seven wines (55 euros) or the Connoisseur’s Wine Pairing, also with seven wines but of a different dimension (115 euros) which finishes with a 40 years old tawny.
Maybe the waiter will then explain to you, “There’s only one choice to be made, and that’s with regard to the main course. We either have the most phenomenal pigeon, oven-roasted. It’s served with wild mushrooms from a fabulous producer just down the road, and we serve it with a red wine sauce with truffles. The other option is our sea bass, which is poached in butter, and it’s served with a light fennel velouté sauce, and an ocean salad.” After that difficult choice, you just sit back, relax and enjoy.
But let’s give you some more background.
Chef Chantel Dartnall ran the reputed restaurant Mosaic in Pretoria, South Africa, for 15 years. She was internationally praised for her elegant botanical cuisine, which utilises flowers and botanicals to enhance both the taste and beauty of the food, as well as the diners’ well-being. She closed Mosaic in 2020, but it was only a temporary shutdown. In 2025, it opened again, albeit many miles from South Africa. The new Mosaic is located in Brittany, northwestern France, within the walls of the magnificent Château des Tesnières, which the family purchased in 2021.
The idea for the second Mosaic remains the same,” says Chantel. “I think my way of cooking is within me. I brought it with me. There will always be the first Mosaic, and the inspiration from the first Mosaic will carry over into chapter two of Mosaic in France.”
For Chantel, cooking for people is not just giving them food on a plate; it is also giving them an experience. She always wanted to be in the kitchen, ever since she was four years old. When she was six, she was packing lunch boxes for the family. Growing up, she had people passionate about food around her, but nobody in the industry. However, she knew early on that she wanted to have her own restaurant.
“I don’t just want to create a plate of food, I want to create something which the guests can relate to emotionally, something that evokes memories. With our seabass, for instance, maybe people remember walking on the beach, having a beautiful moment.”
From a very young age, she was fascinated by herbs and flowers, incorporating them into her cooking. She fully immersed herself in the botanical style at the age of 20. She discovered Michel Bras, the French chef, and he became an inspiration, especially in botanical cuisine.
“I thought, this is something I can relate to. And from day one, when I opened Mosaic [in Pretoria, South Africa] in 2006, this is the style of food that I was making. It has been fantastic to see what the effects are of using these elements in the food.”
One example on the menu that we had was the Alchemist Infusion. It is an aromatic vegetable consommé that is infused with hibiscus tea, fennel, lemongrass flowers, and other aromatics. Those elements, if enjoyed during a meal, help the digestion, says Chantel. “So, the diners feel more comfortable at the end of the dining experience.”
“The alchemist infusion is a dish that we used to prepare also in South Africa, and which I would say is one of my signatures, because it’s a pretty special dish. It utilises all edible and aromatic herbs and flowers. To me, this encompasses what we are about. It is very botanical, very natural, using elements from the ocean and from the land in one dish.” The ocean connection comes in the form of langoustine.
However, even if Chantel and her family came from South Africa to France only a few years ago, there’s not much other trace of South Africa on the menu. It is more like classic French gastronomic cuisine.
Does South Africa influence her menu?
“I don’t want to be labelled as a South African restaurant. Even for us, it is not always obvious to know what South African food is. For me, it has always been about a natural harmony. This is why my restaurant is called Mosaic. When you look at a mosaic, you see the entire picture; you don’t stand there and analyse each little element. We are a botanical restaurant with influences from around the world, not just France or South Africa. It’s also a little bit Asian…”
As mentioned, when you come to Mosaic, you can choose between a “small” tasting menu, petite dégustation, or a big one, grande dégustation. Petite is certainly not the right word to describe it, but when you’re here, why not simply go for the grande and taste it all? You’ll regret the things you missed otherwise. Whichever you choose, it will be clear that Chantel is aiming high, very high, with her reincarnated Mosaic.
You have a vast selection of wines in their extraordinary wine cellar (which you might be able to visit if you ask nicely). Still, it is a wise choice to select one of the wine pairing menus, not necessarily because of the specific pairings (which are, of course, excellent), but it lets you taste a much wider range of wines from their exceptional wine list.
The wines are obviously a part of the whole experience here at Mosaic. “When I was a little girl, my father already started collecting wine, and by the time we opened Mosaic in 2006, I started the restaurant with a cellar of 25,000 bottles. And these were exceptional bottles, ready to be enjoyed at that moment.” Do try to get a peek at the cellar. We wonder where they will find room for the other wines, yet to be delivered from South Africa, that will more than double the selection.
The wine collection, too, has been brought from South Africa. It is, however, mainly a classic selection of French wines and wines from other prestigious producers around the world, including some from South Africa. In fact, the wine menu featured two South African wines. This is an excellent choice for Mosaic. South Africa has many world-class wines, but is rarely recognised for its true value. Serving these wines in France with a cuisine at this level is well-deserved and well-chosen.
Her father continues to handle the cellar, suppliers, and making new connections, arranging cellar visits, etc. But at the restaurant, the wine is overseen by her (South African) sommelier, René Veldhuizen. “This is something that we do as a team during the periods that we are off. We visit various wine regions, Alsace, Champagne, the Loire Valley… We explore, visit the producers, and then select wines from their portfolios.”
“We focus mainly on wine which suits my style of cooking, of course”, Chantel points out. “Because I find that with some of the regions, the wines are very robust and very full. So, we have a few bottles for clients who want them. But for the rest of the wines, we have a big focus on Champagne and Burgundy and also because these wines we know from experience go well with my style of cooking.”
However, other regions also make their way onto the wine-pairing menu. She likes Alsace, for instance. “Yes, Alsace is phenomenal. This is a region I feel very passionate about, and it’s exciting for us to be able to present these wines from Alsace.”
Also, there are a few South African wines. A superb white from Hannes Storm in Hemel-en-Aarde was on the wine pairing menu when we visited.
Chantel has always been cooking, but she also attended the Prue Leith Chefs Academy in South Africa, where she learned the trade from the ground up. After completing her studies in South Africa, she wrote her CV and sent it to Michelin-starred restaurants across Europe. She ended up working with giants such as Nico Ladenis at Ninety Park Lane in London and with Michael Caines at Gidleigh Park. She has worked with notoriously fierce chefs. “Because in those days, it was a different time”, she says, “the brigades were all men. It was very hard. Nico was a very, very strict but fair man.”
She has not forgotten the male dominance, and she is a strong advocate for promoting talented women and fostering a harmonious working atmosphere in the kitchen. Today, almost all her staff are female.
Her father, her mother and her sister came with her from South Africa to France, as did, remarkably, her all-female Mosaic team. They all play a significant part in this new adventure.
Mosaic is housed in a beautiful Neo-Gothic classic French countryside chateau. The de Langle family owned the property in the 17th century and built the current chateau in the 1860s. In the 20th century, it had a less glorious time until it was bought by the Dardnalls in 2021. They spent four years renovating it.
It reopened in 2025 as the home of the Mosaic restaurant and a small luxury hotel with only five rooms. The interior is almost breathtakingly opulent. Each room has its own design and its own theme: the Queen Anne of Brittany suite, the Queen of Sheba suite, with a bathtub in one of the towers, the Chinese imperial Empress Dowager Cixi suite… Each is almost a museum piece in its own right. Much of the interior has been handcrafted by South African artisans.
It is, in fact, a good idea to stay in one of the rooms when you enjoy a dinner at the Mosaic. It takes some time to work through all the dishes and all the wines, so it is just perfect to be able to just walk up the stairs to your room. The Château des Tesnières with the Mosaic is located some 40 km east of Rennes in Brittany, which means a bit over 300 km west of Paris. A perfect weekend getaway.
A big part of creating the excellence in the Mosaic restaurant is, of course, getting the right ingredients. In South Africa, Chantel had about seven farmers who were producing ingredients specifically for them. She knows that these suppliers also exist in France; she just has to build up the network. “What is fantastic is that we have more and more suppliers, producers and farmers calling.”
Getting the best raw material at this level often comes down to personal relationships and trust. That cannot be easy for a woman (!), coming from South Africa (!), creating classic cuisine (!). But going regularly to the market and visiting local producers, there’s no reason why Chantel should not soon be at the top of the list of producers of excellent food matière première that she can transform into new mouth-watering dishes.
“One supplier contacted me and said, ‘I sell pigeon to the best restaurants in France. I would be willing to have my product in your restaurant’. Another one said, ‘I know a fantastic pork supplier, a very special breed of pork’. Okay, on the next menu, I can actually work with that. I have one person who said I can send you salt marsh lamb, but it’s only available by allocation, and you would have to wait until next year. So I am waiting to have salt marsh lamb. But I am on the list. I’ve learned, ever since I’ve come to France, a great deal of patience.”
Botanical cuisine—as Chantel labels her craft—needs flowers, a lot of flowers. They cannot currently grow all they need at the château, although they do have a small flower garden. They have suppliers, but once the work on the grounds is finished and the gardens are established, they will expand their own vegetable and edible flower gardens.
“Already within the garden, there are little patches where we can harvest some herbs and flowers, but not to the extent where we can be entirely self-sufficient, and for us, it’s important also to be able to support the local producers around us.”
Château des Tesnières is not a place that you find by chance, that you just happen to pass by. It is a place that you go looking for, perhaps because you have heard of it somewhere. We asked Chantel where the guests at this recently opened château come from. She told us that many come from close by, having seen her restaurant and hotel featured in French media. But also, she has guests who come here because they know her from South Africa, and they have already visited her Mosaic there. Can you get a better accolade than that?
The Mosaic culinary adventure of Chantel Dartnall continues at Château des Tesnières.
After having enjoyed a fantastic dinner at Chateau des Tesnieres and a voluptuous breakfast, you might just want crepes for lunch. You are, after all, in Bretagne (Brittany).
