The three work in perfect harmony. They are meticulous and responsible people. They have given Goa the gift of masterful French cuisine, at affordable prices. They are not dropouts, but have opted out of the odious lifestyle that is the fate of most of us. They are loved and admired by many. They have beauty, intelligence, sensitivity and talent.

With the most authentic and tastiest food, superlative open air ambience, and very reasonably priced, my vote for the best French restaurant in India goes to Le Restaurant Francais, off the Calangute-Baga road in Goa. It puts every 5 star hotel restaurant serving so-called French food to shame. And at a third of the 5 star prices. It is the loving creation of a remarkable trio, Florence Tarbouriech, Serge Lozano and Morgon Rainforth.

And La Plage, their �cafe�, right on the beach at Morjorim, half an hour�s drive north of Baga, is absolutely perfect for chilling out from dawn to dusk. Yes, those are the hours when it is open, sunrise to sunset.

Their lives are more interesting than their eateries. Serge was born in Morocco, his mother was Spanish, and he was educated at Aix-en-Provence. Florence was born in Avignon, to parents who were of Spanish origin, way back. However Florence�s grandfather was a French count, who at the age of 70 married his Italian maid when she was 30. They had three children, who grew up near Avignon.

Florence met Serge 25 years ago in Provence, in the South of France, when they were both 17 years old. Florence studied fashion designing in Paris. Serge and she set up a successful business to sell pret-a-porter clothes in Paris. At one point they had as many as five shops in Japan and several in the West Indies. They travelled the world, lived in Martique, the West Indies, and of course, in Paris.

Morgon, the attractively talented chef, who is only 31 years of age, is half English, half French. Born in Bristol, England, he moved to a small village near Avignon when he was 9. At 16 he started working in a discotheque where he met Florence and promptly fell in love with her. He moved back to Provence, to be near Florence. She would have nothing to do with the angelic looking Morgon until he learned to cook superlatively well. (Florence�s slim figure believes her life long passion for food).

So Morgon joined a cooking school, and after he graduated, Florence and Serge asked Morgon to cook dinner for them and their friends every Tuesday. In the beginning they were critical, but in a few months Morgon had won Florence�s heart with his food. She moved in with him. Talent, with great persistence, always wins.

Florence wanted to capture the lost innocence of her younger days, so they spent winters in Goa from 1996 onwards. In 1998 they opened Le Restaurant Francais. She brought her very young daughter, Maxime, with her. Maxime was educated by a French tutor in Goa for the exams she would take back in France. Now 16, she has the face and figure of a model, and is planning to study fashion in Paris just like her mother.

Florence�s father, who visits Goa regularly, and goes on long fast drives on his rented motorcycle, was the doctor to the famed musicians, the Gypsy Kings. They even wrote a song about the gorgeous Florence. She gets her sense of adventure from her father.

Morgon�s talent as a chef has flowered. Since Le Restaurant is open only from December to Easter, he spends a great deal of time in France, eating at the best restaurants, and learning new recipes. In Goa, he uses only locally available materials. His liver pate, tiger prawn carpaccio with fresh vanilla oil, the extremely demanding to make stuffed calamari, and his melting chocolate fondant have to be eaten to be believed. His ambitious and extremely labour intensive food is extraordinary. He is totally focused on creating great dishes. So much so that once, after he had finished carving a rabbit, he returned to their rented bungalow, saw Florence sleeping naked in their bed in soft half-hidden moonlight, and started �carving� her with his fingers absentmindedly till she awoke with a start!

La Plage was started a year ago. Three days in the week the trio lead an idyllic existence on the beach. Florence and Morgon sleep in a fragile one storey straw thatched hut they constructed themselves. (Florence says that she has a very good relationship with her bed, when reading, sleeping, or making love). They have truly created a lifestyle which other people only dream about.

The food at La Plage consists of delicious tapas and barbecued meats. The open sea, the white sand, the palm trees all around, result in a laid back ambience perfectly suited to utter relaxation, while nibbling on superlative snacks and drinking cold beer. After La Plage was functioning, the trio decided that Le Restaurant Francais, would be open only four days a week, Tuesday to Friday, dinner only. It is always packed, about 60 per cent foreigners who are atypical in the sense that they are not tourists, but during the Christmas season, 90 per cent are Indians. Wine drinking has increased dramatically in the past three years. They serve only Indian wines.

Florence, Morgon, and Serge are examples of an alternative lifestyle which requires courage. They lead openly unconventional lives. They work hard, always seem relaxed, follow their own bliss. The three work in perfect harmony. Florence has quarrelled with Morgon only thrice in ten years, and only about food. They are meticulous and responsible people. They have given Goa the gift of masterful French cuisine, at affordable prices. They are not dropouts, but have opted out of the odious lifestyle that is the fate of most of us. They are loved and admired by their many friends and customers. They have beauty, intelligence, sensitivity and talent. And they have made the most of it.