Still, it is a Mediterranean spirit that now imbues Olivier's craft. Dishes are hearty, flavorful and bursting with color, by no means minimalist. Yet, the highly technical science of concocting complex sauces and designing plates down to the perfectly placed sprig of chive, has been replaced with a symbiotic flow in which basic local ingredients provide hearty, yet never overpowering, support for the bountiful flavor of the fish.

Contrary to the commonly accepted rule of thumb that one drinks white wine with fish and red with meat, Olivier suggests a light red with seafood, such as the wines that are produced in the hills visible from the beach, just down the promenade from the restaurant. And for a first course he suggests a light salad or perhaps the red peppers and lightly salted anchovies he was laying out in a fan on a ceramic plate as we spoke. "Anything that won't dull the palate before the fish," he says, returning again to the essence of his philosophy--as in a piece of classical music that rises, falls and varies, but never loses the central theme: Everything you need is inside the fish. Four recipes from Olivier Jehannin's kitchen at Les Templiers, Collioure, France