Nobody believes this, but few events are as intensive and exhausting as the Cannes Film Festival, with hundreds of screenings, from early until late, and any number of interviews, deadlines and parties to be accommodated in between all those movies.
The pace is unremitting for every one of the 12 days of the festival, so it's essential to slot in some chill-out time. I know nowhere better for winding down at Cannes than in that oasis of serenity that is La Mere Besson, a restaurant I've frequented since I discovered it on my first visit to Cannes, back in 1982. Not that La Mere Besson is a discovery, as such. It is one of the e d'Azur town's best-known restaurants, offering excellent food at relatively reasonable prices: commendably, unlike very many other Cannes establishments it does not produce specially priced (i.e, exorbitant) menus at film-festival time.
Reservations are essential during the festival, in May - and, I imagine, at most times of the year, given that Cannes is such a popular tourist area and that the hideous Palais building, where all the films are shown, plays host to events, from music- and television-industry gatherings to conventions for psychiatrists and dentists, on more than 250 days of the year.
La Mere Besson is centrally situated, halfway between the long Croisette, which winds along the seafront, and the busy Rue d'Antibes, which is lined with designer stores. To get there, take Rue Commandant Andre: and about halfway along is Rue des Freres Pradignac, where you will spot the restaurant's al fresco tables at the entrance, under a large canopy to protect diners from the sun's rays.
Inside is one large, airy room: tables are reasonably spaced - essential during the festival, when you never know who might be sitting nearby, and to allow distance from those bad-mannered people who persist in talking on mobiles through their meals. Presiding over the restaurant is the charming Margaret Martin, who is always impeccably dressed and super-efficient, while Yves, her husband, stays out of sight and runs the kitchen. His fare is classical French cuisine, and one of the many comforting things about visiting La Mere Besson over 19 years is how little it has changed. Yves Martin has always eschewed such faddish things as nouvelle cuisine, and indeed the recent mania for offering a skyscraper structure in the centre of a plate.
The easygoing ambience at Cannes is reflected in the leisurely pace of service at La Mere Besson, even at film festival time. Never expect to get in and out in less than two hours.
The menu is a la carte, sub-titled in English, and includes seven special dishes, each on a fixed day of the week. A few dishes get undervalued in the translation - for example, the excellent Filet de Boeuf du Chef is undersold in English as "thick piece of beef".
Over the years I have sampled most of the menu, although I haven't been so adventurous as to try Les Filets de Rascasse "Cote d'Azur" (hog fish with tomatoes, mussels and mushrooms) and Les Pieds et Paquets a la Marseillaise (feet and tripes of a lamb), and I draw the line at eating the Thursday special, Le Lapereau farci aux herbes de Provence (stuffed rabbit without bone, served with fettuccini).
There are three outstanding daily specials. L'Aiado (Tuesdays) is delicious, oven-baked shoulder of lamb served with roasted potatoes and a superb garlic puree (not recommended if you've got a lot of Cannes kissing to do later). L'Aioli (Fridays) is a stunner - a selection of steamed vegetables, salt cod, mussels and squid served with the restaurant's renowned mayonnaise with garlic and olive oil. And L'Osso Buco (Saturdays) is a perfect serving of that veal shank dish accompanied by rice or fresh noodles.
Unfortunately, a few favourite dishes were off the menu when I visited this year, on the closing night of the film festival. The crazy awards ceremony covered and a report on it filed back to Dublin, it was time at last to wind down.
Brian, who had come to take in a lot of parties and a few movies on the closing weekend, missed his favourite entree, Les Cuisses de Grenouilles a la Provencale (frog legs with tomatoes, garlic and butter), and opted instead for one of the region's classics, La Vraie Salade Nicoise, and it was, as named, the real thing - a generous bowl of tomatoes, peppers, tuna, anchovies and egg on layers of green salad. My favourite entree, Yves Martin's divine La Soupe de Moules (mussel soup) was out of season, so I went for another local classic - La Soupe de Poissons de Roche, a small vat of robust fish soup (which would have yielded three servings for a very hungry or gluttonous diner) with croutons and cheese toppings.
For his main course Brian chose Le Loup a ma Facon, a perfectly cooked sea bass with a subtle butter sauce with fennel and lemon, and I had Le Gratin aux Fruits de Mer, a taste-bud sensation of various seafoods browned in the oven and served in cream sauce. From the short wine list I chose an excellent Sancerre (£20), an ideal accompaniment to our fish dishes.
As it was the last night of a long, hard festival, I spoiled myself with dessert, selecting the deceptively light creme brulee, while Brian chose the selection of sorbets. Instead of coffee, we both finished off with what the menu charmingly calls L'Irish Coffee, which was as good as you could expect anywhere in Ireland.
Along with a litre of Badoit - and a couple of glasses of wine for two Canadian friends who joined us after dessert to have a laugh at the Cannes jury's daft decisions - the bill came to 795 francs (£95). More than I usually would spend there, but the last night at the Cannes Film Festival is always a special one, tinged with relief and satisfaction.
La Mere Besson, 13 Rue des Freres Pradignac, 06400 Cannes. Tel: 0033-493395924