Savoie Mont Blanc: Truly Haute Cuisine
TRULY HAUTE CUISINE
Published in Oryx (Qatar Airways inflight magazine), October 2019
The Savoie Mont Blanc region in the French Alps is not only home to exceptional skiing, but also some of the world’s best restaurants.
Words Mandi Keighran Photography Samuel Zeller
There is no better way to work up an appetite than a day on the slopes, carving through fresh powder as the sun shines – and the French Alps offer abundant opportunity for both world-class snow sports and culinary indulgence. You might be imagining simple, hearty, cheese-focused fare – creamy, aromatic raclette accompanied by potatoes and gherkins, or a fondue Savoyarde, perhaps. In France’s Savoie Mont Blanc region, however, you are just as likely to find fine-dining takes on these classics at some of the world’s best restaurants.
This beautiful region – where the world’s largest ski area, Les Trois Vallées and its estimated 600km of ski slopes, is found – is also home to 34 Michelin-starred restaurants with a total of 54 stars between them this year, making it one of the most-awarded culinary regions covered by the prestigious food guide.
It is a phenomenon born of a natural bounty of quality local produce and a rich culinary history, which has its roots in a time when the small mountain villages were isolated during winter months forcing villagers to produce their own food that could be preserved, such as cured meats and aged cheese. Then, there are the hundreds of thousands of skiers that descend on the area every season (and tourism in summer months is also becoming increasingly popular for hiking, mountain biking and lake sports). It is no coincidence that many of these restaurants are found in luxurious five-star hotels directly on the slopes.
Stars are not the only culinary draw. Many of the chefs behind fine-dining establishments have more casual offerings on the slopes – take Le Bistrot Gourmand, near the Le Fornet cable car in Val d’Isère, which is run by Benoît Vidal, the same chef behind neighbouring two Michelin-star restaurant L’Atelier d’Edmond.
From René and Maxime Meilleur, the father-and-son chefs behind three-Michelin-starred La Bouitte in Saint-Martin de Belleville, to 25-year-old Antoine Gras, who recently garnered his first Michelin star at La Table de l’Ours in Val d’Isère, read on to meet four of the most interesting chefs in this Michelin-star-spangled region. savoie-mont-blanc.com
Saint-Martin de Belleville
Father and son René and Maxime Meilleur are at the helm of LA BOUITTE
La Bouitte was founded 43 years ago by René Meilleur and his wife in the small commune of Saint-Martin de Belleville. Back then, it was a tiny restaurant serving simple mountain food, such as fondue Savoyarde. Today, the restaurant is led by René and his son Maxime. It is arguably the region’s best restaurant, with three Michelin stars. There is also a five-star hotel with 15 rooms – and touches, such as home-made brioche delivered when guests return from skiing. The overall impression is of being a guest in a beautiful family home – albeit one with very, very good food. “That is the idea behind everything we do here,” says Maxime. “We are inviting people to eat in our home – this restaurant is my family’s life.”
Every morning, Maxime takes his bike into the mountains to forage ingredients for that day’s service – “It is important that nature comes to the plates,” he says – which are paired with fare from local producers the family regards as friends. Think fillet of féra – a local species of sweet white lake fish – sandwiched between delicate crisps, alongside bitter chicory and sparkling white butter; or vegetables cooked to perfection and topped with lemon caviar. Each “surprise” menu concludes with a chocolate infused with local pine in the shape of the Savoy coat of arms. Diners will have a different experience, based on what they like and whether they have dined at the restaurant before as, according to Maxime, around 80 per cent of guests are return visitors. “There is no recipe to getting a third star,” he says. “You have to put yourself into the restaurant.” la-bouitte.com
Val d’Isère
Antoine Gras of LA TABLE DE L’OURS is one of the region’s youngest Michelin-starred chefs
At just 25 years old, Antoine Gras – an alumnus of La Bouitte – is one of the youngest chefs to achieve Michelin-star status in the region, as head chef at La Table de l’Ours, an expansive restaurant with wood-beamed ceilings and a roaring fireplace at the luxury Hôtel Les Barmes. “I worked here for just one year before we got our first Michelin star in January 2019,” he says. “I’m proud of myself, but mainly of the team.”
The menu at La Table de l’Ours celebrates traditional food and products from the region –take the gratin of crozets – a kind of small pasta shell originally from the nearby Tarentaise Valley – with winter truffle, for example. In Gras’s kitchen, this local comfort food becomes a sophisticated ode to the region’s traditions, elevated with pickled mushrooms and Beaufort cheese. “I am inspired by the original flavour of traditional Savoyarde dishes, but I want to put my own vision into it,” the chef says.
This desire to capture the region is applied even to ingredients from further afield – an artichoke, for example, is encased in bread and cooked in a wood fire; the smoky flavour evoking the feeling of being in the mountains. “Everything here, from the plants to the cheese, has a strong taste and aroma,” says Gras. “It is a pleasure to cook here.” hotellesbarmes.com
Tignes
Clément Bouvier oversees every aspect of dining at restaurant URSUS
Imagine dining in a Michelin-starred Alpine forest, surrounded by slender pine trees in a soft, evening light, a canopy of twigs and greenery above, and you will get some sense of the experience offered at Ursus in the Hôtel Les Suites du Nevada in Tignes. Run by young chef Clément Bouvier, the restaurant – which received its first Michelin star this year – is filled with 390 tree trunks surrounding 12 dining tables, and each dish is inspired by foraged ingredients – think cromesquis d’escargots (deep-fried butter balls with herbs and snails sourced from nearby Bourg-Saint-Maurice) served on a mound of snail shells; foie gras infused with juniper and corn from a local farm served on the end of a juniper twig; and petit fours atop pebbles on a bed of moss. “I love foraging for herbs and other food in the local forest,” says Bouvier. “One summer, I was in the forest with a friend and we had the idea to have a restaurant in the forest. Since I could not bring everyone to the forest, I decided to bring the forest back to the restaurant.”
Family is another important influence. Bouvier’s father is Michelin-recognised chef Jean-Michel Bouvier who, with his wife Catherine, runs Les Suites du Nevada, alongside several other restaurants. As a child, Clément spent a lot of time with his grandfather, who grew vegetables for his parents’ restaurant – the “Potato Soup of My Grandfather” on the menu at Ursus is an homage to this time. “It was so simple but so great,” says Bouvier. “Like all the ingredients in this region.” les-suites-du-nevada.com
Val Thorens
Josselin Jeanblanc aims to bring his worldly knowledge to LES EXPLORATEURS at Hôtel Pashmina
Since opening four years ago, Hôtel Pashmina has become one of Val Thorens’ most beloved luxury hotels, giving Alpine chic a modern update – and its fine-dining restaurant, Les Explorateurs, has the same approach to its menu. Headed by Josselin Jeanblanc – who was previously behind slopeside restaurant Chalet de la Marine – Les Explorateurs is a cosy, timber-clad refuge within the heart of the hotel. It is here that Jeanblanc, who received his first Michelin star in 2017, creates delicate and surprising plates of food that take inspiration from across the globe yet celebrate the region’s history and produce.
“We are curious explorers,” says the chef. “We have travelled and explored other cultures… and ultimately, I want to bring to our kitchen all that I brought back with me.” Indeed, Jeanblanc has managed to transform common fine-dining dishes into gastronomic delights – a seafood platter is prettily arranged into a floral garland, while a dessert of strawberries and rhubarb becomes a culinary composition worthy of a gallery wall. “We will soon change the map – we are always looking for beautiful, quality products.” hotelpashmina.com