Alpine recipes and local products: the essentials to taste!

Are you planning your next trip to the French Alps? Whether you're gearing up to admire the most beautiful landscapes on skis or on foot while exploring our charming mountain villages! Discovering our region wouldn't be complete without fully indulging in the local gastronomy and the finest alpine recipes! And for that, there's no specific season! Of course, we know how to appreciate a creamy tartiflette paired with a good Savoy wine, right next to a crackling fireplace when it's snowing outside... Honestly, suggest the same thing in the heart of autumn or even on a rainy summer day, and we'll still say yes! Fondue Savoyarde, raclette, cheese crust, farçon, and diots – rediscover all our iconic Savoy dishes!

Delicious local products from the French Alps

The flagship product of Alpine gastronomy is undoubtedly cheese, prepared in various ways! Between Beaufort, Tome des Bauges, Abondance, Tomme de Savoie, not to mention the essential Reblochon – you must try them all!

Psst, if you go hiking with one of our guides, which we highly recommend, they might ask you about the origin of the name "Reblochon"... So, to impress them, here's the explanation: the word is derived from the Savoyard dialect "re-blocher," which meant "to pinch the cow's udder a second time." In the Middle Ages, farmers had to pay a tax to the nobility on the milk produced by their cows. To pay more reasonable amounts, farmers would perform an initial, incomplete milking, and then a second one after the tax collector had left. Hence the term "re-blocher," and thus Reblochon!

Don't forget to pair your cheese with delicious wines from Savoie. Chignin-Bergeron, Altesse, Jacquère, Mondeuse, Roussette, or Pinot Noir – there's something for every taste! And what could be better than going to taste them directly in the cellar, guided by the winemaker or a professional sommelier? Wine enthusiasts, explore our tour of the Savoyard vineyards and our cheese and wine tasting for authentic moments in the heart of this rich universe!

Savoie is also well-known for its delicious charcuterie, an essential companion to raclettes and fondues! Let's not forget that it's inseparable from a true mountain picnic: cured meats, bread, cheese, a small glass of white wine from Savoie... And with that, it's either a big nap awaiting you or a burst of energy to finish your hike. Nothing beats cutting through it all with a genuine Opinel, a true local touch! Experience a timeless interlude during our Apéro Mazot, amidst nature, in an authentic mountain chalet.

Finally, during your journey in the Alps, don't miss the opportunity to taste Savoyard diots, crozets, fish from our lakes – such as féra, lavaret, and Arctic char – mountain honey, and our local jams! Beer enthusiasts will also delight in the products from Mont-Blanc breweries, L'Ours, and Brasseurs Savoyards. 

And after all that, nothing beats aiding digestion with a good génépi, made from the local génépi plant. Let's push the borders a bit, and just a few kilometers away, in Isère, we also invite you to savor the essential Chartreuse!

Visiting Chamonix or Annecy? Don't miss our food tours, specially crafted for discerning gourmets!

The most famous, tasty and traditional alpine recipes and dishes

With these local products, we create the best recipes that have made our region famous! Here's a preview of the ones we wholeheartedly recommend for you to try during your journey in the Alps!

The alpine cheese recipes : dishes to try when skiing in France, or during all year long!

How else to start this list than with the most famous recipes of all? Discover:  

• Raclette, made with delicious raclette cheese from the cheesemonger... On your plate, arrange a delightful selection of local cured meats, pickles, and tender potatoes, and let the melted cheese flow over them! Yum! For an even more authentic experience, try the real deal: the Brézière raclette!
  
  
• Tartiflette, where there's nothing but goodness: potatoes, Reblochon cheese, bacon, onion, and white wine from Savoie. What more could you dream of? Discover the detailed recipe in the next part.
  
  
• Croziflette: simply replace the potatoes from the tartiflette with Savoie crozets, and you're all set!
  
  
• Fondue Savoyarde: In a special pot, melt a blend of various Savoie cheeses (with white wine, of course) and dip small pieces of bread inside... It's delicious! Discover the detailed recipe in the next part.
  
  
• The croûte au fromage: Only we could come up with something like this! Take a beautiful slice of country bread, soak it in white wine (you've probably noticed that we prepare few dishes without it...). Put melting cheese on top, perhaps with a slice of cured meat and onion, and when it's nicely gratinated... Enjoy!
  
  
• Berthoud is melted Abondance cheese seasoned with garlic, white wine (once again...), pepper, and nutmeg, poured over bread or potatoes. Say no more, let's sit at the table right away!
  
  
• Matouille is a whole Tome des Bauges that you melt after sprinkling it with... White wine, bravo! Once it's nicely melted, you scoop up the cheese with a spoon and pour it over potatoes and cured meats, and enjoy your meal!

It makes you crave, doesn't it? Discover even more of our alpine recipes during one of our Trapper Nights!

Are you coming for a skiing vacation in the Alps? Live an absolutely unique experience by combining downhill skiing and tasting local gastronomy during one of our ski food tours!

Our other mountain signature recipes

Certainly, the list is a bit shorter than the cheese-based dishes, but it doesn't take away anything from them! During your vacation in the French Alps, be sure to taste: 

• Farçon is a kind of cake made from grated potatoes mixed with prunes, raisins, and bacon. It bakes in a "rabolire," a mold that gives it the shape of a panettone, with a hollow in the middle. 
• Savoyard escalope is prepared with veal cutlets, wrapped in ham, topped with slices of cheese (yes, still, some things never change...), and then coated with a mixture of eggs and cream.
• Châtrée soup is an onion soup in which you find our two essentials: cheese (preferably Tomme de Savoie) and white wine from Savoie!
• And finally, a simple and effective recipe: diots in white wine accompanied by polenta!

Yes, we know, it's starting to make you hungry...

The alpine desserts, of course!

Well, after all that, nothing better than digesting with a good dessert, and for that, we offer you several options:

• Rissoles with pears or Savoy apples: small stuffed turnovers.
• Chocolate truffle, invented in Chambéry in 1895, typically enjoyed during Christmas. These are small chocolate balls mixed with cream, butter, and dusted with cocoa.
• Delicious blueberry tart, need we say more...
• Brioche with pralines, originating from Saint-Genix-sur-Guiers.
• Savoy cake, a fairly light and very soft recipe, perfect to accompany a fruit salad or a scoop of ice cream!

And, of course, with a little génépi or Chartreuse, it will all go down smoothly!

The authentic alpine fondue and tartiflette recipes!

Find the details of two alpine recipes to recreate at home, without moderation (except on the white wine...)!

The tartiflette recipe

Ingredients : 1 kg of potatoes ⋅ 1 Reblochon de Savoie ⋅ 200 g of lardons ⋅ 200 g of onions ⋅ 10 cl of white wine from Savoie ⋅ garlic, pepper, nutmeg

Cut the potatoes into cubes and sauté them in a pan with the lardons and onions. Cook for 20 minutes. Pour in the white wine and add the pepper and nutmeg.

In a gratin dish, rub the edges with garlic, then pour the previous mixture inside.

Cut your Reblochon in half, thickness-wise. One half is cut into small cubes, to mix with the potatoes. The other half is cut in half again, and the two pieces are placed on top of the mixture, rind side up.

Let it gratinate for 20 minutes in a preheated oven at 200 °C.

It's ready!

The fondue recipe

Ingredients : 800 g of cheese (mix of several Savoie cheeses, such as Beaufort and Emmental) ⋅ ½ bottle of white wine from Savoie ⋅ garlic, nutmeg, pepper ⋅ 1 loaf of country bread, cut into pieces

Grate the cheese into a fondue pot that has been rubbed with garlic beforehand. Add the white wine. Heat gently, stirring regularly, until you get a homogeneous mixture.

Add pepper and nutmeg, and let it cook for another 5 minutes, while stirring.

Place the fondue pot on its burner, then enjoy by dipping pieces of bread inside, using a long fork.

And bon appétit!

Experience a timeless tasting during a cruise & fondue on Lake Annecy or a Savoyard fondue under an igloo!

Don't hesitate any longer, and discover even more gastronomic experiences in the heart of the Alps!