Ski in / ski out Michelin star

Mountain restaurants in France are no longer a mix of self service cafes offering spag bol, sandwiches and chips and traditional mountain restaurants serving tartiflette plus half a dozen other sizzling variations on the spud, cheese, pig theme. You can now enjoy fresh and surprising world class cooking.

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of being invited to a meal at Le Farçon in La Tania courtesy of the 3 Valleys Association. La Tania is not the obvious location for a restaurant of this quality; it’s a budget base for the 3 Valleys tucked away in a valley a short distance from its better known and rowdier neighbours, Meribel and Courchevel. Despite being a purpose built resort there is a charm to La Tania and I can see that it would be a good base for exploring this vast ski area.

Le Farçon is housed in an unassuming modern building (the only kind they have in La Tania!), but when you step through the door you know you are somewhere a little special. The decor is a mix of traditional Savoie design and modern touches. Overall the feeling is relaxed and welcoming rather than the formality one might expect in a Michelin starred establishment.

A set menu had been put together specifically for our meal and we were all more than ready to tuck in after a hard (ish) day on the slopes – although I should flag up that we had enjoyed a 2 ½ hour lunch at the excellent Ferme de Reberty earlier in the day so weren’t exactly starving! After a short introduction by our host Vincent Lalanne a large glass of a very excellent white Crozes-Hermitage (a red from the same producer would follow later) was poured and we awaited the arrival of the first of six courses.

The meal started with an “amuse bouche” consisting of squash soup topped with a citrus foam ... served in an egg. This was absolutely delicious but started us wondering whether we were in for such refined and dainty food that we would leave starving. We need not have worried as we all rolled out of the restaurant pleasantly stuffed at the end of the evening.

The courses that followed (see the menu image to the left) were all superbly presented and the combinations of textures and flavours were an absolute joy. When you watch a programme like the recently screened Master Chef, particularly those scenes filmed in high quality restaurants, you realise how many man hours go into a meal like this and it was astonishing to discover at the end of the evening that the kitchen is manned by just two people, chef Julien Machet and his trusted assistant.

One of the key focuses of our trip to the 3 Valleys was how to promote the area as a value destination and it may seem a contradiction to have filled our boots at someone else’s expense in a restaurant like Le Farçon. I don’t believe it was though, value is not about seeking out the cheapest options. Holidays are all about experiences and “investing” in a meal at a restaurant like this can represent excellent value. This is hugely enhanced by a new €25 lunch menu for skiers that guarantees you will be served within 25 minutes; a superb way to sample this great chef’s food in the middle of a tour of the stunning slopes on offer in the 3 Valleys.

Links
3 Valleys
La Tania
Le Farçon
ABTOF

Chris
www.skifamille.co.uk