march-2013

Chalet de la Marine,
Val Thorens
H
igh-altitude Val Thorens has
always had a place in the hearts
of die-hard skiers, with most of its
slopes above 2,000 metres and a season
that extends all the way to May. A resort
known for its uncrowded slopes and wide,
well-groomed pistes, Val Thorens is a
haven both for intermediates and off-piste
aficionados, with a plentiful supply of soft
powdery snow providing fresh tracks all
winter long. Add to that the magnificent
5km Cîme de Caron run, a huge snowpark
for boarders and freestylers, plus the
longest toboggan run in France, and
ValTho – as it’s affectionately known
– easily impresses as much as its
fancier neighbours.
But these days the resort is also
garnering a reputation for some of the
best restaurants in the Trois Vallées.
And it’s not just Michelin-standard fine
dining establishments leading the charge.
A fresher, more local, authentic attitude
to food on the slopes is ensuring that
expectations of cuisine are just as high as
HAUTE CUISINE
The lofty peaks of Val Thorens are well known for having the best snow in les Trois Vallées, but
these days the resort is reinventing itself as a foodie mecca, offering everything from Michelin stars
to humble hillside auberges and hotels with rather decent restaurants, inds Jane Wright
they are in the village, as ideas, innovation
and culinary talent are drafted in to shore
up this burgeoning reputation. And most
encouraging of all perhaps, is increasing
evidence of the farmhouse auberge on the
mountain – small eateries created from old
farm buildings which promote simple rustic
food and artisanal local produce that is
home-made and reasonably priced.
Pepe Nicolas is the perfect example: a
little converted hillside barn that serves
traditional Savoyard cuisine to hungry
skiers in a warm, cosy ambience. The
addition of a sweet fluffy St Bernard pup
at the door completes the perfect Alpine
tableau. Expect hearty bowls of thick
soup served with the local Tomme de
Savoie cheese, home-made sausages
with polenta, and Grandma Josephine’s
myrtle and génépi dessert.
At the other end of the scale, Jean
Sulpice’s two-Michelin starred L’Oxalys
wouldn’t look out of place in one of the
world’s great metropolises. The boyishlooking
34-year-old gained his first star at
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just 26 and it’s not hard to see why. This
is precise, inventive cooking, imaginatively
combining textures and flavours that
awaken the palate. Dedicated to the
produce of the Savoyard terroir, the boy
from Aix-les-Bains is the proud owner of the
highest Michelin restaurant in the world and
has several cookbooks to his name. Staff
are drilled to military standards and his
accomplished wife Magali is his sommelier.
The chi-chi set might say Val Thorens
has finally arrived thanks to the recent
addition of its very own Folie Douce (two
other outposts are ensconced in flashier
resorts such as Val d’Isère and Meribel).
A party-party combination of cocktail bar,
restaurant and cabaret show, the Folie
Douce is the staggeringly popular slope-side
destination that draws bright young things
to dance on tables and spend oodles of
cash on champagne and cocktails. And
that’s just during the day.
More interesting, though, is the attached
restaurant La Fruitière, a bastion of
civilised calm and grown-up dining in
march 2013 49