Traditional Raclette in the French Alps

We are having a late winter here in Switzerland and there is nothing better during the cold of winter then having some delicious crusty burnt cheese.  The craving for some delicious Raclette reminded me of the little trip we took up in the French Alps to the Haute Breda Valley in search of some traditional Raclette.

Auberge Nemoz is an adorable family run restaurant/ chambre d'hotes nestled in between Le Sept Laux (Prapoutel, Pleynet and Pipay) and Le Collet d'Allevard. It's won plenty of awards from being recommended in the Michelin guide to being recommended by the Routard guide. Everything about this place has a personal touch, my favorite being that all the menus are hand written! The history of the Chalet is that it has been passed down for generations and built  and rebuilt(there was a fire) by the family.

Due to Raclette's heartiness of cheese, more cheese, potatoes and some pickles... and more cheese- it is typically eaten in the winter time and very traditional of any mountain top chalet restaurant.  Raclette in French resembles the word "Racler" which means to scrape and who doesn't love scraping bit of crusty burnt cheese onto their plates? 

Nowadays, everyone has metal raclette machines at home but at the Auberge Nemoz, they do it the old fashion way - in front of a crackling fireplace. The smokiness of the wood adds another dimension to the cheese that metal raclette machines will never give you. 

My joy of course was to watch the gooey burnt cheese getting scraped onto the plate.  It requires the server to pass quite often to rescrape every few minutes (or you have to patiently wait) but the warm gooey cheese is worth the wait. Raclette cheese is similar in taste to Gruyere cheese (click here for the previous blogpost on Gruyere Cheese) which is light, nutty and slightly acidic in flavor. 

The cheese is always served with potatoes and cornichons (thats french speak for mini pickles) and often times for you carnivores, a nice plate of charcuterie (prepared meets, usually of the dried variety like sausage, proscuitto etc). The Alps regions (both Swiss and French) are always full of dried meats that can keep over the long harsh winters. 

The Rhone Alpes Region, just like all other French regions produce some sort of wine or alcohol. Although the summer times are warm, the weather is (as you can imagine for a mountain region) milder and thus the majority of the wine produced is of the white or rose variety. We chose to go with a local bottle of Rose to go with the cheese.  It's pretty typical to eat any cheese dishes with white/ rose wine as the acidity helps to cut the heaviness of the cheese (trust me, when you think about the solid form of Raclette before you eat it, you will drink the wine to help cut the solid block of cheese in your stomach a few hours afterwards). 

The family also has horses with which they offer treks into the mountains with as well as adorable cats and bunnies.  Behind the chalet is a series of trails that take you into the mountains.  We had decided after our hearty meal to head towards the waterfall that was about a 20 minute easy hike in. We had a wonderful meal at Nemoz, with all of its' rustic charm and warm handmade touches. I keep on bugging my husband to go back -- hopefully he'll give in soon.

Taking in the fresh air of the Alps

I loved the carved wood details and pieces of Raclette cheese sitting on the fireplace

It's the Grinch!  

More carrots then this bunny can manage

Addresses

Auberge Nemoz

Hameau La Martinette

38580 La Ferriere

+33 (0)4 76 45 03 10

Le Poeme de Grignan

Often when choosing restaurants, you do your research- guide Michelin, TripAdvisor etc.  Sometimes, you think "those reviews totally lied, this place sucks" but sometimes, sometimes you get really lucky and you think "This place totally deserves stars".  La Poeme de Grignan totally deserves stars

On our visit to Drome, we decided we would have one nice meal out.  I had settled on La Poeme based on the raving reviews it received on Tripadvisors.  The website wasn't convincing but the menu online seemed solid and the restaurants was only about 10 minutes away from our Gite in Grignan. 

We got a bit lost looking for the restaurant-- but we ended up taking a little stroll in old Grignan to find the restaurant which was extremely quaint and totally adorable.  The old stone buildings and blue window frames gave that totally romantic, relaxing, French Provencal feeling. 

I read online that the restaurant was small. I wasn't prepared for exactly how small it is.  It has 8 tables. That's it.  We were greeted by Valerie who is the hostess, server, bus boy-- well the only person who works the front of the house for the restaurant. The restaurant is decorated with old antiques- cosy and comfortable- a lot like La Croix du Gres, the Gite we were staying at.

The menus are incredibly well priced- a three course menu is 31 Euros and a 5 course 48 Euros.  We all had a hard time choosing because A. I was doing a horrible translation job and B. We all wanted everything on the menu.

the Amuse Bouche was an avocado mousse with rehydrated sun dried tomato and some whipped creme fraiche.  It was with the Amuse Bouche that it became clear. Chef Herve knows how to work his flavors.  Every bite was rich, round and full.  An amazing precursor to the plates that would follow.

My starter was Foie Gras Poele with mangoes.  While the food is rustic and simply presented, the flavors were just mind blowing.  The mango was sweet and succulent, the sauce with a tinge of red berry fruitiness and the Foie Gras rich and cooked to perfection with it's perfectly sauteed crust.  I still dream about this dish to this day.

My main dish was a pigeon dish with fresh vegetables.  The flavors were once again harmonious, round and rich.  I'm not sure how chef Herve does it, but the moment the food is in your mouth, the thought "This is exactly what perfect food tastes like" comes to mind. 

I'm a bad person and didn't take notes on the cheese. I think the one to the left is a munster cheese from Alsace. Sorry!

This dessert wasn't actually mine. but it was so fluffy that I had to take a picture of it. A Grand Marnier souffle with raspberry sorbet. I was told that it was silky smooth and delicious

This medley of chocolate- cake, ice cream and mousse accompanied by a raspberry espuma.  I'm not a big fan of espumas but I remember it having a really raspberry flavor.  The chocolate desserts were not to sweet but by this time I was struggling to finish all the food on my plate.

Near the end of dinner, Chef Herve came out to greet diners, serve tea and help clean up the last of the tables.  He heard from Valerie that we were looking for a cab.

Not only had we just enjoyed a perfect meal at La Poeme, Chef Herve offered to take us back to the Gite instead of calling a cab.  He was under the impression that we didn't have a car at all, and with 6 people, he was going to make 2 trips to take us all home.  That level of service blew us away.

If you ever get the chance to go to this absolute gem of a restaurant, I highly highly recommend it.  It's clear that Chef Herve has a clear command of his flavors and cooking technique.  On top of all of this, he puts in soul and heart into his cuisine and it shows and tastes like it.  I'm sure Chef Herve could open a larger restaurant- people would come but I don't think that is his motivation.  While Chef Herve drove us back to the Gite, I asked him about La Poeme.  For him, he's from here, he loves using the local ingredients because they are so amazing. He has no desire to move from here-- and no desire to expand. He cooks because he enjoys it, and he gets immense joy from seeing people enjoy his food.  I hope one day, you can experience and enjoy his food as well.

Address:
La Poeme de Grignan
04 75 91 10 90
Rue Saint Louis 27230 Grignan

Yeah Oui!

Wanted to give a big shout out to my Claridges crew. U guys (and I don't need to say who) are an amazing crew. I love you all dearly. Keep your heads up because you are ALL talented. xxx

Gordon Ramsay at Claridges
Brook Street
London W1K 4HR
Tel: 020 7499 0099
Reservations Recommended

* Update* Sadly in the summer of 2013, Gordon Ramsay at Claridges had it's last service.  The lease on the restaurant was up and GR holdings decided not to renew the lease. Rest In Peace GR at Claridges! 

*Warning* Genius, at work~

yeah yeah, So I've been busy over winter break ok? I went back to my English home kitchen, then to Porto, then back to my family in California- Manresa. I do miss the kitchen terribly. The warmth of the bonnet.... so comforting! The way everything flows in and out of the kitchen- people COMMUNICATING with each other... why can't all life function this way?

One of the greatest things about coming home was being around Chef Kinch. An artist, a teacher, a mentor and an incredible confident. Thank you Manresa for a wonderful Winter break and letting me come back! Miss you all terribly.

Manresa
320 Village Lane
Los Gatos, CA 95030-7218
(408) 354-4330
Closed Monday and Tuesday

Le Perolles P.A. Ayer

Starter: Pumkin soup, creme fraiche, bacon, foie gras gele and foie gras feuillantine (delicious)

Yes yes, It's just another tease... but it takes time to write these things ok? I gotta pour over my notes, remember what I ate.. yada yada yada. Hayley and I got to go to this INCREDIBLE one michelin star in Fribourg, the next town over. Le Perolles is one of the two michelin restaurants in Fribourg Simple decor- very modern and very reasonably priced. The food was fabulous.. which will be discussed in further blogs.. in the mean time. Just a little teaser.




and of course the cheese trolley. Ok So I said that Steireck has a pretty crazy cheese trolley.. but this one.. was AMAZING. really. I would go back just for the cheese....

Le Perolles
BD de Perolles 18a
1700 Fribourg
Tel:41.026.347.40.30
ayeramey@leperolles.ch
Ferme le dimanche et lundi

Ca Matilde: Ristorante Locanda

I know I owe you guys about four michelin reviews... but ok.. I owe you guys one more. I had the enormous pleasure of going to Cinque Terra to visit my foodie, amazing, fun, intelligent friend John who lives in Lerici Italy (well temporarily). Although we didn't make it to the Agritourismo that we so desperately wanted to, we did make it to Ca Matilde: Ristorante Locanda, 1 Michelin star. Located in the middle of no where in Rubbianino - Quattro Castella- Reggio Emilia (past Parma) in an old house, we were expecting a rustic italian dining experience. Instead what we got was an incredible, rustic- with definite innovative ideas (especially in the dessert department!) meal.

The review will go up sooner or later. In the meantime, here are some pictures to drool over.


Parma Ham.. ham ham ham!


The cheese plate, Parmigiano-Reggiano!!!! Deliciouso!!!


and of course, no meal of mine is complete without a bottle of bubbly- Prosecco in this case.

Ca Matilde
Ristorante Locanda
Via della Polita 14,
42020 Loc. Rubbianino
Quattro Castella (Reggio Emilia)
Telefono 0522.889560
Cell. 339.7874556

Le Perolles- 1 Michelin Star, Fribourg

So.. I guess this blog is a dual post. The first thing I should do is apologize for not writing sooner. With all the traveling, school work and turning into an asian popsicle as the weather has take a turn for the worst, I haven't gone to think about what to do next.
Haley and I decided to take a mini Vacay - to Fribourg- yes it's only 30 minutes away and I already go there at least once a week but.. after starving a whole week on dorm food, blowing our entire week's budget on what would have been dorm food on a Michelin experience seemed quite fitting.
The second part of my post is to introduce a new series of photos that I will be taking- food art- the art of what's left on the plate after someone has consumed what they like, dislike and don't want to consume any more of.

Keep posted.. I promise ill get around to all those michelin reviews sooner or later...

4 Michelin stars, 1 week

Preview on some restaurants I visited this week...

Motto De Gallo, 1 Michelin Star, Lugano, Switzerland, Executive Chef: Jose De La Iglesa



Mraz & Sohn, 1 Michelin Star, Wien, Osterreich, Executive Chef: Markus Mraz


Steirereck im Stadtpark, 2 Michelin Star, Wien, Austria, Executive Chef: Heinz Reitbauer


Motto De Gallo
Via Bicentenario 16
CH-6807 Taverne
Ticino
Tel:0041-919452871

Mraz & Sohn
Wallensteinstrasse 59
1200 Wien
Osterreich
Tel:00431-3304594

Steirereck im Stadtpark
Am Heumarkt 2A
im Stadtpark
A-1030 Wien
Osterreich
Tel:0043-17133168

Real Maize and Cebiche

Corn nowadays has been so genetically altered, it looks nothing like the thumb size, triangular Zea Mays that originated out of South America. Nowadays we are use to seeing perfectly neat pinky size rows of corn. The truth is, Zea Mays was not in perfect rows. In fact, original Zea Mays only had maybe 10 kernels on each stalk. One of the few places to still find beautiful un-adultered Zea Mays is in the Sacred Valley of Peru. A typical train snack, boiled Zea Mays, the size of your thumb can be bought for roughly 30 cents.

The starchy, meaty kernels, plucked off one by one, sweet & delicious make an incredible snack. The kernels, succulent and meaty- yes actually meaty in texture.. incredible!

The national dish of Peru is Cebiche. Cebiche is using the acid from limes to cause a chemical reaction "cooking" the protein. Cebiche can be made with all types of seafood and even some meat proteins. One of the most famous places to eat Cebiche is La Rosa Nautica. An instituion in Lima, La Rosa Nautica has been around since 1983, located on the amazing coastline of Mira Flores, Lima, built on the old pier 4- La Rosa Nautica is the place to be seen - and to watch surfers and enjoy a precisely, peruvian meal made from only the freshest and most local ( in fact La Rosa Nautica has their own farm!) produce coming only from Peru.

I was lucky enough to meet Chef De Cuisine Enrique Blondet who also gave me a kitchen tour- although churning out amazing amounts of covers, by utilizing only the freshest ingredients, produces a meal combined with the setting that anyone visiting Lima for the first time will enjoy. I had two plates of his Cebiche ( I was allergic to the Paella.. sooo Cebiche was my only option) in which he used local Zea Mays to add a different dimension of texture to the spicy, tangy Cebiche.

La Rosa Nautica

Espigon 4 Circuito De Playas

Lima 18, Peru

Tel: 511-445-0149

My FAVORITE restaurant

Can you blame a girl for wanting simple, traditional, really well cooked food? St. JOHN has never disappointed me. Small tapas style plates, beautifully executed dishes. The food is not fussy- it's just TASTY. We frequent the Spitafields location for its more casual atmosphere. The menu is split up into times- when the food will be ready. Main entrees usually are ready around 1, small plates around noon. Pay special attention to the chalkboard where specials are written. Once they are gone, THEY ARE GONE!
My favorite dish was the Black Pudding with prunes and bacon. The residual sauce was sopped up with St. John's fresh baked bread. The prunes, bacon and perfectly seasoned blood cake was so rich, so full of flavor- I realized how depressed I was to have to go back to Switzerland that day.
The Beet Salad with Goat Curd and Sorrel- classic flavors, light refreshing and of course seasoned well.

English tomatoes, Lovage and shallots. The marinated tomaotes with the shallots and freshness of the lovage made for an irresistible first plate. The tomatoes sweetness were enhanced by the lovage and marinated shallots. So simple yet so good. This is what food is SUPPOSE to be.
Deep had been talking about this one for ages! Foie Gras and Duck Liver toast, cornichons and sea salt. Rich, creamy.. who doesn't like Foie Gras?? Calories?? BRING IT ON. I ate ALL OF IT.

Dessert commenced with a Brown Bread Ice Cream. A creamy creme anglais base, slightly nutty with chunks of Brown bread spread throughout. I thought it would be interesting- the hardness of the crusty bread and the creamyness of the ice cream. I couldn't stop myself.. This was incredible!
Rice pudding with strawberry jam and a hunka butter. The Strawberry jam lent sweetness, the rice pudding creamy.

And of course, half a dozen freshly baked, just came out of the oven, crusty on the outside, moist on the inside St John's Madelines. No meal is every complete at St. JOHN without them.

St. JOHN has never disappointed me. From the bread to the small plates and of course the desserts ( here is a secret, their desserts are better then the main courses so SAVE ROOM FOR IT!!)

If you only have time for one meal in London, this is hand down, the one to go to.

St. JOHN Bread & Wine Spitafields
Reservations HIGHLY recommended
94-95 Commercial Street
London E16LZ
Tel: 0272510848

Ladies Who Lunch

I was fortunate enough to be able to go back to my old kitchen to have lunch. Starting with some bubbly in the Fumoir room, the atmosphere was relaxing (ok maybe a bit pretentious.. it is Gordon Ramsay @ Claridges after all darling!) leisurely lunch.

After being greeted by some more Ayala, Brut Majeur, NV, Britt and I settled on our menu.
Then the non stop food ensued for the next 4 hours. First up were canapes with truffled cream cheese and taramasalata. After that came special canapes- truffled asparagus balls, quail eggs on mini potato pancakes and courgette rolls. The caramelized onion bread and olive bread after that and then finally the amuse! Pumpkin soup with sour cream foam and BACON!
I opted for the hot smoked Cornish mackerel, baby gem,white grape and caper dressing. The smoked mackerel was just smoked (not overcooked like I've seen done soooo many times last year...)
Britt went for the salad of marinated Enligsh tomatoes, goat's cheese cream, fennel beignets, Noir de Bigorre Ham. She said that it was absolutely delicious (why yes, the food is SEASONED well for a change.. unlike what we get back in Bulle... )

We were then treated to Roasted Scottish Scallops, Panch Phoran Shallots with a sweetcorn veloute (Courtesy of Tucker's hot starter section.. you did good Tuckers)

For the main, both of us had the Sauteed fillets of Rye Bay Plaice, Razor Clams, pickled baby carrots, coriander veloute ( not shown, picture was blurry.. hey I was on my 4th glass of creamy champagne.. can you blame a girl???) Rouge picked out beautiful pieces of Plaice for us- the texture light and flakey, delicate and gorgeous with the coriander veloute.

We then got to take a little breather with a kitchen tour.

Upon returning, we were greated with New Season English Strawberry Bavarois, olive oil and black pepper ice cream- light, not too heavy and LOVED the black pepper ice cream.
Britt opted for the English plum tart, mirabelle and lemon ice cream
While chocolate loving me, went for the Bitter Chocolate Parfait, pink grapefruit sorbet. The best part was the crumb on the bottom of the parfait. The tartness of the grapefruit went beautifully with the bitterness of the chocolate.

We finished off with tiramsu and brandy truffles petite fours

and, another kitchen tour ( and of course I finally got to see Pete!)

It was a wonderful afternoon, beautifully executed food. Thank you so much!!

Gordon Ramsay @ Claridges

Reservations Mandatory

Best Deal in London: 3 course set lunch

40 Brook Street
London W1K 4HR
Tel: 02074990099
reservations@gordonramsay.com

Five Guys

One of the advantages to airports these days is that they aren't simply limited to the huge fast food chains. After boarding my airplane from Washington Dulles to JFK, we all got kicked off the airplane. This was a perfect chance for me to get some much needed, good old fashioned american burger and fries.
Five Guys is an institution here in Washington DC. With a variety of toppings, what Five Guys is REALLY famous for are their french fries. My burger was good.. not great. Needed seasoning but the melty sauteed onions, mushrooms and jalapenos... all the things I miss about America. I tried to limit myself on the french fries but OMG! these french fries were AMAZING! Crispy on the outside, moist and soft on the inside and full of flavor.
My take on five guys- go for the fries.. It's definetly worth the wait...

Five Guys
Numerous Locations including Washington Dulles Airport- in the commuter terminal.

Last Supper..

For my last meal before I headed off to Switzerland, I decided I really needed to get some good mexican grub.

Since Nick's Crispy Taco is in the city and I had a craving for Fish Tacos, this was the instant winner.
Needless to say- this is my favorite fish taco joint in SF. Yes, It is much better then Rubios. Needless to say if you use good ingredients, you just get good tasty grub.
The guacamole is delicious, creamy- everything I love about avocados.
One taco with their sweet, smoky, spicy hot sauce is always enough to fill me up. An obvious delicious last meal choice (besides Stan's donuts...)

Nick's Crispy Taco
1500 Broadway
San Francisco, CA 94109-2516
(415) 409-8226
just past broadway tunnel