 Poster: A snowHead
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Just wondering what your experiences have been on ski trips
I'm not 100% a non meat eater yet but feel I'm heading that way! I had decided that I would still eat meat on odd occasions but last time we went out and I didn't fancy the veggie option ordered meat and couldn't face it! So may not be up for a week of meat eating when skiing!
Am staying in La Cachette in Les Arcs in Jan - any non meat eaters been there? And yet to book somewhere for March but it will be a chalet or hotel in France or Itlay (possibly Les Menuires or Val Thorens if any recommendations).
just wondering if you tend to get ok meals for veggies or is it an omelette every night! I thought I'd be best telling the hotel staff that I don't eat meat at all than maybe having some once or twice and then not wanting it!
An added complication is I don't eat fish at all (never been able to)
Good to hear about any experiences,
Thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Relax, you will be in France! Warm salads (goat cheese is my favourite) or a nice pasta, o hearty soup. Mountain food is cheese and meat, but options in big resorts are many. Never been disapointed. In AT it would be more difficult, but in France you would need to be very unlucky of not having a choice.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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In a catered chalet it can vary enormously, depending on the skill and enthusiasm of the cook! If you are not bothered by cheese having animal rennet in it- which I would guess is the majority of traditional cheese served in the mountains (full strict veggies would want to pass on that) you should be fine. As mooney058, says, lots of nice pasta, soups (though could be made with chicken stock), quality pizzas and salads. If you can stomach small bits of bacon/ lardons, then your options open up a bit more to spag carbonara, tartiflette etc.
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| Perty wrote: |
| In a catered chalet it can vary enormously, depending on the skill and enthusiasm of the cook! If you are not bothered by cheese having animal rennet in it- which I would guess is the majority of traditional cheese served in the mountains (full strict veggies would want to pass on that) you should be fine. As mooney058, says, lots of nice pasta, soups (though could be made with chicken stock), quality pizzas and salads. If you can stomach small bits of bacon/ lardons, then your options open up a bit more to spag carbonara, tartiflette etc. |
Oh yes, pizza as well - just remembered - this February in St Foy I had one of the best pizza's ever in a place run by English people - pizza with beetroot and goat cheese ... it was simply faboulous (and I like my food, i like traditional and modern and am guite choosy). But it was simply delicious 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Thanks for the replies
mooney058, Sounds good goats cheese is my favourite!
Perty, No not fussy about stocks used etc and will be okay with small bits of bacon or something in pasta
We've never braved a chalet yet and always done hotels as always felt the food quality is more reliable- hope to do a hotel in March but as may be a bearer the time booking may have to keep the options more open!
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Vegetarian is normally fine in chalets, I've stayed in a few with Veggie people in the group and they've said how delicious the food has been. But... saying that, we like to stay in places where there is an actual chef (trained with qualifications) rather than some random employed in a cooking role masquerading as a chef because he gets paid to cook - the two are very different, and as a result we always ask questions about who will be cooking our food. I'm not leaving it up to chance!
like anything a little research in to what you'd like to get goes a long way, and (for me anyway) if I have to pay a little extra to ensure quality... I will pay... I don't want holiday nightmares like some of my other friends have had!
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As long as you are fine with mushrooms and cheese there is no problem for veggies.
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All that lovely meat is from vegetarians, can't say the same about fish though.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I'm surprised by some of the comments on this. My partner is a strict veggie and finding suitable food in France is always a challenge. It's not uncommon for what is on the menu that appears to be veggie to come with a large portion of undeclared lardons.
Having said that hotels are worse than chalets and a good chalet chef will deliver a varied menu for all diets. Many hotels we have stayed in have been unable to offer any vegetarian options. I would check with the hotel before booking to make sure it's not a problem.
It is getting better but finding a veggie option in France has never been very easy. Lets face it it is the ONLY country where you cannot buy Quorn and the selection of veggie products in the supermarket is usually very small. When eating out look for Lebanese or North African places where vegetarian is culturally an option otherwise be prepared to live on mushroom omelets, bland pizzas and cheese fondue as long as you don't mind the rennet.
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I've never had any issues, even in meat-eating strongholds like France and Austria. Obviously it helps that I speak enough of the language to be able to convey my dietary preferences. You may sometimes find there is nothing suitable on the menu, but some dishes can be adapted (and often at a fraction of the original cost!). If you're going to a chalet or hotel you shouldn't have any issues at all, they are usually very used to dealing with varied dietary restrictions and in this day and age vegetarianism is hardly uncommon.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I've never seen a full-on veggie section like you get in the UK, but Sojasun products do turn up in odd places amongst the meat, even in mountain supermarkets.
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Is it good or bad that supermarkets in FR are different to the UK ones ...  omg
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You know it makes sense.
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Personally I tend to like the supermarkets abroad more than ours. Better selection of ingredients and produce, far less reliance on packaged processed foods. To me veggie products are vegetables, not processed vegetarian ready meals.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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We're essentially veggie when skiing (no halal meat in them Alps), and have found it a bit of a mixed bag. In resort, there tends to be enough options, but the meals can get a bit repetitive (pizza 2-3 times a week not uncommon). Up on the mountain, though, the choices are much more limited and we've tended to stick to simple veggie pastas and fries.
Never stayed in a chalet, but stayed in Rascard Frantze in Champoluc last season, which was similar in that all the residents ate there every night. We made the mistake of not telling the hosts we couldn't have meat before we came. First night was omelettes, but thereafter they managed to serve up lovely, varied dishes - a combo of salads, pastas, soups and egg dishes. Some of the choices even tempted the meat eaters away from their fare. However, a fellow veggie guest said that in a hotel in town she had stayed in, all they would offer her was eggs - guess it all depends on the willingness of the chefs to be flexible. Probably best to check with the chalet company how accomodating their chefs are likely to be.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Chalet always been fine, hotels\mountain restaurants varies
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Hi MCL,
I would tend to repeat what some of the others have said here.
- In UK run catered chalets or hotels you should have no problem getting nice, suitable veggie options
- Eating out it is more difficult than you would expect to find nice, balanced veggie food. In particular as a previous poster has said salads, pizzas, omlettes etc often have "hidden" lardons and soups etc are made with meat stock, most cheeses contains animal rennet and most cheese meals (eg fondu) are served with cold meats.
- When ordering in a restaurant/french run hotel etc it is a good idea to specify exactly what you eat (eg I don't eat meat, fish or bacon or meat stock of any kind) rather than saying "I am vegetarian" which sometimes confuses french chefs - it is much less common in france than in the uk. When confused they often just serve meat ingredients regardless!
- Most restaurants have their menus up outside which is useful for veggie checks before you go in and sit down
- Usually restaurants in resort (as opposed to up the mountain) cook to order so you can usually order eg a pizza and ask to have no ham etc.
It's a bit of an aside suggul, but did you know you can buy halal meat in most of the big french supermarkets (it's stocked with the rest of the meat and has a green lable on and says halal) if you're self catering? But often not in resort supermarkets so maybe worth stopping in the valley on your way up the hill?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Eating out has never been a problem if you speak at leaset some basic local language. Reading menu is one thing, however in most cases cheffs are accomodating, especially if they understand what you want and you can explain it in basic French. My wife is not a vegetarian but she prefers vegeterial food - vegetarian not by conviction, but because she prefers it that way most of time - even if the menu did not specify vegetarian options, we always managed to get something decent even in traditional Savoyard restaurants - without bacon etc.
Sometimes restos offer set menus (like the NY menu or similar) then of course without prior booking it would be hard to expect something decent if it was not planned in advance - 'normal' FR cheffs would not be usualy stocking 'ready made' alterantives as they rely on fresh produce available, thus choice might look limited, but this is how it usualy works in France.
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I'm gluten free and Mrs A is veggie ('cos meat sets off her arthritis) so, together, we're quite a catering challenge.
In a chatered chalet with a British TO we have no problem. The chefs usually welcome the opportunity to try something new.
However, in 'wilder' France things can be more difficult. No bones about it, the French eat meat and many cannot understand why anyone wouldn't want to. We went to a smartish restaurant in Bourg d'Oisans to celebrate completing the GR54. Mrs A liked the sound of one of the items on the menu and asked the waitress (in French) if it would be okay as she didn't eat meat. It's fine was the reply. Of course a plate appeared that was half charcuterie. The waitress was genuinely flumoxed by Mrs A's response. It seems that processed meat doesn't count as meat!
Mrs A will eat fish but often that is the only non-meat option on a menu. Be warned!
French menus can be a challenge too with many of the items just given their regional names which are meaningless to most from outside France.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I agree that a good chalet will give you better veggie options than many French hotels. Cannot understand comments about supermarkets. Plenty of veg and fruit, huge selection of fish compared to a UK supermarket and loads of halal. Always surprises me that the shops and markets are full of wonderful veg but it's rare to get them in a restaurant. We had wonderful tasty globe artichokes lasted night. The obvious solution for any special dietary needs might be to self cater and explore what the local caterers have to offer. Even small French resorts will have at least one.
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| Quote: |
huge selection of fish
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Which isn't always eaten by veggies - meat is murder, but fish is justifiable homicide
But agree if you're self-catering can't see how you'd ever be stuck in France
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pam w, Couldn't agree with you more. In Switzerland our veg and fruit section in our local supermarket is like a giant market garden, I would definitely self cater if its such a problem you know what you're getting. Chalets tend to be accommodating with dietary requirements though (having worked in many years ago). I have been spoilt with choice over the last few weeks, have made some lovely jam today using local figs.
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Anyone else reading this and now fancy a steak 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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suggul, for Halal meat you should come to Serre Chevalier, the supermarket in Briancon nearby is well-stocked with Halal produce.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Snow and Sunshine, pam w, Hells Bells, thanks for that. I had no idea there was a lot of halal meat in French supermarkets. Not skied in France yet, but the plan was Serre Chevalier this season. The info on the supermarket in Briancon has reinforced my decision!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Apparently, there's a lot of Halal meat in British supermarkets too only it's not labelled as such for commercial reasons.
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pam w, the theory I heard is that French people tend eat lots of lovely vegetable dishes at home, but when they go out for dinner they want a 'treat' and have something meaty. Vegetables aren't considered as 'special' in the same way.
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You know it makes sense.
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Whenever we've stayed in chalets or hotels in France vegetarians have always been well catered for. However, my son and his girlfriend ran an Inghams chalet last winter, and whilst they catered for all dietary options, they were often embarrassed by what they had to serve to the vegetarians, and they were not allowed to vary from the menu they had been told to serve. So probably better to avoid the big tour operators.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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We stayed in Hotel Aiguille Rouge in les arcs last year - the food was buffet style, with masses of veggie options. Couldn't fault it and really enjoyed it!
Ditto in La Plagne the previous year in hotel Terra Nova.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Interesting thread. My son and I are both veggie, and I prefer vegan low carb...a nightmare I know! I'm a Food Consultant - Vegetarian/Vegan Specialist (not making it up, but am prepared and armed for jovial banter).
Anyway, am travelling out to France in a few days to work in La Tania, consulting for a British family run chalet company called Snow Retreat. They already serve great food, but really want to improve their full on veggie menu (not just bean chilli and omelettes) and even have an all Veggie Ski week available. We're also going for Vegetarian Society accreditation, which I've worked on for my business and others previously.
With French legislation and red tape around food safety and freezing prepared food in house (not widely known), it creates a number of hurdles when designing menus. If there's only 1 non meat eater in the party, that person needs to be catered for on an individual basis daily. Tricky eh?
So am beavering away here doing recipe work in preparation for working along side them collaboratively in France. There's lots of other companies interested so it's only a matter of time. With that, I'm always researching what other companies are upto. It's hit and miss. I think as for eating out @Snow and Sunshine, has the right idea...tell them what you can't eat. Much easier, and best to say 'can't' over 'don't'.
Anyway, great thread....hope it's ok for me join 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Just eat CHEESE FONDUE every night, sounds amazing!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| Quote: |
Just eat CHEESE FONDUE every night, sounds amazing!
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I suspect that most of the cheeses used in fondue contain rennet ruling them out for vegetarians
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Have stayed in many chalets over the years (mostly with Ski Olympic and Silver Ski) and they have always been used to catering for veggies, providing a good variety. Though not vegetarians ourselves we have sometimes asked for the veggie option if we didn't fancy the meat dish (and like the OP I cannot stand fish).
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