Fondue, raclette, tartiflette - what next?

A snowHead

The Savoyarde specialities of Fondue (Savoyarde/Bourguinone), Raclette, and Tartiflette seem to have cornered the idea of ‘ski fare’.

There are others, such as Reblochonnade, Mont d’Or, Croziflette, Pierre Chaud, Savoyardesque pizza/burger, etc.

Apparently, just as the UK’s ‘Ploughman’s lunch’ was invented by the milk marketing board to help drain the milk lake, so Raclette and Fondue were invented to do the equivalent for French cheese producers. Although, it is of course more comforting to imagine that in a bygone era desperately famished alpine shepherds would melt all their leftover bits of cheese and dip stale bits of bread into the resulting gloop (see
http://youtube.com/v/G8WXcI3hpng ), or similarly, would set a mouldy old half moon of cheese by the fire and scrape the surface melt onto some spuds.

So it seems that the classic ski fare is supposed to be a meal that the mountain folk would rustle up, a la
Belle & Sebastian.

As the days of rustic mountain folk have pretty much disappeared, I guess that means we can no longer look to them to come up with new dishes.

There are thus two possibilities for a new dish:
1) Ski caterers come up with something themselves, e.g. a chicken breast stuffed with reblochon, or
2) Someone imagines what rustic shepherds might have also come up with one day, e.g. French onion soup/fondue into which one dunks croutons covered in melted raclette.

Do YOU think there will ever be a new dish that will gradually find itself considered a peer of fondue/raclette/tartiflette?

Maybe there is already an up and coming dish that is a good candidate? Do you know of such a thing?

Of course, there are many Savoyarde specialities I haven’t mentioned, but what we’re looking for is a dish that will be accepted as a ‘go to’ main course for the average skier.

A snowHead

Marmite should be incorporated into any of the above cheesey delights.

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I spent the school year 1976 - 77 as a language assistant in a town in Haute Savoie. To make me welcome I was invited to lots of peoples’ houses each of whom wanted to give me the “speciality of the region” which turned out to be cheese fondue. I got sick eating the bloody stuff but each was different ranging from the school headmaster whose fondue was 90% cheese, 10% alcohol to the local rugby club whose offering was 90% alcohol, 10% cheese.

I also had raclette a few times and that was also presented as a traditional dish.

However, there was one thing that I never had at any point and that was the abomination that is tartiflette. It really is true that somebody invented it so if they can do it once they can do it again

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"Tartiflette was first mentioned in a 1705 book, Le Cuisinier Royal et Bourgeois, written by François Massialot and his assistant cook B. Mathieu."

Wikipedia, so it must be true.

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To answer the question, how about Welsh Rarebit?

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Vegan fondue?

After all it is free

Do people really find Raclette cheese so delicious that they think a puddle of melted cheese (with a few gherkins on the side) is a good meal? I don't get it. And, on the other end of the scale, why ruin a truly delectable cheese like Reblochon by turning it into the most indigestible and greasy combo on the planet? A good Welsh Rarebit, using a good Cheddar or similar, is a different matter altogether - restrained, and delicious.

@Gordyjh, funnily enough, we had this as the plat du jour in a restaurant in Flumet (near Megeve) a couple of years ago. It was simply titled "Welsh" on the menu, and was the best Welsh rarebit I've ever had!

I even have a photo:

€14.50 for starter, main course, dessert and hot drink... who says France is expensive? Very Happy

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@crosbie, with a nod towards the environment, how about an Idiotette Casserole?

For 4 people. 8 Savoyarde Diot sausages, 500ml of stock, stir in a selection of ingredients from this week’s recycling box, mix well, season to taste, 6 hours in slow cooker.

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@denfinella, yum

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@denfinella, 'Welsh' is often found on the menu in Northern French brasseries.

What you need is a food stuff found abundantly in ski resorts.

Parisian handbag dog cassoulet?

Kentucky Fried Choucas?

You know it makes sense.

visit Italy

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@Hells Bells, OK that makes more sense now. At the time we thought it was very random indeed! Is it actually called Welsh as a reference to Welsh rarebit, or is it something different? It's not really possible to Google it!

A snowHead

It appears that all these well known concoctions involve a little "cheese theatre " with attendant equipment, scene setting, build up, and ultimately consume it. Works quoie well while people have a yak about the day's skiing while drinking Very Happy

Have had "Beaufort Ravioli " delivered in a big pan to sit on a block of wood in table centre. Just order for how many people and they make it to size, served with rustic bread, green salad etc. Made in a small ancient mountain hut by staff that sometimes wear viking helmets, if you know where to get it Laughing

very good to and the first lunch I get when there.

A snowHead

@denfinella, Welsh Rabbit was improved by the French to give us Croque Monsieur (& Madamme), and no doubt Savoyarde chefs can utilise Raclette/Comte/Beaufort/Reblochon and local bread and Jambon Cru to make it a tad more alpine.

It could be thought of as the lazy man's meal, i.e. "We've put the alpine bread, ham, and cheese all together for you, so you don't have to faff around scraping or dipping - all you have to do is cut it and stuff it"

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@PeakyB, could well be flavoursome, and you could even overload it until it becomes like cassoulet. However, it needs something added in the bread/cheese/potato department. You might be able to do some kind of combo between Diots and 'toad-in-the-hole' and/or Tartiflette. Then again, perhaps you could grill a tray load of raclette and when molten bung a load of diots on top of the gloop? Alternatively, perhaps Savoyarde fondue into which one dips slices of grilled diot?

It's got to be highly calorific, tasty, and ideally, as @ski3 observes, require some kind of apparatus (or excitement such as flambé) or diner participation (dipping/scraping/toasting/etc.).

Deep fried crispy aromatic duck (or lamb) is a comparable palaver (manual assembly of pancakes, spring onion, cucumber, plum sauce, etc.).

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While buying cold cold preserved Doits in Normandy, I couldn't remember how to ask for them to be cut into slices so asked for them to be "guillotined" which they thought was highly amusing, luckily for me.

So maybe a guillotined Doits approach could be worked in Very Happy

for a sense of drama and historical / political intrigue.

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I used to be a waiter at a French restaurant in Manchester, and by far the most popular afternoon dish was the elegantly named 'Croque Monsieur'.

Mr Crunchy

Doesn't sound so elegant now....

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@rdsweb, The one thing about tartiflette is once you wipe your brain of the "tradition" you can have a lot of fun with the basic idea of potato + savory meat product + one or more from the amaryllidaceae family + cream + cheese (more than one type . . . 1000 day old Gouda is spectacular) + alcohol

Try deep fried beer battered onion pieces well sprinkled with the above grated Gouda and flashed off under the grill to finish rather than a layer of soggy cheese

Oh and chuncks of spicy sausage rather than 'lardons'

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After all it is free

Last time I had raclette was two years ago. I think it's now fully digested with about two weeks before I lose the next "who wants raclette tonight?" vote.
And why eat tartiflette for lunch when you can have a salad? Savoyard salads are varied, healthy delicious and very filling.

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"Fondue, raclette, tartiflette - what next?"

Heart attack?

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@tsgsh, surely salad is for near the end of the week when your body suddenly realises it can't exist on cheese, pork products, bread and steak alone? Little Angel

In terms of ski food perfection on mountain is the Polish way - a massive, meaty, smoked then grilled sausage with a couple of bits of rye bread and dollops of ketchup and mustard. Messy, hot, satisfying. So I'm going to say that the next big thing should be outdoor grills up the hill. snowHead

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Tartiflette pizza - when you need extra carbs Cool

You know it makes sense.

Speaking as a rustic savoyarde Shepherd wink

, I'd say spare a thought for our poor American cousins. God forbid we'd have to survive on pizza by the slice, burgers, flacid tacos and that god awful sweet non-alcoholic "cider" they have to put up with; churned out by the chairlift company in a self-service aircraft hangar. All hail the molten cheese, lardons, sliced spuds, vin-chaud and poire williams, it's what made the Alps great! snowHead

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

A snowHead

@ski3, they're called diots.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

OP

I think you need to do some research on Peasent Food or European Folks who had no money

For example

Fondue
Pizza
Grõstl

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

For the really serious suasage eater, there are Andouillettes, which should only be attempted by lovers of offal and tripe (and in a well ventilated or unpopulated area).

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Anybody had Flammekueche? It’s a bit like Belgian(?) / Northern French pizza. The 3 Brasseurs chain serve them a lot. There is even a Savoyard one

https://www.3brasseurs.com/flammekueches-3

After all it is free

@SBP, Harsh . . . but mea culpa (ooofoook more latin Shocked

) It's more a habit than any ego augmentation. Along with a penchant for cold soup, my grandad who was a serious competitive grower of onions and all its family got me hard-wired from an early age . . . and that is the limit of my plant based latin Embarassed

But I really do love all the Allium family Toofy Grin

Can you imagine any cusine without onions?

@Hurtle, You know I love you but sometimes a closed mind can . . . deprive a pleasure wink

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Help!!

Fondue, raclette, tartiflette - what next?

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