Forget Paris, the best of French gastronomy is in Savoy

Father and son, René and Maxime Meilleur who run the lauded La Bouitte restaurant. – AFP Relaxnews, September 22, 2015. For the best representation of French gastronomy, the results of the 2015 edition of Chef of the Year suggest bypassing Paris and Lyon – traditionally known as the culinary capitals of France – and heading to the Savoy region, where a father and son team have just taken the auspicious title for their cuisine at La Bouitte.

Seven months after earning their third Michelin star, Rene and Maxime Meilleur have received another ringing endorsement and validation from, perhaps the most demanding and discriminating critics in France: fellow chefs.

Because the title of Chef of the Year, organized by French food magazine Le Chef, is based on the votes of 6,000 of their fellow chef confrères, who are asked to vote for the person (or in this case, persons) who in their eyes best represents the values of French gastronomy.

Set in the heart of Savoy in the southeast of France, La Bouitte is part of the family’s luxury ski chalet serving the world’s largest ski area, Les Trois Vallees.

The father and son duo describe their cooking as “a hymn” to the products of the Savoy valley, with dishes that revive old Savoyard foods like crozet (small, pasta-like shapes made of sarrasin flour or durum wheat), and giving it the risotto treatment, topping it with beaufort cheese, chanterelles and wild sorrel mushrooms.

Lightly poached trout is bathed in an acidic, frothy butter sauce and local summer strawberries are served with double cream and iced strawberry wine.

Meanwhile, theirs is not an overnight success story.

Before it became the fine dining restaurant it is today, La Bouitte opened on what used to be a potato farm, serving traditional wintry Savoyard dishes like raclette. But in 1985, the elder Meilleur – which incidentally means “best” in French – turned the restaurant into a kitchen laboratory for new ideas.

Their cooking earned the attention of Michelin inspectors who awarded the restaurant with its first star in 2003, and a second star five years later.

In February, the restaurant was given the full regalia with three Michelin stars.

In addition to Chef of the Year, industry players named Cedric Grolet of the iconic luxury hotel Le Meurice in Paris the best pastry chef of the year.

This is a big week in the world of French gastronomy. In addition to the nationwide food event, Tous au Restaurant (which loosely translated means, “everyone, head to a restaurant,”) that kicks off September 21 and runs through October 4,  the winner of the Bocuse d’Or France will be chosen Tuesday night. – AFP Relaxnews, September 22, 2015.