Rhone Alpes

Raclette (Cheese Dish): The name "raclette" was then derived from the French word "racler" meaning to scrape. Indeed, the particularity of this mountain meal is that you "scrape" the cheese onto your plate, covering the accompaniments. It was first a meal for the farmers and dairymen in the Valais canton of Switzerland who would melt the local raclette cheese by campfire or hearth and enjoy it with potatoes, charcuterie and pickles. Raclette cheese was chosen as it has a creamy consistency which easily melts: when its surface begins to brown, the first layer of this soft cheese can be "scraped" and poured onto a plate with the specific raclette scraper. Traditionally, apart from small steamed potatoes and local French pork products, the raclette is accompanied with gherkins, pickled onions, dried meat, Bayonne or Parma ham, sliced peppers or tomatoes and seasoned with paprika or any Provencal herbs.

Savoyarde Cheese Fondue

Tartiflette Potato Gratin

Lyon Quenelle de Brochet: The well-known quenelles from Lyon are famous for their delicate mousse consistency and subtle taste of fish. The word "quenelle" is believed to originate from the German "knödel" meaning dumpling, but the Lyon recette has actually no equivalent in other countries - and even in French gastronomy. The quenelles de brochet indeed represent the authentic Lyonnais cooking, made out with really local ingredients amongst which pike, usually fished in Rhône-Alpes streams, and free-range eggs from the neighbouring French region of Bresse renowned for its quality poultry. Freshwater crayfish is another essential element of the quenelle dish since it composes the creamy Nantua sauce traditionally accompanying the pike dumplings.

Nougat Candy from Montelimar