Best après-ski dishes to try in the Alps 

One of the joys of skiing in the Alps has to be indulging in the local French food: warm, guilt-free, hearty meals. The rich cuisine found in the French Alps comes from a time when mountain settlements were isolated for months on end during heavy winters. Locals survived on the Alpine food they could produce themselves and that preserved well during the season. Since then, the recipes have been passed down through generations and are still served in homes and restaurants today. 

After a full day of shredding in the Alps, it makes perfect sense to crave the delights of the traditional mountain restaurants. When you’re burning thousands of calories, you can eat whatever takes your fancy, right? Delectable courses tend to feature a selection of meats and locally-made cheeses, while varieties of pastries are popular choices for dessert. As the cold wind of winter blows and the mercury drops, we’ve scoured France’s most delicious, wondrously cheese-laden dishes worth shredding all day long for. 

Tartiflette

This simple gratin recipe happens to be a top Alpine dish among the bravest skiers on the slopes. Tartiflette is just like gratin dauphinoise but upgraded to something more, with a Pollock-esque aspect and a bad reputation among cardiologists. It’s a pound of creamy crème fraiche-laden potatoes with onion, garlic, browned smoked bacon lardons and topped with a wheel of nutty reblochon cheese. It’s served with cornichons and a side of charcuterie, and while it may sound like a post-ski heart attack on a plate, Tartiflette is a must-try if you’re a cheese lover. 

To savour this otherworldly culinary experience in its truest form, Tartiflette is best enjoyed outside. The tempting conflux of melted cheese, soft potatoes and butter, and the distant scent of white wine mixing with garlic and bacon as the cold air blows around, creates clouds of the most inviting steam. 

Raclette

Thanks to its ooey-gooey appeal, raclette has become a cherished gustatory experience for Alpine adventurers. Present in various forms on sandwiches, burgers and more, raclette is even becoming a trendy frequent flyer at food markets around the world. But raclette has a rich history that began in the heart of the Alps where it was created to warm up after a long day on the slopes. The name originates from the French racler (to scrape), but it’s also known in Swiss German as Bratkäse, with little to no difference between the dishes.

Raclette is served as half a wheel of cheese, melted most often at the table over an open flame or heat lamp, and then satisfyingly scraped from the wheel onto a band of soft, boiled potatoes, pickled onions, and cornichons. Always ensure the cheese wasn’t melted before it arrived at your table: food-poisoning cases in the Alps are scarce but it doesn’t mean they’re not possible. Also, make sure you or another family member doesn’t have lactose intolerance or dairy allergies. As the experts from LegalExpert.co.uk explain: “Any food-poisoning incident or an allergic reaction to dairy products due to staff negligence entitles people to seek immediate compensation claim advice.” 

Käsespätzle

If this isn’t comforting food at its pinnacle, we don’t know what is. Käsespätzle are noodles prepared with caramelised onions, covered with cheese and served in a pan. The dish is 50% Spätzle (a traditional Germanic egg pasta), which is baked between copious layers of regional cheeses (often Emmental) and sometimes served with a side of sauerkraut. Picture a grown-up mac and cheese baked until it becomes crispy and gooey at the same time. 

The perfect dish for wintertime, this German variant of the American staple is massively popular in the Alpine regions of Switzerland and Austria. It’s not too hard to find a place that serves it, and with just one bite full of cheesy dumplings, you will no doubt be convinced of the taste that can come from simple, peasant-style cooking. 

Fondue

Few dishes are so associated with a location as fondue with the French Alps. After a long day in the snowy outdoors, there’s nothing that warms you up better than a delicious fondue. It’s ideal for sharing après-ski or when on holiday in the Alpine towns: the stringy, gooey cheese pulls everyone together in a lickety-split. 

Fondue is made of all kinds of cheeses, depending on the region where they’re serving it. The most popular fondue dishes are those found in the Savoie region of France, where different assortments of cheese are paired with perfectly baked, crispy French bread. One could simply not go to the French region of Savoie without trying a Fondue Savoyarde. If you are round, have a pop by La Fromagerie. 

Diots

Another absolute must when you step into the Alpine region is a taste of traditional Savoyard sausages. Locals have enjoyed diots for generations, consisting of Savoy pork sausages, smoked, plain or with cabbage, flavoured with nutmeg.

These sausages contain only 30% fat, are very light and can be served boiled or grilled, but they are usually cooked in red or white wine. If you’re eating hot diots, the traditional garnish will be boiled potatoes, polenta and Crozets (local buckwheat pasta). Enjoy with a glass of white wine – in moderation, of course. 

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