This text is part of the special book Plaisirs
For six years, author Meredith Erickson has traveled the Alps, from Austria to France, via Switzerland and Italy to list, tell and share the best of alpine cuisine. Interview against a backdrop of comforting recipes, exciting encounters and must-see places to visit, in winter as in summer.
Why did you write about alpine cuisine?
I started visiting the Alps around 2011, when I was working with Fred [Morin] and Dave [McMillan]. I remember going to Austria and Italy and eating incredibly well at altitude. There was fresh pasta, local sausages and amazing wine lists. So I wanted to make a travel diary to transcribe all the experiences I had just had. If writing a book like Joe Beef took me a good two years, this one took me more like six or seven years, because I realized that if I was doing it, it was to write THE book. I wanted to talk about four countries: Austria, Italy, Switzerland and France, and include maps, good addresses… So this project has become a kind of beautiful monster.
In your opinion, what distinguishes the four countries visited?
Each country was completely different. In Austrian Alpine cuisine, for example, there is a lot of sterling silver, and the service is very thorough. When it comes to cooking, we often think of kaiserschmarrn, a fluffy, chopped pancake served in a frying pan. You can serve it savory, but it is usually served sweet with plum compote. But basically, it’s a Viennese dish.
In Switzerland, the cuisine is very authentic and extremely local. If you make fondue or raclette in Switzerland, you will go to a shop where you will be told that a certain cheese is made from the milk of some 300 cows in the region. This is what makes the fondue and cheese from over there so unique and personalized.
On the Italian side, there is the Aosta Valley and Piedmont in the northwest, where wines and honeys are very interesting. And on the other side are the Dolomites, where there are all the orchards. In this area, I sampled bread soup at El Brite restaurant in Larieto. This is one of the dishes I liked the most there. The soup is made of bread and chicory with a poached egg on top. It’s delicious and rustic, yet elegant and unexpected at the same time.
In France, it’s much more rustic. As I am originally from Montreal, this cuisine obviously has a special place in my heart. When I think of the Savoyards, there is this “mother’s cooking” aspect. Everything is big, everything is well buttered and delicious. The generosity and hospitality of the people are exceptional. There are also many different vermouths and alpine liqueurs, such as chartreuse, the alpine liqueur par excellence!
Each country brings something unique to the landscape and cuisine of the Alps.
What do you remember from your encounters with the chefs and craftsmen of the Alps?
That the mountain is accessible to everyone! The Alps often have the reputation of being a luxury destination. However, there are very humble people there and sometimes even people who never come down from the mountain during the whole winter season.
So my writing process was to see everything and try everything. If you’re in your twenties, I want to make sure you’ll have an amazing stay while staying within your budget. If you go for a 70and birthday and it’s the trip of your life, I’ve also planned something accordingly.
This book is a travel diary and it is supposed to inspire you for a long time, so that you can create all kinds of itineraries. I wrote it to make people happy. My wish is that as they go through it, they feel a little sunshine and a little hope as the pages go by.