The three great classics of the Savoyard table are not interchangeable once you take into account the size of your party, its appetite and the time you have. Here is how to decide without getting it wrong.
Tartiflette: the easiest to share
Tartiflette is a baked dish: potatoes, bacon, onions, cream, and a Reblochon cut in half through its thickness and laid rind upwards. It arrives at the table ready, is served onto plates, and suits one person as well as a full table.
It is the most flexible choice. No minimum number of diners, nothing to handle yourself, a meal of around an hour. Served with a green salad, it is more than enough as a single course after a day of skiing.
One piece of history often surprises people: tartiflette is not an ancestral dish. It was popularised in the 1980s by the Reblochon producers’ association to support cheese sales. Its ancestor, the péla, had on the other hand been cooked for a very long time in a long handled pan. We tell that story in full in our article on Reblochon AOP and tartiflette.
Raclette: the most sociable, and the longest
Raclette assumes at least two people and an hour and a half ahead of you. Each person melts their own cheese, the table serves itself as it goes, the conversation settles in. It is less a dish than a format for an evening.
The cheese makes all the difference. A raw milk raclette from Savoie has a length on the palate that no industrial version comes close to. Here it is served with potatoes and charcuterie, for two people upwards, at €39 per person.
A word of caution: raclette fills you up more slowly than you expect. The temptation is to pile on slices at the start and then stall. Better to begin gently; the fullness arrives after about twenty minutes.
Pierrade: the lightest of the three
Pierrade escapes the all cheese question. Beef, chicken and veal cook on a hot stone set on the table, served with raw vegetables and chips. It is the option for a table where somebody cannot face very rich food, or where you have had several days of cheese already.
It also asks for participation: everyone cooks their own meat, you eat in small quantities, the meal stretches out. Allow two people minimum and an hour and a half, as for raclette.
It is worth knowing how much food each of the three actually represents. A tartiflette is built on roughly 200 grams of potato and a quarter of a Reblochon per person, which is filling but finite. A raclette has no natural end: you keep going until you stop, and most people eat between six and eight slices of cheese. A pierrade sits lowest of the three, since the meat is lean and the vegetables take up part of the plate. If one of you wants a light evening and the other has skied since nine in the morning, the pierrade is the dish that accommodates both without compromise.
The decision, in short
Choose the tartiflette if you are one or two, if you want to eat quickly, or if you would rather not cook at the table. Choose the raclette if there are at least two of you, the evening is free, and the cheese is what you came for. Choose the pierrade if your table has appetites that differ or if you are coming off three days of specialities.
All three appear on our dinner menu. At lunch only the tartiflette is offered: raclette and pierrade take too long for a meal squeezed between two descents.
The cheeses worth knowing
Four protected names dominate the cheeses of Savoie. Reblochon, mild and creamy, the base of tartiflette. Beaufort, firm and fruity, known as the prince of gruyères and ideal for fondue. Abondance, more rustic. And Tomme de Savoie, gentler, often served at the end of a meal.
The site of the AOP cheeses of Savoie sets out the production areas and the maturing seasons. The point to remember is this: a mountain pasture cheese made in summer tastes more complex than a winter one, because the cows have eaten flowering grass rather than hay.
What to drink with them
With a tartiflette, a lively Savoie white cuts through the fat: roussette, jacquère, or a taut apremont. With a raclette, the same logic applies, with a preference for fuller whites. With a pierrade, a light red made from mondeuse works better.
The classic mistake is to open a powerful red alongside a dish of melted cheese: the tannins and the fat fight each other, and both lose. We set out these pairings in detail in our article on Savoie wines and food. If you want to plan an evening around one of the three, the simplest route is to say so when you book, on +33 (0)4 79 00 10 40, since raclette and pierrade are prepared to order and the equipment has to be set up on your table before you sit down.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between tartiflette and péla?
The péla is the ancestor: potatoes and cheese cooked in a long handled pan, without cream. Tartiflette, which is more recent, is baked in the oven with cream and bacon, and calls for a whole Reblochon.
How many people are needed for a raclette or a pierrade?
Two people minimum for either, because of the equipment and the quantities involved. Tartiflette, by contrast, is served by the portion.
Which Savoyard speciality works at lunchtime?
The tartiflette, served with a salad. Raclette and pierrade take an hour and a half and sit heavily before you go back out on the pistes.
Can you eat Savoyard food as a vegetarian?
Yes: the tartiflette can be made without bacon on request, and both fondue and raclette are meat free by nature once you set aside the charcuterie served alongside. Our guide to vegetarian eating in Val Thorens covers the rest of the menu.