Mountain cooking has a reputation as a kingdom of cured pork. That is partly fair, but Alpine tradition and Italian cooking between them offer a great deal without meat.
The mountains are less carnivorous than they look
Historically, meat was scarce in the Alpine valleys. Daily eating rested on starch, dairy and storable vegetables: potatoes, cabbage, squash, chestnuts. Charcuterie was a winter protein reserve, eaten in small quantities rather than by the plateful.
The great Savoyard dishes now associated with resort dining, fondue, raclette and berthoud, are in their basic form meat-free. Fondue is melted cheese and white wine; raclette is a half wheel of cheese melted and scraped over potatoes; berthoud is Abondance cheese baked with white wine. It is the plate of charcuterie added alongside by restaurants that tipped them the other way.
The Savoyard dishes that work
Fondue is vegetarian by nature: cheese, white wine, garlic, bread. Raclette is too, if you set aside the charcuterie and ask for more potatoes and cornichons instead.
Tartiflette, the baked gratin of potatoes, onions, bacon and Reblochon, traditionally contains lardons, but it is perfectly good without them. The version without bacon is milder and arguably shows the Reblochon to better advantage. Ask when you order: the dish is cooked to order, so it presents no difficulty.
One detail is easy to miss. Several pressed and washed rind cheeses are made with animal rennet, Reblochon, Beaufort and most Savoyard AOP cheeses among them. Strict vegetarians who exclude rennet need to know that before ordering a fondue.
The Italian side is simpler still
Italian cooking makes matters considerably easier. A margherita, a vegetable pizza, melanzane alla parmigiana, gnocchi in a cheese sauce, a mushroom risotto: these are complete dishes in their own right, not side plates hurriedly promoted to main course.
On our own list, the melanzane alla parmigiana, the risotto ai funghi, the burrata and several pizzas contain no meat. The burger comes in a vegetarian version as well. There is no separate menu, because the main carte already lends itself to it.
The traps worth knowing
Three ingredients regularly slip past. Chicken stock, in risottos and some soups. Anchovies, in a napoletana of course, but also in certain sauces and in maître d’hôtel butter. Gelatine, in a few mass-produced desserts.
The only reliable way to avoid them is to say so, plainly, when you order. Properly trained staff will check with the kitchen without fuss, and that is far more effective than trying to deduce it from the wording of a menu.
Vegan is harder in a ski resort
Veganism is markedly more difficult in the mountains, where cheese and butter are everywhere. A pizza without mozzarella, pasta with tomato sauce, a mixed salad without cheese all remain possible, but the choice narrows quickly.
The practical advice is to call ahead, or to flag it when you book. Given twenty-four hours’ notice, a kitchen can plan something proper rather than improvising a plate of vegetables. The association Vegan France lists suitable addresses, still thin on the ground at altitude.
The energy still has to come from somewhere
A day on the slopes burns a great deal, and a badly composed vegetarian meal, a salad and a pudding, will leave you empty by 3pm. Dishes built on starch and cheese, which is most of Alpine and Italian cooking, cover those needs very well.
Pulses barely feature in mountain cooking, so top up elsewhere if you need to: at breakfast, served here from 8am, and with dried fruit and nuts that travel easily in a jacket pocket.
A mixed table is not a problem
Most parties are mixed, and the useful point is that a vegetarian dish here is not a compromise dish. Ordering a parmigiana while the rest of the table has a tartiflette is not a concession to be apologised for; it is simply another item off the same menu, cooked in the same kitchen, arriving at the same time.
That matters more than it sounds when you are eating out six nights in a row. A restaurant where the meat-free option is an afterthought will wear thin by Wednesday. One where it belongs on the carte will not, which is worth checking before you book a week of family dinners.
Lunch on the slopes, a case of its own
Midday is the awkward moment for a vegetarian in a ski resort. Menus at the high mountain restaurants often narrow to meat dishes and sandwiches, and the queue does not encourage a discussion about ingredients.
Two habits help. First, favour the snow front, where full menus almost always include pizza and pasta without meat, as we set out in our piece on lunch on the slopes. Our service runs from 11.30am to 3pm, which leaves room to arrive after the rush.
Second, choose dishes that genuinely fill you up. A whole pizza, a plate of pasta or a vegetable gratin will see you through the afternoon, where a salad will not. Italian cooking makes that choice easy, which was not true of mountain menus twenty years ago. The resort’s own listings now mark dietary options at most restaurants, which is a recent and welcome change.
Frequently asked questions
Which Savoyard dishes are vegetarian?
Fondue and berthoud are, by nature. Raclette is, without the charcuterie, and tartiflette can be made without bacon on request.
Is Savoyard cheese suitable for vegetarians?
Savoyard AOP cheeses are made with animal rennet. Vegetarians who exclude rennet should take that into account; others have no constraint.
Are there vegetarian dishes at Le Rendez-Vous?
Yes: the margherita and vegetable pizzas, melanzane alla parmigiana, mushroom risotto, burrata, a vegetarian burger and salads.
How should I flag a dietary requirement?
When you book, or as soon as you sit down. For a strict diet or an allergy, twenty-four hours’ notice lets the kitchen prepare properly.