Summer series – Les Buvettes d’Alpage (6/13) –
At the top of Montrendre, the refreshment bar cultivates its authenticity
Christine and Christophe Morel resumed the alpine alpine owned by their village two years ago. They take care of cows as well as small dishes in a rustic setting.
Christine and Christophe Morel treat the reception and the small dishes of a real old-fashioned refreshment bar a few steps from the summit of Montrendre which sees both amateur walkers and trailers looking for performance.
Yvain Genevay / Tamedia
- In a setting that has been able to remain rustic and simple, the Mont-Tendre refreshment bar is a real haven of peace with a breathtaking view of Lake Geneva and Mont-Blanc.
- For the second season, Christine and Christophe Morel have abandoned their basic trades to take care of the mountain pasture, the town where they are very committed.
- If the fondue is a ritual that stands out for many visitors, some specialties, such as the Montrendre burger, are worth the trip.
- The chalet, which has long welcomed skiers during the winter, almost got along with a large ski resort projected in the 60s between Montricher and the Joux valley!
It is not a highway that leads to Montrendre refreshment bar. And that you get on foot or by car, a certain patience is in order. The refreshment bar, which is part of the pastureis revealed as if by magic at the last moment, once crossed the last little lace that has been driving since Montricher.
It is from the famous ages canteen-which welcomes multiple events at the top of the village-that the road starts, with an almost compulsory break halfway on the bench which offers an incredible view of the Moléson with a jet of Geneva water, or almost!
On these ridges of the Vaud jura which make the big gap between the Valley of Joux and the district of Morges, several refreshments gave in to the wishes of the watchmaking in order to bring the customers there in a framework cosy. That of Montrendre has retained an authentic side, like the entrance that overlooks … the kitchen and its old period tiles.
Visitors who pass the door of the refreshment bar first fall in the kitchen, where Matteo Morel and the help of Cuisine Monica are busy to serve visitors who run the alpine refreshments in this scorching summer.
Yvain Genevay / Tamedia
Silence then the adrenaline rise
The building is owned by the municipality and its management is entrusted to the alpine union which chooses the managers. For the second season, Christine and Christophe Morel are on the baguette, according to a very specific specifications: being in the oven and the mill and tightening your elbows. “When we wake up, you never know what the day will reserve us,” explains the teacher, who once again offers this five -month parenthesis.
Her husband, an external editor at Bobst, took a leave without balance to share this adventure which sees him pass from the surveillance of the 233 cows to the maintenance of the fences, passing by the shot from the south and the evening. “To meet there, in the middle of nature, to go in the morning with your bike and its stick, I do not see what it can be best,” slips the one who is at the oven, in the company of Matteo, their 22 -year -old son, seasonal luxury.
Property of the town of Montricher, the Mont-Tendre refreshment bar is only twenty minutes from the summit, which is worth the trip. The return on foot to the village is estimated at around two hours and quarters.
Yvain Genevay / Tamedia
Because in addition to Monica, cooking help, the case is lived with the family. Especially when the weather is played in heat wave and it takes emergency reinforcement to serve more than 100 guests on a weekend day. “The Montrendre is not at a place of passage, you really have to want to come,” says Christine. It is quite fantastic to see this little theater put in place, the people who arrive without knowing how they got to know the place. There is not a noise and, suddenly, adrenaline is there for a few hours. ”
The house specialty concocted by the owner of the place Christine Morel: the Burger of Montrendre, with its melting tomme surrounded by bacon. A must!
Yvain Genevay / Tamedia
The nearby terroir featured
On site, the twenty minutes on foot leading to the tip of Montrendre, without major difficulty, are justified as well to appetite as as a digestive ride. In the evening, you can also take an aperitif on the terrace, be grew sometimes by a glider, and eat inside.
For lovers of discovery, it is advisable to be surprised by the burger of the house with salad (23 fr.) Imagined by Christine: the beef is replaced by a melting and larded tomme. “I groped, I served it at home on a winter evening and the family told me that it was ok to put it to the à la carte. And it’s a little success! ” she rejoices.
The cold meat and cheese board (24 fr.) Which is shared with a glass of white sums up the couple’s philosophy: providing closest to the place, with a mention for the products of the gourmet cheese dairy of Montricher and the bacon – and the meat – from the Penel butcher to the Isle.
But we also come to a refreshment bar to eat dishes typical of the mountain, like the fondue (22 fr.), Cornettes du Mont-Tendre (18 fr.) Or the tasty variation of Röstis, with mention for the Lardons-Euf formula and raclette (23 fr.). The dishes are also available in XS or XL portion, rather clever.
There remains the desserts to conclude this escape, the lemon tart (4 fr.) Contested with the double-crème meringue (6 or 9 fr.), Gourmet coffee (9 fr. 50) being still the best formula to avoid a painful choice!
Buvette du Mont-Tendre, above the town of Montricher, tel. 021 864 49 07, open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Info on buvette-mont-tendre.ch
Le Montrendre: Trail paradise, not skiers!
If a good part of the customers “go up” by car to taste the fondue or simply take the fresh, it is surprising to see pass under the nose at this altitude of runners who do not linger too much around a beer or a meringue with double cream.
It must be said that for athletes from the region, the route as hilly as it is required is perfect for practicing trail and training for example for Sierre-Zinal or the formidable trail of the Valley of Joux, 6 to 68 kilometers!
Yet it was skiing that has done – a time – dream of the inhabitants of the surroundings. The sixty-five years ago, an investigation was filed to create a cable car between Montricher and the Montrendre where “ultimately, a restaurant could accommodate the 800 people at the time brought by the same cabins as at the Roc d’Orsay, in addition to three géléskis”.
The project, judged as “a view of the very expensive spirit”, was abandoned a few years later, leaving the mountain pasture and its refreshment bar. Nowadays, this is priceless.
Did you find an error? Please report it to us.