Sue Style, Food, Wine and Travel Writer

‘ROLAND PIERROZ, CUISINIER, VERBIER’
(FT Weekend)

If you are an habitué of Verbier, you’ll be no stranger to the the name Roland Pierroz. Born of mixed Italian and Swiss parentage, chef Pierroz is typical in at least one sense of his native canton of Valais: inhabitants of this beautiful, mountainous land at the upper reaches of the Rhone valley are usually described by their fellow Swiss as eigenartig - which could be politely translated as ‘fond of going their own way’. For the past twenty-odd years this talented, tempestuous chef has been following his own distinctive route up at the Hotel and Restaurant Rosalp in Verbier.

Voted Cuisinier de l’Année in 1992 by Gault Millau (who give him 19 out of a maximum 20 points), he rates a single curmudgeonly star from Michelin. Following an exchange of views with them on an issue now lost in the mists of time, he reckons to be condemned to permanent punishment (‘éternelle punition ’) by the men of the red book - a state of affairs at which he takes an evident and perverse delight.

Food at the Rosalp’s main restaurant is southern (echoes of his Italian mother), toweringly three-dimensional (shades of the mountains round about) and self-assured (a reflection of the man). The gâteau d’écrevisses à la ratatouille consists of tiny ratatouille dice and a couple of succulent crayfish, braced by wafer-thin slices of barely cooked courgette and topped with a pair of flash-fried aubergine ‘petals’. A rosette of thinly sliced waxy potatoes is bestrode by frogs’ legs and shavings of white truffle. Among the fish courses, the fillet of sole wound around a crab stuffing with a sea urchin sauce is a remarkable feat - not least in view of the geography of Verbier and its distance from any ocean.

The wine list is enough to bring tears to a wine-lover’s eyes - part pain at the prices (there’s not much under CHF100), part wonder at the sheer scope (over 65,000 bottles). Pierroz chuckles at the notion of being described as an ambassador for the finest wines of canton Valais - diplomacy, he freely admits, has never been his strong suit. Their champion, however, he certainly is, for his knowledge of the wines of the area is encyclopaedic and his network of contacts extensive.

If you're habitually a sceptic where Swiss wines are concerned, suspend judgement and put yourself in the capable hands of the young French sommelier. We particularly relished a discreetly oaked, dry Ermitage (a.k.a. Marsanne), from Philippoz frères, a talented grower in Vétroz who makes an elegant range of Valais specialities. A beautifully balanced blend of Cabernets (sauvignon and franc) Syrah and red Humagne from Michel Boven in Chamoson rose splendidly to the challenge of a honied and spiced pigeon breast. And it barely flinched in the face of a well aged Gruyère and a venerable Bagnes, selections from the restaurant’s legendary cheese board.

Pierroz is one of the rare top-class chefs to favour a serious pudding chariot over last-minute assembly jobs in the kitchen. The selection process is definitely testing, but a shortlist might usefully include an impressively rich chocolate cake groaning with buttercream which comes with a velvety, cacao-rich sorbet poised over a pool of coffee sauce. A small glass of late-harvest Johannisberg (Sylvaner, though unrecognisable as such) from the Domaine du Mont d’Or in Sion is indicated at this stage. All the usual clichés about honey and nectar apply, but there’s wonderful acidity too which sustains it even in the face of a chocolate onslaught.

Downstairs is a cosy bar, perfectly placed to catch people coming in from a late schuss (the Rosalp is situated practically at the foot of Verbier’s main ski lift) or for an even later nightcap. The other important string to Pierroz’s bow is the Pinte du Rosalp, the house brasserie specialising in high-class comfort food, with strong Italian/Swiss/French accents. There are game terrines and a succulent dry-cured raw ham, home-made pasta, sausages with lentils, rabbit with polenta façon grand’mère and some superb grilled meats, not to mention proper puddings like profiteroles, or home-made vanilla ice cream with boozy cherries as big as gobstoppers. And if all else fails, or when fondue begins to pall, you can always fall back on Pierroz’s take-away truffled poularde in the comfort of your own chalet, with full waiter service.

Hotel and Restaurant Rosalp,
CH-1936 Verbier
Tel. (0041) (0)27 771 63 23
Fax (0041) (0)27 771 10 59
e-mail: rosalp@relaischateaux.com; website: www.relaischateaux.com/rosalp