A Meilleur Ouvrier de France in Rougemont
Chef after chef has taken over the kitchen of this charming hotel in the heart of the village of Rougemont. Each of them came with their own ambitions, style and inspirations, but in the end never managed to conquer the hearts of the region’s gourmets, despite their incredible talent. After the umpteenth phase of renovation, the hotel has gained altitude and a real identity, in keeping with the region’s mountain aesthetic and elegance.
Edouard Amoiel
Culinary symphony
As for the restaurant: out with the bistro, in with the gastro! With traditional white tablecloths, crystal glasses and brand new silverware, the codes of haute gastronomie are clearly in evidence. Chef Benoit Carcenat is no stranger to the world of toques, and already boasts a résumé that any other chef could envy. For ten years, this 2015 Meilleur Ouvrier de France was chef Benoit Violier’s right-hand man at the famous three-starred
Edouard Amoiel
For Benoit Carcenat, his culinary symphony takes place in seven or nine beats. With a marvelously orchestrated tempo throughout dinner, a melody of amuse-bouches begins with a surprise radish, an amaranth and balsamic artichoke tuile and a mille-feuille with Etivaz cheese and country ham. Dinner then gets underway with a Neirivue trout perfectly aligned on the plate, accompanied by strips of cucumber, caviar, wasabi and Amalfi lemon. A fresh and delicate starter. The fish is followed by a beef heart tomato with Mexican flavors, barbecued and served with a taco. A surprising plant-based approach that invites you to travel to Aztec lands, and which would have deserved further explanation from the wait staff.
Bold writer
The festival continues with the superb girolles bouton and their bewitching coffee and buckwheat mousse. A gourmet, elegant dish that, thanks to the sauce’s elaboration, reminds us that the chef attended the Crissier school. The next two sequences take us directly to 20,000 leagues under the sea, with a monkfish medallion enhanced by a sublime dashi of kohlrabi, dried bonito and blue lobster, a few peas and an intense shellfish reduction. A sweet treat! Pigeon is a risky bet when offered as a surprise on a menu. Accompanied by cherries, lovage and beets, its perfect execution and cooking nonetheless manage to seduce, as does the Saanenlan beef, served with puffed potatoes, olives and pistachios.
Edouard Amoiel
It’s hard not to succumb to the charms of the final sweet sequence with Pays d’Enhaut honey, pollen and cereal textures. A tribute to a regional product.
As with a soccer mercato, Benoit Carcenat has acquired the services of a major player in the world of sugar, Josselin Jacquet (ex-patissier to Benoit Violier and Franck Giovannini in Crissier). The Valrose team has clearly set its sights on future distinctions, despite a few approximations in the dining room due to the recent opening. There’s no reason to hold this against them, as the potential of this establishment is clearly there for all to see. A godsend for locals and visiting gourmets alike. With an audacious writer in his blue-white-red collar, the Valrose is only at the beginning of a new chapter in its history.
