
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).
There’s a saying in the Alps: ‘In Tartiflette We Trust’. It can be seen emblazoned on T-shirts, hoodies and car bumper stickers across French ski resorts and beyond, in honour of the gratin-style dish that’s gained iconic status — particularly among apres-skiers.
Admittedly, the merchandise is a neat bit of marketing from a ski website, which created the slogan a few years ago, but in the mountainous Haute-Savoie region, from which tartiflette originates, dedication to this hearty dish is genuine. “It’s a dish that’s synonymous with skiing holidays or a feast after a long trek in the depths of winter,” says chef Michel Roux Jr. “It’s the kind of meal that fills you with joy and calories.”
Tartiflette is made with bacon lardons, potatoes and onion, splashed with a little white wine and topped with a generous amount of reblochon cheese — an intensely flavoured, creamy cheese with a ripe smell and nutty aftertaste — before being baked until melty and golden. You’ll find it on the menus of most Alpine ski resorts and chalets, as well as being served outdoors at markets and events — and cooked in many Savoyard homes. Yet, for a recipe that’s become not only a regional staple, but also something of a national obsession, its heritage is surprisingly confused.
To retain the dishes hearty and moorish flavour, don’t shy away from a bit of butter. Photograph by Hannah Hughes

When preparing tartiflette, a red potato variety is preferred for its balance between waxy and floury texture. Photograph by Hannah Hughes
There’s general agreement that the name of the dish derives from the regional dialect word for potato, ‘tartifla’, and the first mention of ‘tartiflette’ is said to be in chef François Massialot’s 18th-century book, Le Cuisinier Royal et Bourgeois. The recipe featured there, however, bears more resemblance to another traditional dish of that time — péla. This is a simpler combination of potatoes, cheese and onions, baked in the oven in a long-handled pan from which the dish takes its name.
This dish, like much traditional Haute-Savoie cuisine, is one that relies on often humble local ingredients. “The food of Savoie evolved from times of real scarcity,” explains chef and author Alex Jackson, who researched the cooking of France’s borderlands while writing his book, Frontières. “The Savoyards have done well to develop a delicious, simple cuisine from relatively few available ingredients and little outside input.”
The recipe we recognise as tartiflette today still makes use of local produce, but the addition of the reblochon makes the whole thing seem less humble and more decadent. And, far from being an established part of French food history, the version of the dish that endures can only really be traced back as far as the 1980s, when Alpine restaurants began serving something resembling a modern tartiflette. Then, in the late 1990s, in an attempt to sell off an excess of imperfectly made reblochon, the Syndicat Interprofessionnel du Reblochon — a collective of producers — published its own recipe for tartiflette. The Syndicat explains it modified the original péla recipe ‘to use up stocks of reblochon that (at the time) were a little too runny and to rejuvenate the ancestral recipe of the péla’.
When it comes to the ‘official’ recipe, then, the Syndicat unsurprisingly says the dish can only be made with one cheese: reblochon. In its version, a wheel of reblochon is cut horizontally in two, with one half cut in half again and laid on top of the other ingredients before baking. Some Savoyard chefs also like to include cream, however this is a contentious point, with the Syndicat saying a little creme fraiche is allowed but that the dish ‘must not be swimming in cream’.

Many cooks consider reblochon a crucial part of a tartiflette, while some dare to stray from tradition. Photograph by Hannah Hughes
Reblochon has Appellation d’Origine Protegee status, meaning it can only be made by an approved group of farmers using specific methods and milk from three Alpine breeds of cows. And while the Syndicat and many cooks consider it to be a crucial part of a tartiflette, there are chefs who dare to use other cheeses. James Martin, for example, has a version using tomme, which is also produced in the Alps but is lower in fat and therefore less creamy. Martin also suggests you can use gruyere, taleggio or well-aged camembert for a similarly gooey effect. In his cookbook, Cheese, Michel Roux (Sr) has a recipe for Aletsch tartiflette, which uses Aletsch Grand Cru, a full-fat Swiss cheese, in place of the traditional variety. Meanwhile, morbiflette is a variation of the dish using morbier cheese, from the Jura village of the same name.
As for the potatoes, the Syndicat suggests firm-fleshed varieties such as roseval or belle fontenay. Alex Jackson says a good approach is to go for something between waxy and floury, with his preference being red varieties. And while some recipes say to simply fry the potatoes before layering up and baking, he recommends boiling and steam drying before frying, in order to get them golden and crisp, achieving what he sees as the perfect finish. Jackson is also an advocate for adding water to the potato, bacon and a mixture of creme fraiche and double cream. “The key is to do this before the cheese and baking, to ensure the end result will be nice and saucy,” he says.
The business behind the In Tartiflette We Trust merchandise also has opinions on how to make the dish. Skipass.com has published its own recipe, which it boldly claims is ‘the true recipe for tartiflette’ and has been served by its chefs at ski events and gatherings for years. It comes with the passionate preface that ‘a real tartiflette cannot be improvised: between the preparation, the making of the onion confit and the cooking, do not count less than two hours’. Its version of the dish is notable for its generosity of ingredients, cutting extra reblochon into strips and layering it with the potato, before topping with yet more cheese. It also uses a whole bottle of wine between eight people, whereas the Syndicat calls for just two glasses (apremont, chignin or rousette, all dry and lightly fruity wines from the Savoie) for the same size of dish.

Once the bacon and onion have reached a golden hue, dry white wine is added and reduced to a creamy sauce. Photograph by Hannah Hughes

While modern versions of tartiflette like to include cream for the sauce, original recipes simply call for a little creme fraiche. Photograph by Hannah Hughes
Other than onions and cheese, tartiflette traditionally doesn’t feature any other flavourings, although the Syndicat concedes nutmeg as an optional extra for those who want to ‘spice up the dish’. Some chefs have, however, put their own spins on it. Mary Berry, for instance, has a recipe for a chicken tartiflette traybake, which resembles the classic, complete with reblochon, but features the additions of button mushrooms and chicken breasts wrapped in parma ham. Paul Hollywood, meanwhile, is one of several cooks to make a tartiflette pizza, with all the classic ingredients topping a bread base. And on Instagram, Gizzi Erskine has served a recipe that includes gnocchi alongside cubes of potato.
The latter, while certainly not traditional, isn’t as outlandish as it may seem. In fact, another Savoyard dish, croziflette, includes all the same ingredients as tartiflette except for potatoes, which are replaced by crozets — a local square-shaped pasta. And while lardons are an essential part of the original recipe, Savoyard institution Chalet La Pricaz offers a vegetarian version, where courgette is used instead of bacon.
However you choose to make it, there is the question of what to serve alongside this indulgent comfort food dish. Most chefs find a light green salad with a little mustard dressing is all that’s needed, although some offer a side of pickles to cut through the richness; Michel Roux Jr, for example, suggests pickled pearl onions as the perfect accompaniment. But it really doesn’t need to be any more complex than that — as long as, like the Savoyards, you trust in tartiflette.

Some version of a tartiflette is a popular choice after a day on the slopes. Photograph by Hannah Hughes
Recipe: Alex Jackson’s Tartiflette
Along with raclette and fondue, tartiflette is one of Savoie’s most famous dishes. This is the version ski resorts have made famous; it fairly closely follows the ‘official’ recipe of the Syndicat Interprofessionnel du Reblochon — and there’s no denying it’s delicious.
Serves: 4
Takes: 40 mins
Ingredients
750g potatoes (a red variety, between waxy and floury, is best), peeled and cut into 1.5cm pieces
150g smoked bacon lardons
30g unsalted butter
1 onion, finely sliced
100ml dry white wine
3 tbsp creme fraiche (or 6 tbsp if you have no double cream)
3 tbsp double cream (or 6 tbsp if you have no creme fraiche)
Olive oil, for frying
A half-wheel (approximately 250g) of reblochon cheese, cut horizontally (keeping the rind on)
Green salad, to serve
Method
1. Heat the oven to 200C, fan 180C, gas 6. Simmer the potatoes in a saucepan of lightly salted water until just cooked, then drain and allow to steam.
2. Meanwhile, fry the bacon lardons in a large frying pan. When the fat is rendered, add half the butter and the onion with a little pinch of salt. Fry slowly until soft and golden-brown.
3. Pour in the white wine and simmer for 1 min until reduced to 2 tbsp, then add the cream(s) and a good 2 tbsp water. Mix well, then pour into a bowl and rinse and dry the pan.
4. When the potatoes have steamed dry, they can be fried. Reheat the clean pan, add a little oil and the remaining butter and sauté the potatoes over a medium-high heat until brown and crisping up without being crunchy all the way though. Transfer the potatoes, once browned, to a gratin dish big enough to fit them all without spilling out over the top. Pour over the onion and cream mixture and gently stir through. Lay the half-wheel of cheese over the top.
5. Bake in the oven for 15–20 mins until the cheese has browned and melted fully. Serve hot alongside a green salad.
Food stylists: Amy Stephenson & Poppy Bertram.
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