Check out my interview with Swiss Entrepreneurs Magazine on Instagram!
Thanks for all the support and love over the holidays! Here's wishing everyone a happy, healthy and successful 2017! The shop will be open weekends and in February. Contact me for details!
The holiday season is approaching quickly! Here is my schedule for the holidays:
Saturday December 17th from 13h to 17h
Saturday December 24th 10h - 12h
December 26th - January 8th every day, hours to be announced!
In the meantime, my site is open 24/7. Many of my items are also featured in the Hotel Mont Lac and Mimi's Lounge here in Champex!
I'm having an apéritive Wednesday night, Dec 14th so if you're near Champex, please stop by for a drink and to take advantage of pre-Christmas sales! Hope to see you there!
As November is a very quiet month in Champex, the boutique will be closed. I will be holding a pop-up event in Geneva (see previous post) in November as well as a special pre-Christmas sale in Champex in December. I will also be open on Saturdays in December prior to Christmas. Please feel free to contact me if you'd like to visit the shop outside of these events and I will be happy to accommodate you. Meanwhile, I am also featuring some of my products in the lobby of the Hotel Mont Lac and Mimi's Lounge in Champex. Please stop by and enjoy a drink, the view and take a look at some of Vachement Suisse's great Swiss designs!
I'm holding a pop-up event in Geneva on November 18th. If you are interested in coming, please send me an email at vachementsuisse@gmail.com and I will give you the details!
Limited time only, there is free shipping to the US if you order before midnight EST Thursday Oct 20th. Use code 6X5981B at checkout. Happy shopping!!!
The weather has significantly dropped and we've even had a few snow flakes here in the Swiss Alps! It's time to start thinking about cozy comfort foods, and one of my favorites, and a traditional Swiss dish, is cheese fondue! The Swiss are very proud of this signature dish and everyone has their own idea of how to make the best. Here's a recipe that I love, taken from David Leibovitz's blog. Try it out in this unique fondue pot from Steinlin Swiss Design found in my shop.!
Cheese Fondue
Four servings
Adapted from Chef Willie Prutsch of Café du Grütli
The chef uses a combination of Vacherin Fribourgeois and slightly aged Gruyère. You could use whatever is available. Avoid a dry, well-aged cheese as they tend to be rather salty. Use cheeses that are less than one year old. There’s some notes at the end of the recipe.
The bread we dipped was dense white bread with a nice crust. Whatever you use, it should be thick-cut and on the drier side but not crispy. When the fondue is finished, the hardened cheese at the bottom of the pot, called la religieuse is considered the reward for finishing it—it’s considered the reward for getting through it!
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups (375ml-500ml) dry white wine
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 teaspoons potato starch or cornstarch
- 1 1/2 pounds (700g) mixed grated cheese, such as Gruyère and Emmenthal (see headnote & note)
- optional: 1 to 2 teaspoons kirsch
1. In a sturdy pot, add 1 1/2 (375ml) cup white wine, the garlic and the starch.
2. Add the grated cheese and cook over moderately-high heat, stirring often, until the cheese is melted and smooth. The fondue is done, according the the chef, “When the mixture leaves a skin in the hole of the spoon.” (See photo in post.)
3. If the mixture is too thick, add up to 1/2 cup (125ml) more white wine until its texture is to your liking. If you wish, add the kirsch.
4. Serve warm, preferably in a fondue pot.
Notes: Because of geographical differences, you may or may not be able to obtain the exact same cheeses. But Emmenthal, Gruyère, and Comté are widely available, although as one commenter noted, Emmenthal (sometimes spelled ‘Emmental”) can be stringy when melted.Vacherin Fribourgeois is a softer cheese, and if you can’t find it, Fontina would make a good substitute. I’ve linked to some recipes below that call for a variety of other cheeses.
For those avoiding alcohol, Chef Prutsch says that he will make a fondue using lemon juice in place of it. I didn’t get a specific quantity, but you can swap out the same amount of water with a good-sized squeeze of lemon juice, enough to approximate the acidity of wine. In fact, some people add a squeeze of lemon juice to prevent the cheese from clumping or to fix a broken fondue, which is good advice if that happens to your fondue.
There are still a few days until it's officially autumn, but it sure is starting to feel like it here in the mountains! I have some new arrivals to help welcome the cooler weather in without too much difficulty! Stay warm in a relaxing bath with some of Cocooning's soothing, calming and rejuvenating bath salts...or wrap yourself up in MA LOVE's 100% wool edelweiss blanket - beautiful and practical! AND COMING SOON - some great slippers from Baabuk sure to keep the ambiance warm and cozy all winter long!
Not only does the weather promise to be hot in the valley this weekend, September 3rd and 4th, but there's another reason to visit Champex this weekend. There's the Mémorial Orsières - Champex, a car race between Orsières and Champex, featuring vintage cars and motorbikes. It's a race that hadn't taken place for 40 years until it was revived in 2014, and now takes place every 2 years. Come enjoy some fresh cool air, watch some beautiful cars parade by, and visit me at Vachement Suisse! Bon weekend!
This weekend, August 26 - 28, the Ultra-trail du Mont Blanc is taking place, with the first of 5 different races starting on Wednesday morning. The Ultra-Trail is an ultra marathon that covers 166 km with an elevation gain of about 9,600 meters. It traces the Tour du Mont Blanc trail through Switzerland, France and Italy. In Champex we hear the click click of the hiking sticks all night long as the runners pass through the village with their headlamps. The weather promises to be good so come out and support these amazing athletes! And don't forget to pick up an exclusive Tour du Mont Blanc t-shirt at our boutique, Vachement Suisse. Open every afternoon.
It promises to be busy this weekend in Champex Aug 20th & 21st! It starts out with the 2nd annual IAM Challenge on Saturday morning. The challenge is a popular bike race for adults and children. The adults start in Bovernier at 10am and race UPHILL for 12 km. The kids start in Champex d'en-Bas at 11.30 and race for 2.5 km. Come and support the bikers!
After the race, there's the 4th annual Champex'stival with music starting at 17h15 and going until 3h15 in the morning! There are different types of music to please all tastes, from blues and folk to hard rock. We hope to see you here!
Vachement Suisse will be open Saturday and Sunday afternoons. There are still a few Champex and Vachement Suisse t-shirts left to commemorate the fun weekend. We also sell earplugs if the music is too loud or goes on too late at night for your taste!
The Ornaris trade show yesterday was a big success. I discovered some great new products and am excited to put together my inventory for the next season. I'll be introducing some new home accessories, like candles, glasses and tea towels, as well as found some great new slippers that you're never going to want to take off! Stay tuned to be the first to check out the newest products!
On Monday, August 15th, the shop in Champex will be closed all day. I'll be at the trade fair, Ornaris, in Bern, looking for new products and brands to carry in the shop. I'm excited to see new products from many of my current brands like Cully Cully, Atelier Fischer, and Cocooning. Apologies for the shop being closed, but I'll be back on Tuesday!
