LvF Winter Chalet
Sample Menu
Starters
Green leek and potato soup
Roasted carrot & coriander soup
Poached salmon & prawns mousse,
confit lemon & caper dressing
Caramelized red onion & goats cheese tartlet,
home made chutney
Chicken, leek & mushroom pate
Main courses
Homemade lasagne, roasted plum tomato & Gruyere sauce
Braised shoulder of lamb with smoked bacon & mushrooms,
parsley potatoes & confit carrots
Authentic tartiflette, green salad & balsamic dressing
Classic coq au vin, creamy mash potato, garden peas
Pork fillet & chestnut mushroom stroganoff,
roasted mixed vegetable & wholegrain mustard mash
Luxury fish pie, hard boiled egg & saffron mash
Sauté leek & chestnut mushrooms quiche, green salad & truffle dressing (v)
Desserts
Dark chocolate mousse
Homemade apple crumble & custard
Classic lemon tart
Sticky toffee pudding, toffee creme anglaise
Raspberry custard tartlet
Prices (2012)
2 courses 17€
3 courses 20€
See LvF Family Cuisine website for full details.
LvF Cookery Courses
LvF Family Cuisine runs cooking courses and lessons throughout the year. The classes take place in the lovingly renovated French farmhouse La vieille Ferme in Vallon d'en Haut, Samoëns - a beautiful chalet farmhouse with a range of quality accommodation.
Lukasz also runs cooking courses at Café de Balme in Magland, Cluses.
A unique and attractive shop, café, restaurant and cooking school that specialises in the use of AGA ovens and equipment.
LvF Family Cuisine also run day courses that are great fun for friends or week-long courses that really allow you to master a certain skill.
Enquiries by email to Bethan at info@lvf-cuisine.co.uk
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Winter & Ski Home
Property & Living
LVF Family Cuisine, Samoëns
Sharing a Passion for Fine Food...
We discover the work and lifestyle of a busy couple who moved to Samoëns in the Grand Massif ski area, in the northern French Alps, to set up a bespoke catering service. Now Lukasz Bodaszewski and Bethan Patching deliver freshly-prepared restaurant-style meals to skiers in the comfort of their own chalets and also cater for events and weddings.
Lukasz Bodaszewski & Bethan Patching, together producing fine foods for their bespoke catering service in Samoëns.
Lukasz and Bethan met while they were both working in a small country hotel in Alfriston, East Sussex in southern England. Lukasz ran the fine dining restaurant after having worked in the Brighton Hilton for 4 years and previously in America, Malaysia and Europe. Bethan studied Hospitality & Catering at university and had worked in teaching and hospitality before becoming a receptionist at the same hotel as Lukasz. A love of cooking, travelling and the outdoors brought them together, and as a couple, they shared the dream of one day setting up a business which would make the most of their combined talents.
Why choose Samoëns?
When she was younger Bethan's family had often visited Samoëns, and her parents had fallen in love with the area – so much so that they decided to buy property there and retire to the French Alps. Both Mitch and Ann had taught in England for the majority of their lives. Mitch had taught French, which was to prove useful, and latterly Ann ran a boarding house. So they decided to try their hand at running a chalet. This happened to coincide with a surge in popularity of Samoëns as a ski destination, following the construction of the Grand Massif Express high-speed gondola. La vieille Ferme is now a beautifully renovated chalet offering a range of quality accommodation in traditional Savoyard style.
Skiers take in the view above Samoëns in the Grand Massif ski area, the French Alps.
Bethan took great pleasure in bringing Lukasz to La vieille Ferme after they met, and he too fell in love with Samoëns. Together they also saw an opportunity to be based there, on both a professional and personal level, by expanding on what La vieille Ferme already offered. "We decided to move out to Samoëns..." said Bethan, "...and LvF Family Cuisine was formally established in November 2010. "Having previously run a commercial kitchen with no windows to look out of, let alone views to enjoy, the chance to have a kitchen with views of the French Alps was an opportunity we couldn't turn down!"
What's on the menu?
LvF Family Cuisine offers a wide range of catering, ranging from home delivery of delicious classic menus to fine dining dinner parties, catered for by a chef in your chalet. "Our winter season is full of private chalet catering and deliveries to people visiting the area.." explains Bethan. "We thoroughly enjoy all the different aspects of catering that we're able to offer, but on a personal level we especially enjoy our in-chalet chef evenings, where I act as host and Lukasz gets to display his fine-dining skills. We meet some wonderful people who welcome us into their homes - it's one of the many reasons that we enjoy doing what we do so much."
LvF Family Cuisine offer a professional bespoke catering service in Samoëns.
"The dishes we prepare are always fresh, never frozen, and employ the very best ingredients that we can source locally. We put a lot of care and consideration into the preparation of our food. Lukasz prepares the majority of the dishes but I make the cakes and prepare many of the desserts" explains Bethan, "Lukasz has an incredible work ethic and constantly pushes himself to do more, while insisting on maintaining the highest possible standards ".
When Summer comes
In the summer months, and another ski season has retreated, like the snow into memory, the catering business tends to be more orientated around weddings, events and offering cooking courses at La vieille Ferme. Lukasz also runs courses at the Café de Balme in nearby Cluses. "The cooking courses give me a chance to meet more of the local community and to work with some fantastic new-range AGA equipment, as the Café de Balme is also an AGA distributor," says Lukasz.
Lifestyle and family living
But what about spare time? "We normally take our holidays in late September to early November, and during that time we travel and try to find catering-orientated work or experiences," explains Bethan. "Last October we travelled to New York and ate our way around the city, polishing the trip off with an exceptional evening of dining at Thomas Keller's 3 Michelin Star Per Se in the Time Warner Centre, New York City. That was an incredibly memorable meal!"
It's obvious how important the support of the family has been, both in setting up and hosting the business. We asked Bethan how it worked so successfully: "Ours is still, in every sense, a family-run business... it can sometimes be a stressful affair, but we thoroughly enjoy being able to share these experiences with those closest to us."
Finally, we asked Bethan and Lukasz about their plans for the future. "At the end of the day we simply love food. The whole dining experience is one in which we take great pleasure, both in offering it to others and in striving to master the whole, complex process. One day we would love to run our own restaurant and put in place all the different aspects of a truly enjoyable dining experience, from the atmosphere to the food, the wines and the conversation..."
Contact Details
LvF Family Cuisine
La Vieille Ferme
Vallon d'en Haut
Samoens 74340
France
Email: info@lvf-cuisine.co.uk
Tel: +33 (0)642 633 255
If you don't want to venture out of the comfort of your own chalet after a long and tiring day, LvF Family Cuisine offers professionally prepared, mouth-watering meals for you to enjoy in the comfort of your own chalet.
There's service with a smile, truly great food, plus some wonderful wines, too.
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