Destination La Clusaz. From Milan to Aosta two hours on the motorway, then, having passed the tollbooth, turn right towards Gran San Bernardo. After Gignod you’re almost there, the inn is on the left, since forever, at least since 1140, between ups and downs. What interests me the most now are the latest rollercoaster rides, with Maurizio Grange who reached a star in 2012, only to lose it with the release of the 2019 Michelin. When the pandemic hit in March 2020, there were more anxieties and doubts than energy to think about a future there anyway, among the friendly walls. Maurizio closed immediately, as early as March. Too tired to insist.
The place remained closed until November 2021, until the historic chef Piergiorgio Pellerei, a former speaker at
Identità, found a first partner in a previous collaborator, Thierry Buillet, also a chef, and a second one in Alessandro Ménabreaz at hospitality. What is missing, however good and well-prepared Andrea Bologna is between the dining room and the cellar, is a figure who is Pellerei's alter-ego in the dining room, but it’s already fine as it is, even if the nuances are always decisive in completing a restaurant. For example, the restart itself was not publicised as it should have been away from the Val d'Aosta, but now it’s done. No use wasting time mulling it over.
Cow curd with charcoal broad bean salad
It’s nice to read that their cuisine 'brings together ideas, travel, research, experimentation, passion and enthusiasm', which they pour into two free-hand tasting menus, of three or five courses, but also in the one dedicated to foie gras and the fourth focusing on all the tradition that precedes the current season's menu.
Poached egg and liquid goat cheese
I don't like mandatory tasting menus because it is true that they capture the soul and style of the chef and the restaurant, but it is easy to leave out a proposal that you would have ordered and you end up thinking more about what you didn't taste when you leave the place. Do you ever feel that you’ve been 'denied' the best?
Rabbit and mountain garlic bottoni
So off we go in the spirit of Boudin, a Valle d'Aosta version of black pudding, cooked in a casserole and served with potatoes, sweet garlic crena and Savoy cabbage. A very strong first step, for me, because my wife Luisa opted for a mouth-watering, elegant Egg poached in liquid goat cheese, salted almond sablé and walnut oil, so you win easy. More thoughtful, and of unusual depth, was the Cagliata vaccina (cow's curd) to enhance a salad of broad beans with charcoal, spring onion oil and tomato water.
Pigeon as interpreted by the chefs of Locanda La Clusaz, Piergiorgio Pellerei e Therry Buillet
Had it still been fava bean season, I would have posted the recipe too. This will be the case for my first course, the Rabbit Bottoni seasoned with mountain garlic and hazelnuts, tasty and beautiful to look at. The Spaghettoni di Gragnano with fermented plums and lobster, the other first course, were mouth-watering. One might object to the lobster served amidst the Alpine peaks, but it represents a break with the obvious link to the territory and its customs. No matter how excellent, the same soup can be boring if eaten too often.
Gurnard, watercress and ratte potatoes
On to the main courses: I picked Pigeon in two cooking procedures with foie gras, Luisa the Gurnard with watercress and ratte potatoes, then the rich cheese trolley and the grand finale with an apricot Tarte Tatin. An address that transported me back to pre-pandemic splendour, where you can enjoy yourself without endless, boring praise
LOCANDA LA CLUSAZ
Frazione La Clusaz, 1
11010 Gignod (Aosta)
Telephone: +39.0165.56075
E-mail: ristorante@laclusaz.it
Closed: Tuesday and Wednesday at lunchtime, always open in August
Tasting menus: four, for 48 (lunch only), 80 (two) and 55
Average prices: starters 20 euros, first courses 25, main courses 34, cheeses 13 or 22, desserts 9
Cover charge: 4 euro
Translated into English by Slawka G. Scarso
