A healthy appetite, hale and hearty!
Savour a marcaire meal in the Higher Vosges
Marcaire, you ask? This local word spreads its aromas and traditions throughout the upper mountain pastures. A marcaire is a farmer of the Vosges Mountains responsible for the stable and making cheese. The marcaire is thus the master and guardian of our famous Munster and Bargkass cheeses. Now that you've met, sit down at his table, and discover the marcaire meal.
Where are we going?
The only way to taste a marcaire meal is to follow the Crest Road along the ridges, find a farmhouse inn, and pull up a chair. The farms of the Vosges Mountains have changed a lot, and many of them now have a restaurant. Expect a warm welcome from the farmhouse innkeepers and simple, generous cuisine. All the dishes are lovingly prepared by your hosts using the products of the farm.
Let's get to the point: what are we going to eat?
Each farmhouse inn has its own specialties, depending on their products and the season. But there are still a few essential elements of the marcaire meal.
First is the starter. This is usually vegetable soup, homemade meat pie, or sometimes both.
Next comes the undisputed star of the meal: roïgabrageldi (known as tofailles in Lorraine). This harsh-sounding word refers to a lovely potato dish. The potatoes are cut into slices and stewed for hours in farmhouse butter with onions and sometimes bacon. They are served alongside smoked pork called kassler.
It's then Munster's turn to grace your plate. This purely local cheese made in the upper mountain pastures of the Vosges always has a spot on the table.
The meal ends on a sweet note with a seasonal fruit pie. If you want to end the meal with a satisfied, blue-tinged smile, be sure to come in the summer when bilberries will leave their mark on your teeth and lips.
Today’s marcaire meal is much heartier than a farmer of the mountain pastures would have known. But it is still authentic and generous, like the Vosges mountains. And that’s what makes it so great.
A marcaire meal won't be just another stop on a day of sightseeing. In the Vosges Mountains, eating is an experience in itself. Of course, we highly recommend extending your lunch break with a short walk around the farm to digest. Enjoy the views of the Ballons des Vosges from the ridges and breathe in the fresh air. Only the bravest, or those with a quick metabolism, will manage to tackle a hike after such a feast.
