After leaving the Grand Hôtel d’Uriage, Christophe Aribert is now going it solo… just 100 meters from the place he learned his craft. His fall point? An imposing five-bedroom Anglo-Normand chalet built in 1856 to which his magnificent restaurant is attached, which resembles a wooden vessel (walnut wood tables, green velvet armchairs, a spectacular ceiling with undulating wooden slats) and opens out onto the natural world. What graces the Grenoble-born chef’s plates? A permanent quest for zen, nourished most notably by the permaculture garden. The day we went for lunch the market menu (€75) featured: a polenta tartelette with fir oil, smoked Vercors trout and nettle pesto, diced celery in a pepper-peanut syrup, apple jus and a celery granita – making for a series of stunning bites; a delicate potato cream flavored with green Chartreuse, herring roe and smoked eel; superb lake trout, a parsley-licorice emulsion, raw pear, trout roe and lettuce; warm cream of cauliflower, bacon mousse and toasted bread served in a cold bowl; wonderful poached and roasted pigeon, chard, a rhubarb condiment, pumpkin seeds, mustard greens and a reduction; striking orange-passion fruit granita, coffee and spelt ice cream; before a funky composition of apple ice cream and compote, sheep’s milk, meringue, wild honey and cashews. It’s worth noting that the nearby Café A offers up Alpine bistro cuisine and a pretty menu of the day (eg.: herbed lentil salad, shredded salmon with beurre blanc, raspberry tart) and local natural wines. // O.J.

FEELING THIRSTY? Dug up from the wine list rich with over 650 labels: Les Alpes, a Savoyard white from the Domaine Belluard or a Vacqueyras red La Grande Terre (both glasses at €12 each), a powerful Roussette-de-Savoie from the Domaine des Côtes Rousses (€45 a bottle) or a Savoie red from Gilles Berlioz (€90).

PRICE: Menus €195 to €225.