By Tribune News Service

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It is 8.30am and there is a crisp chill in the air. A rich, silky fondue is bubbling and a regional white wine has been carefully paired with it to bring out its flavour.
I do not usually eat melted cheese and drink wine for breakfast. But this is a special occasion.
I am joining six judges for the first of their 10 fondue tastings that day. The aim is to select which delicious dishes should be put into the final in this autumn’s Toquicimes food festival, which is held every October in the mountainous village of Megève, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France.
It is a serious business. This first offering is a joint entry from Le Prieuré restaurant and Flocons Village, and has been created by a previous winner, chef Emmanuel Renaut. The ingredients include garlic powder (just a little), Gruyère, Reblochon, Savoie white wine – and a “secret”, which turns out to be the chef’s home-made gin.
I dip the crusty bread into the mixture and twirl it around, creating a long oozing cheese string before it snaps. It is heady with umami flavour and tastes even better when I coat the charcuterie in it for the next bite.

I honestly think it is one of the best things I have ever eaten, so I do not envy the judges: two award-winning artisan cheesemongers, the chef from a two Michelin star restaurant, the Grand Maître de la Fondue Savoyarde (Fondue Association), a town hall dignitary and a regional journalist.
Entries are from leading restaurants and five-star hotels in Megève, including Four Seasons and La Fromagerie at the Grand Hôtel Du Soleil d’Or. The scoring criteria include taste – which attracts the most points – aesthetic appearance, how the table is dressed and the inspiration behind the recipe.
I discover that while fondue is known to have originated in Switzerland, this mountain dish has a long tradition in France and Italy too.
Megève is where fondue first appeared on a menu in France, in 1946. The mixture of cheese leftovers, served on potatoes, was already being shared in the village as far back as 1880 at a stagecoach inn owned by the Grosset family – located where Le Chamois restaurant now stands. It is an immensely popular dish among French chefs; indeed, the Fondue Association has 5,000 members.
Next up is a huge buffet-style banquet hosted in the Chocolaterie room of the Grand Hôtel Du Soleil d’Or. I see the fondue judges again – they have completed four tastings, with six to go. I later learn that all 10 entries have made it to the finals. They still have enough belly room to sample the cured meats, pickles, cheese, puy lentil salad, quinoa, rare roast beef and delicate pastries.

I watch the judges head off to their next tasting, thinking they will sleep well tonight – or not, if the theories about cheese dreams are true.
This is the midway point through a 48-hour gastronomic odyssey that has seen my mind and waistline expand with delight.
Fondue is not the only culinary gem I discover on my visit to this charming village, nestled in the lush green foothills of the snow-peaked Mont-Blanc.
Developed by the Rothschild family as a ski resort to rival glamorous St Moritz, Megève is also a perfect summer and autumn season destination, with more than 132 restaurants, a golf course, e-mountain biking and numerous hiking trails. A horse-drawn carriage takes me through the cobbled streets, lined with Alpine buildings that are festooned with colourful flower boxes.
At Studio Givré, I create my own cocktail under the expert tutelage of mixologist Thomas Bencze. First, he says, I must learn how to make a simple base Daiquiri – a mix of lime juice, sugar water and white rum, smashed with ice cubes before being strained into a glass.

Then onto my own. I suggest my favourite flavours – ginger and gin. I have no idea if they go together but Thomas is very encouraging. I pummel raw ginger and replace the rum with gin and the sugar water with mango syrup. The result is surprisingly fantastic, especially when yuzu is dripped into the concoction at the end.
Thomas concludes the visit by juggling the cocktail shakers and bottles before setting fire to the corks of three bottles and breathing fire. Apparently, he enters “extreme bartending” competitions.
After the cocktail aperitif, I walk to Le Torrent – a cosy restaurant with a terrace of tables overlooking a crystal-sparkling stream.
Starters include mushrooms with raspberries, tomatoes with cured ham and snails with parsley butter. I go for bone marrow on toast with freshly shaved truffles because I have never tried either before – do not look up how many calories there are in bone marrow or you will never order it. Mains include French classics of beef fillet, chicken supreme and tartiflette.
For dessert, a fellow guest orders profiterole – expecting a couple of dainty portions. However, it is the circumference of a small dinner plate with several giant scoops of ice cream sandwiched between two giant choux pastries, served with a jug of sticky chocolate sauce. It is passed around the table and even offered to other diners – remaining unfinished, though not unloved.
The Four Seasons Hotel Megève was built fewer than 10 years ago and has garnered a formidable reputation for fine dining – including the Japanese-Peruvian fusion restaurant Kaito.

I am here to meet executive pastry chef Jonathan Chapuy, who presents four exquisite signature creations in the opulent surroundings of the Glass Bar. My favourite is the rhubarb with elderflower and hazelnut croustillant. Chapuy favours his apricot dessert with meadowsweet flowers picked from the hedgerows. All ingredients are seasonal – in winter, he will change to apples and pears.
The desserts are available as takeaways, as are the breakfast croissants I am given, including one filled with crème brûlée.
I am staying at l’Éclat des Vériaz residence – an upmarket combination of hotel rooms and whole chalets to rent or buy. There I am welcomed with a glass of Paul Goerg champagne and a picnic of goodies including a spectacular club sandwich, quinoa and chicken salads, and a pudding put together by Les Chefs s’encanaillent – a private chef service.
The accommodation itself has a glitterball disco in one of the toilets and a newly built spa with an indoor-outdoor pool.
Just before I leave for Geneva airport, we stop for one last lunch at Restaurant Héritage, at Les Chalets Du Mont d’Arbois – a quintessential wooden Alpine lodge hotel. The dining area overlooks the valley – shrouded today in atmospheric clouds which later pour with rain.
Lunch is a sublime 24-hour cooked beef and aubergine stew, served with a creamy, luxuriant mash. And, perhaps surprisingly, I still have the appetite for a dessert of blueberries done four ways.
Roz McKenzie