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René et Maxime MEILLEUR
Long gone are the days when this divine family chalet, at once chic and terribly welcoming, confined itself to offering simple, but meticulous, Savoyard cuisine to tourists hungry from their day on the slopes. It was the '70s, Maxime Meilleur was still in kindergarten, and his parents, René and Marie-Louise, could never have imagined that so many honors would one day reward their home.
It was a meal at Bocuse's, in the early 80s, that triggered the couple's interest. René Meilleur's cuisine evolved, raclettes and tartiflettes disappeared, and the former dishwasher at Club Med gradually found his way into a more ambitious cuisine with each passing year.
A member of the French junior biathlon team, Maxime will never be the equal of Martin Fourcade or Raphaël Poirée, and chooses to join the kitchens alongside his father. He was just 21, and the father-son duo quickly found their feet, propelling this marvellous establishment to third and then fourth toque status, while gradually upgrading a hotel that today ranks among the most welcoming in the Alps.
Always on the move, perpetually striving for excellence and new projects, the duo have also launched a mountain bistro called Simple et Meilleur, created a bakery and obtained the Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant (Living Heritage Company) label. La Bouitte continues to shine.
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Self-made chefs, René and Maxime Meilleur
Self-taught from father to son. Not out of conviction or dogma, but out of necessity. René, the father, because he had to work and thought it would be a good idea to build a hut on his piece of the mountain to feed the skiers. Maxime, the son, because this top-level biathlete had to give up his sport at the age of 21, due to a lack of success. Self-taught then, but at home, because it's in this context that you can take the time to do what you want - including making mistakes - to question yourself, to dream too. That's how, one thing leading to another, René and Maxime Meilleur have built - practically with their own hands - a top-flight hotel and restaurant, now showered with honours and awards.
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