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Alpine Cooking: Recipes and Stories from Europe's Grand Mountaintops
A lushly photographed cookbook and travelogue showcasing the regional cuisines of the Alps, including 80 recipes for the elegant, rustic dishes served in the chalets and mountain huts situated among the alpine peaks of Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and France.
“A passionate exploration of all things Alpine . . . this one is a must-have for every ski bum foodie.”—Vogue
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
From the wintry peaks of Chamonix and the picturesque trails of Gstaad to the remote villages of the Gastein Valley, the alpine regions of Europe are all-season wonderlands that offer outdoor adventure alongside hearty cuisine and intriguing characters. In Alpine Cooking, food writer Meredith Erickson travels through the region--by car, on foot, and via funicular--collecting the recipes and stories of the legendary stubes, chalets, and refugios. On the menu is an eclectic mix of mountain dishes: radicchio and speck dumplings, fondue brioche, the best schnitzel recipe, Bombardinos, warming soups, wine cave fonduta, a Chartreuse soufflé, and a host of decadent strudels and confections (Salzburger Nockerl, anyone?) served with a bottle of Riesling plucked from the snow bank beside your dining table. Organized by country and including logistical tips, detailed maps, the alpine address book, and narrative interludes discussing alpine art and wine, the Tour de France, high-altitude railways, grand European hotels, and other essential topics, this gorgeous and spectacularly photographed cookbook is a romantic ode to life in the mountains for food lovers, travelers, skiers, hikers, and anyone who feels the pull of the peaks.
Praise for Alpine Cooking
“This generous cookbook and travelogue will have readers booking trips to the Alps of Italy, France, Austria, and Switzerland. . . . Erickson beautifully captures Alpine food and culture in this standout volume.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A passionate exploration of all things Alpine . . . this one is a must-have for every ski bum foodie.”—Vogue
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
From the wintry peaks of Chamonix and the picturesque trails of Gstaad to the remote villages of the Gastein Valley, the alpine regions of Europe are all-season wonderlands that offer outdoor adventure alongside hearty cuisine and intriguing characters. In Alpine Cooking, food writer Meredith Erickson travels through the region--by car, on foot, and via funicular--collecting the recipes and stories of the legendary stubes, chalets, and refugios. On the menu is an eclectic mix of mountain dishes: radicchio and speck dumplings, fondue brioche, the best schnitzel recipe, Bombardinos, warming soups, wine cave fonduta, a Chartreuse soufflé, and a host of decadent strudels and confections (Salzburger Nockerl, anyone?) served with a bottle of Riesling plucked from the snow bank beside your dining table. Organized by country and including logistical tips, detailed maps, the alpine address book, and narrative interludes discussing alpine art and wine, the Tour de France, high-altitude railways, grand European hotels, and other essential topics, this gorgeous and spectacularly photographed cookbook is a romantic ode to life in the mountains for food lovers, travelers, skiers, hikers, and anyone who feels the pull of the peaks.
Praise for Alpine Cooking
“This generous cookbook and travelogue will have readers booking trips to the Alps of Italy, France, Austria, and Switzerland. . . . Erickson beautifully captures Alpine food and culture in this standout volume.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
330 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 15, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
May 10, 2020
Stunning travelogue and recipe collection of this most majestic region of Europe. I lived in France's Savoie region, and hiking in Italy's Alto Adige has long been in my top-5 travel dreams; I love the wines of these regions. The Alpine cuisine is a generally too heavy and dairy-laden for my system, but in small doses it's omg. But I enjoyed this massive tome less for the recipes and more for the stories of this gasp-worthy mountaintop, storybook part of the world that I so dearly love- Alpine Europe.
January 2, 2020
Alpine Cooking is a very fancy-pants cookbook/ travelogue about the Alpine region in several countries--Austria, France, Switzerland, and Italy. I was excited to see this cookbook at the library, because I have a difficult time finding books about Switzerland/ Swiss culture and history, which is my (distant) heritage, and this seemed promising. And, I mean, it's nice. It's huge and heavy and fancy. It's got blurbs by Stanley Tucci and the head chef of some very expensive restaurant in Manhattan that is so fancy it doesn't post menus or prices on their website, among others. There's lots of excellent photography of the region, and lots of discussion and information about it as well. Reflections on skiing and other travel through the region, introductions to more fancy restaurants.
There are actually eventually recipes, and I'm sure they're authentic and delicious, but they are pretty fancy too, often prefaced with required equipment such as meat grinders, mandolines, special silicone molds, high speed blenders, fondue sets, pasta machines, potato ricers, etc. The recipes also call for some difficult ingredients to find, like bee pollen, salsify (which I've been dying to try for years, but cannot find ANYWHERE around me), pumpkin seed oil, and walnut oil, which the author admits is difficult to locate in the United States, "but you can just order it online from" so and so supplier. There's not exactly anything wrong with these facts. It just it pretty obvious that I'm not in the economic bracket of the expected reader, and probably couldn't make many of the recipes, even if I tried.
I do appreciate that each recipe is given a rating, from easy to difficult. And there are lovely maps of the region included at the back of the book. But aside from a glimpse at how another economic bracket lives, in other countries, and some impressive photography, this book is not very useful for me. I already knew that most food from this region is heavy in animal products and gluten, and these recipes were very consistent with that. Almost everything involves some kind of dough, meat, or dairy, if not all of the above. However, I'd say that there IS a market for this travelogue/ cookbook. It's just not me. So if you like high-end food with expensive ingredients and have a fully stocked, almost professional kitchen, and/or like to read about the lives of the wealthy, it may be just the book for you.
There are actually eventually recipes, and I'm sure they're authentic and delicious, but they are pretty fancy too, often prefaced with required equipment such as meat grinders, mandolines, special silicone molds, high speed blenders, fondue sets, pasta machines, potato ricers, etc. The recipes also call for some difficult ingredients to find, like bee pollen, salsify (which I've been dying to try for years, but cannot find ANYWHERE around me), pumpkin seed oil, and walnut oil, which the author admits is difficult to locate in the United States, "but you can just order it online from" so and so supplier. There's not exactly anything wrong with these facts. It just it pretty obvious that I'm not in the economic bracket of the expected reader, and probably couldn't make many of the recipes, even if I tried.
I do appreciate that each recipe is given a rating, from easy to difficult. And there are lovely maps of the region included at the back of the book. But aside from a glimpse at how another economic bracket lives, in other countries, and some impressive photography, this book is not very useful for me. I already knew that most food from this region is heavy in animal products and gluten, and these recipes were very consistent with that. Almost everything involves some kind of dough, meat, or dairy, if not all of the above. However, I'd say that there IS a market for this travelogue/ cookbook. It's just not me. So if you like high-end food with expensive ingredients and have a fully stocked, almost professional kitchen, and/or like to read about the lives of the wealthy, it may be just the book for you.
November 26, 2019
An extra star for gorgeousness, but I don't think the recipes are practical for most folks and they're far too meaty for my household.
December 31, 2020
This is such a fun book to read and really makes you enjoy winter, winter activities and winter cooking. We are breaking our New Years Chinese food tradition and having Raclette tonight after this books inspiration. Warning: Makes you want to travel to Europe. Even in winter. Badly.
August 20, 2026
I haven't cooked a single recipe from this gorgeous book, but I love this travelogue and coffee-table-style hardback book (with a bright red spine) and I have perused it a number of times.
Many or most recipes are from well-known and expensive restaurants in the Alps that include Switzerland, Italy, Austria and more. I've been fortunate to eat at a couple of them and who knows if in the future there will be more. (We are able to stay with relatives in Switzerland so there's that.) The recipes have gourmet, aka fancy and expensive, ingredients that we might be able to locate in the states. However, for those who don't want a heavy cheese and meat forward menu, maybe you can substitute with fish or chicken.
The photos are pretty amazing too. If you love food or Switzerland, Italy, Austria, it's a lovely book to own and read about the travel areas and opportunities to dream about.
January 3, 2020
This book is a beauty--not necessarily in its role as a cookbook, but more so in its ability to capture a sense of place. I soo want to travel (and eat) here.
August 6, 2020
Fantastic book. A few mistakes (you can’t heli-ski in Chamonix, for example) but wonderful for its enthusiasm, eye for detail and tradition and of course great recipes.
February 22, 2022
This is one of my favorite cookbooks, ever.
David Lebovitz
This is big, bold, gloriously old-fashioned and the perfect title to snuggle up with to dream about the skiing holiday you can’t afford.
Diana Henry
David Lebovitz
This is big, bold, gloriously old-fashioned and the perfect title to snuggle up with to dream about the skiing holiday you can’t afford.
Diana Henry
February 12, 2023
This is a gorgeous book, but it wasn't what I was hoping for. Alpine cooking is relatively simple, and I was hoping that this book would have those recipes. Instead it's full of recipes from expensive restaurants in the Alps. So basically, the more complicated, expensive version of Alpine recipes-though I'm sure they're delicious! For example, the bread soup, which normally you would make with leftover stale bread, calls for you to make your own fresh bread 2 days before from a particular recipe. Again, I'm sure it's fabulous, but it wasn't what I was expecting.
February 7, 2020
Meredith Erickson spent the better part of a decade traveling through the Alps. In this volume that's part cookbook and part travelogue, she shares recipes and stories from her alpine galavanting.
This is a stunningly beautiful book. I don't have the kindle edition; I have the print copy. And I love flipping through it for the photographs, her narrative, and the recipes.
Some people have commented that they are not practical for the home cook, but I would counter that she includes a difficulty level with each recipe. I think she's pretty fair with it. You certainly have to know your way around a kitchen for the "difficult" ones, but the medium and easy ones seem very accessible.
I will be keeping this cook within arms distance for any inspiration that I need from that area.
This is a stunningly beautiful book. I don't have the kindle edition; I have the print copy. And I love flipping through it for the photographs, her narrative, and the recipes.
Some people have commented that they are not practical for the home cook, but I would counter that she includes a difficulty level with each recipe. I think she's pretty fair with it. You certainly have to know your way around a kitchen for the "difficult" ones, but the medium and easy ones seem very accessible.
I will be keeping this cook within arms distance for any inspiration that I need from that area.
May 30, 2021
This is a fantastically produced book that is truly a love story to the Alps. I’ve just spent a small bit of time in the Swiss Alps, and “Alpine Cooking” makes me not only want to go back there, but also explore the rest of the Alps!
The photos (of both the food and the locations) are superb, and the recipes look delish. Worthwhile cookbook for sure!
The photos (of both the food and the locations) are superb, and the recipes look delish. Worthwhile cookbook for sure!
February 4, 2025
I enjoyed this book for the stories, pictures and food descriptions.
Having spent time skiing in several of the locations described in the book - I must say the descriptions are good. The food at the small hotels and restaurants weather in a small town or on the actual ski slope is authentic, homey and delicious. Not the fast food burgers, hotdogs and chili usually served at slopes near me. I feel the restaurants are described much like I remember them, family run with a charming feel.
There are more stories then recipes in the book - in case you were expecting more of a cook book. Some of the recipes call for ingredients not commonly found but having read a lot of cook books lately, I find most every book calls for some ingredients that you have to search for.
I personally love the food of the Alps, yes, it is heavy and rich with a lot of dishes featuring meat, dairy and baked goods but when you are spending full days skiing or hiking it is not that big of a problem. Cooking many of the recipes at home while living a less active lifestyle may make them feel overly indulgent, especially in the warmer seasons. This is food that is part of life in the alpine mountains and the life there - eating vegetables, fruit and berries in the warmer seasons when they are available - in the winter, as the author writes, it can be difficult for the restaurants and hotels to get regular deliveries and you have to rely on what you have and what will last you.
It was a very enjoyable book weather you use the recipes or not.
Having spent time skiing in several of the locations described in the book - I must say the descriptions are good. The food at the small hotels and restaurants weather in a small town or on the actual ski slope is authentic, homey and delicious. Not the fast food burgers, hotdogs and chili usually served at slopes near me. I feel the restaurants are described much like I remember them, family run with a charming feel.
There are more stories then recipes in the book - in case you were expecting more of a cook book. Some of the recipes call for ingredients not commonly found but having read a lot of cook books lately, I find most every book calls for some ingredients that you have to search for.
I personally love the food of the Alps, yes, it is heavy and rich with a lot of dishes featuring meat, dairy and baked goods but when you are spending full days skiing or hiking it is not that big of a problem. Cooking many of the recipes at home while living a less active lifestyle may make them feel overly indulgent, especially in the warmer seasons. This is food that is part of life in the alpine mountains and the life there - eating vegetables, fruit and berries in the warmer seasons when they are available - in the winter, as the author writes, it can be difficult for the restaurants and hotels to get regular deliveries and you have to rely on what you have and what will last you.
It was a very enjoyable book weather you use the recipes or not.
February 28, 2021
Really 3.5. I have made the Swiss schnitzel and the goulash and dumplings featured in the book. The schnitzel was fantastic, the goulash and dumplings were okay. I think we were expecting more of a stew like consistency with them and got more of a soup like texture which shouldn't be a surprise since there was no thickner in it, the picture of it just made it look stew like. Also, I GF'd all the recipes, so this probably effected the recipes a little.
As a travel book this book is really beautiful. Just as a cooking book it's alright. There are a lot of stuff that's going to be inaccessible, unless you want to spend an arm and a leg ordering it online. For example quark ( it's described as being the German equivalent to cream cheese). I just can't justify the expense, and even though I have a recipe from another book to make my own I'm a little eh on that-seems like a risk for stomach flu.
As a travel book this book is really beautiful. Just as a cooking book it's alright. There are a lot of stuff that's going to be inaccessible, unless you want to spend an arm and a leg ordering it online. For example quark ( it's described as being the German equivalent to cream cheese). I just can't justify the expense, and even though I have a recipe from another book to make my own I'm a little eh on that-seems like a risk for stomach flu.
March 28, 2026
More of a chic travel guide than a realistic cookbook. For example, one recipe described as only medium difficulty involved a live fish of a hard to source variety and a bat. But it was a very enjoyable and exhaustive study of the cuisine and mountain culture. It includes oodles of gorgeous pictures that are bound to incite wanderlust although I fear if you actually ate like this regularly you would certainly get gout.
October 9, 2020
More a travel book with recipes than a true cook book. Some of the recipes have quantities that would be used in restaurant rather then home kitchen. I do enjoy books that make me excited about the world and this one made me want to go on a cheese tour, or explore the alps - or perhaps just get out my fondue pot.
March 31, 2022
The writer seemed to almost be bragging about her travel at times, and not every recipe is accessible to cooks in the US... but as a combo photography-recipe-travel book, overall I did enjoy the ride!
January 17, 2025
Gorgeous book, but definitely felt more like a travel guide or coffee table book than a functional cookbook (hence the 2 stars). There were recipes from fancy hotels, but nothing I really felt empowered to try.
March 19, 2020
Wonderful pictures, tasty-looking recipes, and an entertaining travelogue of the Alps.
August 24, 2020
Wow! More of a travel guide than a cookbook, at least for me. Not sure how many of the recipes I’d make, but I now definitely want to spend time eating my way across the alps!
September 4, 2020
A very interesting cookbook. It is not for vegetarians however and some of the recipes are quite difficult.
January 19, 2021
A good distraction travel and food cookbook.
February 9, 2021
Everything I wanted it to be!
December 14, 2023
Meredith Erickson is The Bomb.
I could read and look at this beauty all. Day. Long.
I could read and look at this beauty all. Day. Long.
February 2, 2024
This is a great photography and story book.
It’s also a poor excuse for a cook book- making exclusive inaccessible dishes from cuisine that is often hearty and simple.
It’s also a poor excuse for a cook book- making exclusive inaccessible dishes from cuisine that is often hearty and simple.
September 2, 2025
why are ppl buying a book called ALPINE COOKING with recipes from the ALPS in EUROPE and then being surprised when the recipes call for ingredients from ALPINE REGIONS
Read
January 24, 2020Violating my "must cook at least one recipe from each cookbook" rule for this one. It's not quite true to say that ALL of the recipes are unrealistic for the average home cook, but MANY of them certainly are. I mean, my life at this point is not going to be enriched by making my own sausage, and I'd rather get raclette at a restaurant than buy the grill and have it take up space in my storage unit (my apartment is 400 square feet and I share it! I need fantasy, not kitchen appliances!).
This really is a fantastic book, though. Scoff if you will at a massive $50 hardcover about the friggin' Alps, but it really does evoke a sense of place. I spent a very small amount of time in the French Alps while on vacation in 2007, and this took me right back to the food I ate and the things I saw. It would be a fabulous present for anyone who might be interested in the Alps. The photography is lovely, the interviews are great, and it's full of tidbits like wine and cheese lists. And SOME of the recipes are perfectly usable. I considered the Muesli recipe, the Reblochon baked potato, or tartiflette if I could ever even remotely justify it. The Mont Blanc recipe made me remember that I can go out and buy a Mont Blanc for $6 and my kitchen will magically stay clean, so that's always nice.
A beautiful winter cookbook, definitely worth a peruse if you can get it at the library, and a great housewarming gift for a travel-loving friend.
This really is a fantastic book, though. Scoff if you will at a massive $50 hardcover about the friggin' Alps, but it really does evoke a sense of place. I spent a very small amount of time in the French Alps while on vacation in 2007, and this took me right back to the food I ate and the things I saw. It would be a fabulous present for anyone who might be interested in the Alps. The photography is lovely, the interviews are great, and it's full of tidbits like wine and cheese lists. And SOME of the recipes are perfectly usable. I considered the Muesli recipe, the Reblochon baked potato, or tartiflette if I could ever even remotely justify it. The Mont Blanc recipe made me remember that I can go out and buy a Mont Blanc for $6 and my kitchen will magically stay clean, so that's always nice.
A beautiful winter cookbook, definitely worth a peruse if you can get it at the library, and a great housewarming gift for a travel-loving friend.
January 18, 2020
Full of beautiful places, people, and food. Some recipes will be tried, others will just be admired. A travelogue and cultural history as well as a recipe book. 4 stars for the photographs.
January 14, 2020
Gorgeous photographs and restaurant recommendations make this more of a cozy travel resource than a cookbook. It's lovely to look at but I think I can rely more on the recipes from my other Austrian cookbooks.
It does make me want to get up there and hike. I don't really know how to ski.
From Alpine Words of Advice
Number 6: Eat a schnitzel (see p. 145) at almost every stop. It builds character.
It does make me want to get up there and hike. I don't really know how to ski.
From Alpine Words of Advice
Number 6: Eat a schnitzel (see p. 145) at almost every stop. It builds character.
December 18, 2019
Beautiful, for me it was mostly the scenery that wowed - not so much the food. If I were traveling to all of these locations I would absolutely get excited about the food, and appreciated the recipes and their history ahead of time...but I most likely won’t make them at home. I also loved the little travel tips and history bits on the sides.
December 12, 2019
This is a gorgeous cookbook! It makes me want to see more of the alps and enjoy the recipes where and how they were meant to be enjoyed. As it is, I will attempt a few at home... Lovely photos and history behind the recipes and locations.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews