Savoyard Cheese & Fondue Experience

The Savoyard Cheese & Fondue Experience is a 3.5-hour guided tasting and lunch operated by Saveurs d'Annecy, a local food tour company specialising in the cuisine of Haute-Savoie in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. The experience begins with a guided walk through Annecy's market at Place Sainte-Claire — one of the liveliest outdoor markets in the French Alps — followed by a fondue lunch in the medieval old town with a professional fromager.

Annecy's Saturday and Tuesday markets draw farmers and artisan producers from across the Haute-Savoie and Mont Blanc corridor. The guide leads participants through the market's cheese and dairy section, identifying the seasonal mountain cheeses on display: Reblochon de Savoie (a creamy washed-rind cheese produced in the Aravis valleys), Beaufort (a large-format hard cheese made in high-altitude chalets), Tomme de Savoie (a versatile medium-firm cheese with grey rind), and Abondance (a pressed cooked cheese from the Abondance valley). An artisan fromager gives a short presentation on each cheese, explaining the altitude, the breed of cattle, and the seasonal milk cycle that differentiates mountain cheeses from lowland varieties.

The market section lasts approximately 45 minutes, after which the group moves to a traditional Savoyard restaurant in Annecy's old town for a fondue savoyarde lunch. The fondue served uses a blend of mountain cheeses — traditionally Beaufort, Comté, and Emmental — melted with local white wine (typically Apremont or Roussette de Savoie) and a trace of kirsch. The guide explains the correct eating technique, the history of fondue as a farmer's winter dish, and the regional etiquette surrounding the traditional bread-drop forfeit.

Saveurs d'Annecy has been operating food tours in the Annecy region since 2015 with a roster of English- and French-speaking guides. Group sizes run from four to ten participants. Vegetarians are fully accommodated. The programme runs year-round, though the winter season (October to April) is the most authentic period, coinciding with the alpine cheese season when dairy herds descend from high pastures.