| Long before there was a luxury chain of | | | | in European cuisine. Switzerland's most culturally |
| Ritz-Carlton hotels, or a lavish Hotel Ritz in Paris, | | | | diverse canton also dishes up the most |
| or even before people started to describe | | | | memorable cuisine and produces some of the |
| something sumptuous as "ritzy," there was Cesar | | | | country's most delectable foods. |
| Ritz, the "king of hoteliers and the hotelier to | | | | For as long as people have lived in Valais they |
| kings." Born in 1850 in the Swiss village of | | | | have made cheese and even today, melted |
| Niederwald, it's easy to conclude that his penchant | | | | cheese is the essence of a traditional meal in |
| for good taste and elegant style, both in cuisine | | | | Valais. They served it with potatoes, pearl onions |
| and accommodation, was acquired early in life | | | | and gherkins. Today there are many soft cheeses |
| while living in the canton of Valais. | | | | and imitations of raclette cheese, yet the original |
| When foodies' discussion turns to the legendary | | | | is still unmatched. The reason is this: Valais is the |
| gastronomic regions of Europe, Valais does not | | | | only place where raclette cheese has been made |
| have the far-flung notoriety or culinary cachet of | | | | from unpasteurized raw milk for centuries without |
| Lyon to the west or Tuscany to the south. And | | | | alteration. The cheesemakers of Valais produce a |
| though Valais is not widely celebrated as a | | | | total of 2,000 tons of raclette cheese - and more |
| gastronomic hotspot, it has a well-deserved and | | | | every year. |
| longstanding reputation for wonderfully distinctive | | | | The people of Valais realized that the mountain |
| and well prepared food. | | | | farmers and cheesemakers could only survive if |
| Simply put, I've never had a bad meal in Valais. | | | | their raclette cheese remained distinctive and |
| Oh, I'm certain they serve pedestrian meals there | | | | unmistaken from the industrially and more cheaply |
| as they do anywhere else in Europe. It's just that | | | | produced version. For this reason, efforts were |
| I haven't found the place yet. And while happily | | | | made in Valais to protect raclette cheese against |
| relishing both home-cooked and restaurant faire, | | | | imitation. Once the responsible federal office had |
| I've come to respect the rich culinary tradition, | | | | accepted the application, protests from the other |
| the agricultural abundance, and the vibrant talent | | | | cantons immediately followed. The supply of |
| which Valaisan cooks bring to the table. | | | | raclette cheese to the Swiss people was at |
| If your idea of Swiss food is cheese, chocolate, | | | | stake, it was argued, because the cheesemakers |
| and potatoes, you'll be pleasantly surprised in | | | | of Valais were no longer in a position to satisfy |
| Valais, where cultures collide to bring out the best | | | | the nation's appetite for raclette. |