# L'Étoile des Neiges: the story of a family and four generations dedicated to mountain cooking

The restaurant L'Étoile des Neiges, in Saint-Martin-de-Belleville at 1,400 metres, has been run since 1984 by the Rey, Jay and Laissus families. Its story is part of a family venture that began in 1965 and has spanned four generations, from Marcelle and Joseph Rey to Nicolas Laissus, sous-chef since 2012.

## A family venture born in 1965

In 1965, Marcelle and her husband Joseph converted the family barn into a small hotel with around 10 rooms, named the Edelweiss. The hotel was extended for the first time in 1970: the grandparents and their children, Louis and Christiane, together with their respective spouses Janine and Léon, worked to secure the business's future.

In 1975, Louis and Janine moved to 2,300 metres to devote themselves fully to a restaurant they had built a few years earlier. Christiane and Léon took over the running of the Edelweiss. In 1978, they bought two adjoining houses, doubling the hotel's capacity. In 1984, they acquired the Astrolabe, a former guesthouse, and converted it into a restaurant: L'Étoile des Neiges was born.

Around this time, the grandchildren, Marie-Pierre, Patrick and Florence, joined the family business as employees. They worked there until 1995, when they became owners, together with their respective spouses Jean-Michel, Marie-Laure and Philippe.

## Granny Marcelle, founder and source of inspiration

Marcelle, the project's founder, is described by her family as a visionary, who took on the hotel venture before the resort of Saint-Martin-de-Belleville was developed. Patrick describes her as "a very good cook", adding: "she was THE benchmark."

The restaurant's speciality, rissoles, was created in her honour. The restaurant makes more than 20,000 of them, on average, each season. Marcelle also passed on to Patrick a founding principle of her cooking, summed up in his own words: "The first thing my grandmother taught me wasn't presentation, it was taste and quantity. It doesn't matter if you're a bit more expensive than everyone else, but buy good produce."

## Patrick Laissus, chef since 1992

Patrick Laissus became the restaurant's chef in 1992, aged 26, with the ambition of leading a small kitchen team. He has since worked alongside his wife, his two sisters, his two brothers-in-law and, since 2012, his son Nicolas, who holds the position of sous-chef. The kitchen team has six members.

Patrick places particular importance on sharing and passing on skills. He says he learns every year from the young people who join the team, while passing on his own experience to them. He also mentions plans for the restaurant, which he prefers to keep confidential.

## Authentic, home-made cooking

The restaurant's menu is entirely made on site, from petits fours to ice cream. Patrick Laissus favours fresh, high-quality produce, most of it locally sourced. The menus, described as simple and traditional, are designed to suit a wide range of diners, prioritising the produce over presentation.

## Key points

- More than 20,000 rissoles, the restaurant's signature dish, are made on average each season.
- L'Étoile des Neiges, founded in 1984, continues a family hotel venture that began in 1965.
- A team of six runs the kitchen, led by chef Patrick Laissus, in post since 1992.
- Nicolas Laissus, sous-chef since 2012, represents the family's fourth generation at the restaurant.
- The menu is entirely home-made, with priority given to fresh, local produce.
