Trappeurs Mark 2

Back in the Alps we revisit Trappeurs. Although it's a quiet time they accommodate 9 adults and 5 children (all english) stoically and efficiently at short notice. Only two at the grown up table order starters. A salade de pays and a salade chevre chaud. Both are monstrous. The menu does say "Our starter are huge - consider sharing them" I commend this strategy to you.

For mains I ask for Magret de canard. They ask rose ou non and I ask for entre les deux. It arrives magnificently black and crusty but just below the subtle crunch is a tender pink slice of duck. Excellent accompaniments, quality vegetables, the vin de la semaine turns out to be a 2002 beaujolais. The whole event is very nice. After desserts the men retire to the bar to join the chef in an un-named brandy. I mention that too much wine leaves me with a dry taste in the mouth in the morning - his answer is of course another glass of brandy. "le cognac est un couvercle pour l'estomac". Sounds better in french than "brandy puts a lid on yer dinner". I pay the bill, stagger home and yes he's right. The dry taste in the mouth is absent. The dull thud is still there. I find out later that the women in the party were force fed cointreau by the chef's wife and another tale was told about its efficacy in sorting out stomachs and other parts of the body.