Bourg Saint Maurice - Les Arcs - On rue Capitaine Desserteaux, the warm smell of fresh waffles mingles with the fruity flavours of homemade ice creams. Behind the discreet front of the Dôme des Glaciers lies much more than just a summer sweet shop: it's a veritable mountain workshop, rooted in the seasons, the land and a taste for things well done.
The adventure began with Frédéric Vogel and Valérie Lelong-Favre, both from Haute-Savoie, but who have lived in Bourg-Saint-Maurice for several years.
Frédéric, a ski patroller in the winter, started up a red fruit farming business between Aime and Bourg seven years ago. Then came the idea of taking over an existing local ice cream parlour and turning it into a unique artisanal ice cream parlour.
Home-made, seasonal ice creams from local suppliers
In summer, some of the red fruit still comes from Frédéric's fields, but most of the ingredients are now carefully sourced: strawberries, raspberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants from the Val de Drôme, apricots from the Diois and melons from the Luberon.
The milk comes from the Rullier farm, just a few kilometres away. Each flavour is created using a unique recipe. Nothing is standardised, everything is designed according to the texture, the ingredient and the amount of natural sugar.
At the same time, Valérie trained with master craftsmen, from Annecy to L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, all the way up to Meilleur Ouvrier de France. The result is a range that's both delicious and rigorous: flavoursome ice creams, homemade ice cakes, cakes, cookies, crêpes, waffles and even brunches served at weekends in their new, enlarged shop.
"We started out in a very small space on the pedestrian street, which was really cramped. A year ago, we moved here, to a more suitable location, with a real space to eat in. explains Frédéric, a modest smile on his face.
A signature ice cream, all year round
Summer is the peak season, but business doesn't stop once the snow falls in the Haute-Tarentaise. In winter, the house offers frozen logs, vacherins and even its signature dessert: the Dome.
An icy half-sphere on a soft dacquoise, this frosted pastry comes in a choice of two flavours, topped with dark chocolate, passion fruit, raspberry or milk chocolate. Available in 4, 6 or 8 person formats, it has become the brand's signature product. "We sell them all year round, even in miniature versions, like profiteroles. "says Frédéric.
As well as the shop, the team also sell their products on the road: you'll find them at the Tignes market every week, where regulars come to pick up their favourite fragrance, as regularly as they do in the summer.
In Bourg, customers are loyal, often astonished to discover a level of quality that has nothing to envy the big houses. "They were the ones who told us one day that we were doing "something good". So we've tried to hold on to that line, never lowering the bar."
In this valley where people often talk about verticality, altitude and grand estates, "Le Dôme des Glaciers" reminds us that true luxury sometimes lies in a spoonful of melting ice cream, a piece of fruit picked when ripe, or the crunch of a home-made biscuit. And that's an art in itself.
Find out more
- Price: around ten euros 2 balls 5.50 euros
- Opening times: daily from 8am to 7pm and on Wednesdays and Fridays until 9.30pm
- Address: 31, Rue Capitaine Desserteaux, 73700 Bourg-Saint-Maurice
- Contact: 04 79 09 88 39