VIDEO. At more than 3,000 meters above sea level and at the whim of storms, this restaurant has become an institution in Savoy

Perched above the Tignes station, on the Grande Motte glacier, the restaurant Le Panoramic has become a local institution. In this environment, more than 3,000 meters above sea level, its operation is a daily challenge.

It is 8 am, it does -5 ° C and the day barely comes up. The caterpillar engine at Le Panoramic restaurant deceives the relative morning tranquility of the Tignes station. The small vehicle spins at full speed to the funicular departure station.

The restaurant team is already on site. A human chain immediately sets in motion to empty the goods of the caterpillar and transfer it to the funicular: meat, bread, fresh fruits and vegetables, which will be worked in the kitchen of the restaurant, at 3,032 meters above sea level, on the Great Motte glacier.

“We go up between one and two tonnes of fresh products every day. We are about thirty, so it goes quickly to load everything. But we have not yet arrived up there.”gets impatient Jean-Michel Bouvier, founder of Maison Bouvier, who holds the Panoramic restaurant.

The members of the brigade take advantage of a few minutes of respite in the funicular to rest. The surge of tourists during the Christmas holidays left brands on the faces. The brigade is still groggy. When the funicular arrived, Jean-Michel shakes his troops a little and prepares the menus of the day according to what remains in reserve.

Outside the restaurant, the south wind still blows. He swept the snow from the terrace overnight. This is always less to do for the operating manager, Alix Saint-Germain: “Today, there was so much wind that nothing arose on the terrace, so the snow removal was quite easy. But sometimes, when it snows almost 40 cm in the station, we can be with 1.90 meters widers that come to snuggle up against the doors.

In the kitchens, the conductor, it's Bernard Pinaud. He has spent a large part of his professional life in gourmet restaurants. At 63, he transmitted his passion for cooking to the new generation: “Me, I have a fairly strict side, but we put a lot of humor, and love. We take them by the hand, we pull them up so that they do a good job, that they 'Drags and they have fun. “

The cooks are busy with the feeling of living a privileged moment in contact with the chef: “We work with products that look like something and we highlight. And work with Bernard, who is someone in the world of cooking is a chance. He could have opened restaurants. But but Finally, he just likes to cook.testifies Baptiste, a young second of cooking.

This gourmet and generous cuisine warms the bodies, soothes the spirits when, outside, the mountain is beaten by the winds.