Going Beyond Convention with Infiniti
You may have noticed from my Instagram early last week that I took a quick trip to Chamonix. It's been years since I ventured to the French Alps, so when I was invited to go with Infiniti, I jumped at the chance to see some snow. I'm not one for the cold, but when I'm all wrapped up with feet crunching through pretty white powder - that's another thing entirely. If it's going to be cold, it might as well be done properly.
After a fast flight to Geneva, we were greeted by the Infiniti team. I was told to bring my driver's license, but I didn't actually think they'd let me drive! But I did, on five hours sleep - thank god for automatic gears and a very smooth ride - (the QX70 is definitely one of the most comfortable cars I've driven). After driving across the Swiss/French border and along the winding motorways, through the towering Alps, wemade it safe and sound to our chalets, where we were staying the night and later cooking with chef Simone Zanoni - the head chef at Gordon Ramsey's 2 Michelin-starred restaurant, the Trianon Palace in Versailles.
While a few went off to ski, a group of us were whisked off in our chariots to a near-by farm to taste local cheeses, bread and wine, and to cuddle baby lambs -yup, I think we got the good deal. While the others were freezing on the slopes (the weather conditions weren't ideal for skiing that day), we were warm and cosy inside, munching on cheese, bread, pumpkin soup and tasting various different wines. After a little tour of the farm, which made its own flour - a key ingredient for Simone's highly-anticipated pasta making course later that day, we headed back to the chalets to be kitted out with aprons and cook. An afternoon of cooking and warming up by the fire, was followed by champagne and cocktails, and then sitting down to dine on a delicious menu of chestnut soup, pumpkin filled tortellini, beef and panna cotta. After over-eating Italian-style - all ingredients were fresh, so I didn't feel the usual guilt at attempting to finish every dish, I wandered down to my chalet in a warm, fuzzy haze and drifted off to sleep.
Thanks to Infiniti for making this trip possible. All views my own.