Has Annecy left the seventies?

<Photo of the new sushi bar in Carrefour Annecy, Haute Savoie>One of the things I love about living in the French Alps is the slow pace of life and a feeling of community and security. It sometimes feels like Haute Savoie is stuck in the seventies, with the same shopping hours and the popularity of fondue.

However, Annecy seems to be launching into this millennium, with a cupcake shop, the recent modern art cheese roundabout, and an explosion of Asian food restaurants. And the Asian food trend doesn’t stop there: Carrefour supermarket in Annecy now has its very own sushi bar. You can watch the staff make the sushi while you wait, or pick up one of their earlier creations from the shelf of sushi options.

Placed between the fruit and vegetable section and the fresh fish counter for maximum client exposure, the sushi bar was a hive of activity last week. Customers browsed not just the sushi, but the typically overlooked Japanese items that had previously only been for sale in the exotic food aisle. The shelves around the sushi, filled with miso soup, wasabi and a variety of noodles, were emptying as fast as the sushi.

I’m pretty sure a few of those customers were considering whether they could dunk the fish into melted cheese or drizzle Raclette cheese all over it.

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I'm a technical author, journalist and writer from Australia who has been living in Europe since 2000 and exploring the world from there. My passions are writing, snow sports and travel.

9 Comments on “Has Annecy left the seventies?

  1. Wow! These places exist in regional France? I will patiently wait for Provence to arrive in the 21st Century… … …

  2. You jest..but I bet that the Sushi/Raclette Fusion may yet come! What on earth would you reccommend as a wine to go with it though?

  3. Oh Vanessa! And there I was thinking Haute Savoie was the last region still in the 70s – sorry to hear it.

    Lesley, I can’t see any typos. And that’s a very good question: maybe sake? Sushi Shop chain of sushi restaurants are already doing goats cheese and sundried tomato sushi – I’m sure you’re right and that Racelette sushi is only a matter of time. Watch this space!

  4. ha – raclette sushi…such a disturbing/funny thought! I’m quite impressed though – Grenoble Carrefours aren’t nearly so sophisticated! Kudos to Annecy!

  5. Ha ha! I love your last sentence! You know, I adore Raclette and cheese fondu. Maybe it is time I visit your part of the world! I also love sushi but even I wouldn’t mix it with cheese!!