“I would like this love of the profession to live on and I thank my team for being so passionate and professional!”
Her background
Fanny Chanove is from Haute-Savoie and is proud of her home region and the natural environment there. She grew up in Megève and flew the nest when she went to Lyon to study accounting and management. Once she had finished her studies, she came back home to Haute-Savoie, where she met her future husband, Hubert Chanove. At the time, Hubert was working as a chef with his father in their family restaurant, Le Refuge des Gourmets. After they were awarded a Michelin star in 2016, Fanny joined the company and helped her husband run the restaurant from 2019. She learnt the ropes from her mother-in-law, Florence, who was managing the restaurant when she arrived and taught her all about the culinary arts and hospitality.
The restaurant
Fanny is now manager of the restaurant. She is attentive to the needs of both her customers and employees and she knows every part of the business like the back of her hand. This way of working is what makes this growing family business so successful and welcoming. She also makes time for training and acquiring new skills to build on her experience as a herbalist. Fanny is also in charge of welcoming and serving customers, and table presentation. She enjoys passing her values on to any passionate newcomers, with a special focus on women in particular. As a professional in the hospitality business herself, she represents and encourages the role of women in this industry. When it comes to serving customers, Fanny compares it to ballet dancing where eye contact is key. She shows her team how to move around the restaurant gracefully and smoothly, providing a naturally eloquent and top-quality service.
Fanny invites customers to come to Le Refuge des Gourmets for a real fine-dining, culinary experience. With the chef’s dishes, she strives to tell a story and highlight the hard work done by everyone involved in the process, including winegrowers and farmers.
Fanny lives in a region where there is so much to see and do, and she loves exploring nature on a walk through the forest or a sporty hike with family or friends. She cares deeply about the environment, plays her part in protecting it and encourages the people around her to do the same. The foraging outings that her husband organises in Les Voirons are also in keeping with this desire to raise awareness, and as an added bonus, participants get to enjoy learning from the chef while exploring nature.