Kelly Wearstler Cooks Up a Textural Feast for Beefbar in Courchevel

Skiers flock to Courchevel for its meticulously groomed pistes and sweeping alpine scenery, but beyond the slopes, the French resort has long cultivated a reputation for five-star hospitality famously captured in the sunlit après-ski photographs of Slim Aarons. A soigné mix of Michelin-starred restaurants, destination hotels, and chalet living continues to draw well-heeled clientele season after season. At the center stands L’Apogée Courchevel, an Oetker Hotels property whose chalet architecture by Joseph Dirand and confidently joyful interiors by India Mahdavi have established a distinctive address within the Jardin Alpin. The hotel now unveils its latest chapter with the debut of Beefbar, where Kelly Wearstler orchestrated a Brutalist-inspired dining room sure to court an aristocratic crowd while traversing fresh territory in her practice.

The restaurant marks Wearstler’s inaugural hospitality project in Europe and her debut alpine commission, prompting the venturesome California-based designer to immerse herself wholeheartedly in the fantasies of mountain life. Taking cues from expansive alpine vistas, she harmonized the rugged topography with natural materials—leathered stone, nuanced timber, supple textiles, burnished metals—and a palette of earthy greens, imposing charcoals, and garnet reds to conjure unfussy interiors imbued with a warm, enveloping intimacy. “The landscape is unapologetically dramatic, and that scale invited us to respond with something equally monumental, almost cinematic against the mountainscape,” she tells Galerie, noting she avoided anything that felt too classical. “There’s an inherent glamour to après-ski culture in the French Alps—a kind of alpine theater—and that gave us permission to lean into the fantasy.”

The fairytale opens at the piano lounge, where a striking sculptural staircase with angular, Brutalist-inspired timber balustrades sets a dramatic overture for what lies ahead. “There’s a quiet Brutalist spirit in the project, expressed through the bold architectural use of timber,” Wearstler says. “It reads as monumental, almost sculptural, with the material pushed to perform structurally and emotionally.” Angled double-height walls clad in muted pine with a textured charred surface deliver optimal acoustics for a centerpiece Edelweiss piano positioned at the base, one of Wearstler’s favorite moments.

Above, the central bar adopts a more relaxed register with vintage pine chairs crowned by a custom blown-glass chandelier fashioned by Paris designer Nathalie Ziegler, the room’s irrefutable pièce de résistance. In the salon, meanwhile, low banquettes gather beneath a mirrored ceiling, while subdued lighting casts a soft glow. Floor-to-ceiling windows frame snow-dusted peaks and the wider alpine panorama, while angular furnishings extend the Brutalist-inflected language established in the piano lounge.

This being a Kelly Wearstler project, she naturally curated an expansive collection of artwork and collectible design that elevate nearly every corner with gilded accents and tactile intrigue. “Curating art was foundational to the project,” she explains, having tapped a roster of primarily French and European talents to ensure the array of works “felt collected over time rather than newly decorated.” Throughout the rooms, abstract paintings by figures such as Georges Vaxelaire, Paul Ackerman, and Henry Meylan share wall space with glazed ceramic panels by Pere Noguera, fiber works by Ginette and Daniel Taggart, sculptural furnishings by Paul Kingma, and luminaires by Rosie Li. Custom commissions, including a ceramic relief by Maryia Virshych and bespoke works by Sanne Terweij, reinforce the restaurant’s flair for unexpected textures.

The dining rooms, each articulated through their own palette yet united by warm wood cladding and window banquettes oriented toward the mountains, introduce the Beefbar concept in full. Here, guests enjoy global signatures and indulgent Alpine fare under Executive Chef Romain Antoine, including prized cuts of Black Angus, Wagyu, and Kobe beef paired with Beefbar’s signature sauces and truffle mash, alongside comfort-driven plates such as the Beefy Cordon Bleu with veal filet and Wagyu beef prosciutto, the crisp Croque Sando, and pappardelle finished with Wagyu bolognese.

Reflecting on her work at Courchevel, Wearstler raves about how the restaurant’s ambience hits sublime notes as evening settles in. “As the sun sets, the atmosphere shifts. The lighting becomes deeply sensual—a low amber glow washes the room, mirrored ceilings catching and multiplying the light from illuminated artworks and fixtures,” she says, explaining her desire to heighten materiality, texture, and sensuality to frame luxury against the sheer power of the Alpine landscape. “It feels intimate, immersive, and just a little decadent.”