For many years, Gruyère AOP has been an inseparable partner of the GTS, demonstrating its commitment to high-quality Swiss cuisine.

This partnership involves a number of joint initiatives, such as the TV show Les chefs étoilés des GTS au pays du Gruyère.

The idea of this program is to produce an original, easy-to-make recipe based on Gruyère AOP. The scenario features a cheesemaker or ripener who brings a wheel of Gruyère AOP to the kitchen of a starred chef who is a member of the GTS to concoct an original or revisited dish based on this mythical and symbolic cheese with its very familiar taste.

A total of 10 programs are in production, and will be broadcast 1x a month during the last week of the month (the 1st time at the end of September 2023) on the French-speaking regional TV channels Canal 9, Canal Alpha, Léman Bleu and La Télé Vaud Fribourg. A must-see!

 

Raùl Garcia, 21, sous-chef at Focus (18/20), will be a finalist in Milan. With Guy Ravet as mentor.

SWISS HOPE

Sous-chef to Patrick Mahler at the Focus (18/20 and 2* Michelin) in the Park Hotel Vitznau, Raùl Garcia qualified last year for the final of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef cooking competition, to be held in Milan in early October. For the young man (21), it’s still a long way off: “Right now, I’m not nervous at all. But when I get there, things will certainly change”, says the candidate.

 

EFFICIENCY AND PERFECTION

These are the two qualities that unite Mahler and Garcia. Raùl understands me 100%,” says Patrick Mahler. His motivation and determination are remarkable. So much so that we sometimes forget that he’s only 21 years old.” After his apprenticeship, Raùl interned with Andreas Caminada (19/20) and worked with Pascal Steffen at Roots (17/20) in Basel.

 

 

 

175 luxurious rooms and suites, 4,000 square meters of spa space – and 64 GaultMillau points: “The Dolder Grand” has implemented new, refined dining concepts in keeping with the spirit of the times. GaultMillau awards the Dolder mountain icon the title of “Hotel of the Year”. For the second time after 2016.

Editor-in-chief Urs Heller: “To win the title of ‘Hotel of the Year’ twice in the space of eight years, you have to perform exceptionally well. The Dolder Grand has delivered. The new Japanese restaurant MIKURIYA and the fascinating garden restaurant blooms have delighted us. The jewel in the crown is ‘The Restaurant’ with its 19 points and two stars”. The “masterminds” who turn a luxury resort into a food destination: Markus Granelli, General Manager, and Heiko Nieder, Culinary Director.

The hidden suite, the hidden garden

“Our location is not particularly central,” knows General Manager Markus Granelli, “but with the combination of rooms, spa, art and cuisine, we offer attractive reasons to come home to the ‘Dolder’.” Two new restaurants enter the GaultMillau 2024: “MIKURIYA” with 16 points, “blooms” with 14 points. Their common denominator: refined concepts. Committed chefs. And: to be found only at second glance in the immense hotel complex! A hostess in kimono leads the way to “MIKURIYA”. The Japanese restaurant is housed in the former “Room 100”, which was part of “Suite 100”. “Omakase” is the order of the day. Chef Atsushi Hiraoka determines the 15-course menus, while the counter can only accommodate up to eight customers. The “blooms” is located in an idyllic setting, in a previously unused part of the resort. The table is set between herb and vegetable beds, surrounded by a huge red steel object by Keith Haring. Pure romance. Open only in fine weather (!) The concept: vegan/vegetarian! “The garden is our source of inspiration,” explains Heiko Nieder. Sous-chef Robin Briner implements this demanding concept.

One in six! 19-point chef Heiko Nieder

Heiko Nieder is a “double agent” in the mountains. He develops new concepts. He watches over
every outlet with a sharp eye. But above all, he is a great cook, one of only six chefs in Switzerland to have been awarded the maximum score of 19 points by GaultMillau. Despite dancing at numerous weddings: Chef Heiko performs at the highest level in “The Restaurant”, welcomes his guests with an unlimited cascade of starters, has found a clever formula for the menu itself: New creations and a few signature dishes combine to form a great whole. Unusually for a five-star hotel, the perfect service and wine pairings are provided exclusively by women! The All-Day Saltz restaurant, with its cheeky design by Rolf Sachs and run by Julian Mai, has gained in class, earning the 15th point. In the restaurant and on the terrace, a second chef presents his menu: Oriental chef Firas El-Borji, grand master of Middle Eastern cuisine and favorite of the sheikhs who descend on the Dolder.

Switzerland’s best breakfast

Michelin-starred chef Heiko Nieder is also breakfast director! The Saltz serves the best breakfast in the country. Eight (!) cooks rise at dawn under the direction of Stephan Arnold, pampering guests at the “Dolder”, preparing everything fresh; 13 refined dishes, packed in 200 small pots. Sausage and cheese salad, egg salad, hummus, beef tartar, “organic eggs” in all their variations, not forgetting a few dishes that the chef has perfected for “breakfast”: “pain perdu” (French toast). And the onsen egg with sea trout roe, marinated salmon, potato espuma, dill and wasabi. Exciting pop-ups (“The Lobster Club”, ski chalet romance at “Dolder Lodge”, “Krug Lounge”) complete the offer. And once a year, world-class chefs gather for “The Epicure” food festival.

Murakami and Lord Norman Foster

“The Dolder Grand (built in 1899!) is a fascinating complex. Lord Norman Foster has lovingly restored the historic part of the hotel and skilfully combined it with an elegant new construction. The spa area offers pure relaxation over 4,000 square meters, with a swimming pool, excellent treatments and extensive sun terraces. Relax, chill out and indulge above the rooftops of Zurich.