Once again this year, the Gourmet Festival S. Pellegrino Sapori Ticino guests three times in Swiss Deluxe Hotels in German-speaking Switzerland. The tour just kicked off in the unique design hotel Widder in Zurich. And what a gala dinner it was, mama mia! Something to write home about!
Close to the stars (chefs, that is)
In 2018, too, at 20 events planned to take place in Canton Ticino and the rest of Switzerland 20 Michelin stars will come close enough to touch. Some of the world’s premier star chefs and Dany Stauffacher, the Festival founder, make it all possible.
By tradition, to open the Festival series, gala dinner will first be served in three Swiss Deluxe Hotels outside Ticino.
The Hotel Widder in Zurich hosted the kick-off event. Host Jan E. Brucker and chef de cuisine Tino Staub welcomed Ticino top chefs Dario Ranza from Villa Principe Leopoldo, Edigio Iadonisi from Swiss Diamond Hotel and Lorenzo Albrici of Locanda Orico.
To accompany the apéritif, they rolled out ham and salami by Rapelli. That’s in addition to the pulpo con chorizo on skewers and assorted other nibbles. The drinks to go with them were mixed from scratch on the spot.
And thus the evening was launched…
Once the guests’ palates had been amused, the reverberating Asian gong sounded and the feast continued in the spacious Widder Room.
Star-Architect Tilla Theus has left no detail to chance here, so that there is much more than only the cuisine to be savored and observed.
It begins…
Following the welcoming remarks by founder Stauffacher and by host Brucker, Siro Barino, Managing Director of Swiss Deluxe Hotels and Ticino Canton Councilor Norman Gobbi helped set the mood for the already famous Gourmet Festival.
Actually, it was kind of unnecessary, since this year all locations of the Gourmet Festival for the entire three months sold out instantly. It’s the first time that happened in the 12-year history of the Sapori Ticino.
But now the event got going in earnest: The many-headed kitchen brigade got into its rhythm and the briskly efficient servers fanned out through the room so that the illustrious guest assembled need wait no longer.
Sergio Ermotti, CEO of Festival sponsor UBS, also waited expectantly for what courses will materialize.
The famous chefs this evening dish up ravishing sapori from Ticino:
Surprise, but the anchovies only add a subtle accent
Tops! Maybe time for a road trip to Ticino again!
“Gotta have it” wines
As usual, the wine came from the hands of four Ticino vintners: Feliciano Gialdi supplied the highly recommended Chardonnay Carisma and Guido Brivio the robustly good Bianco Rovere Bianco di Uve Merlot Ticino (classic “gotta have it”!).
For the meat course, they decanted the Quattromani that they had pressed together with Angelo Delea and Claudio Tamborini.
Top quality Swiss premium wines. Those Ticino folks know how to live!
And with dessert, Tamborini then also poured his Tinto Forte Vintage.
Good to know…
Incidentally, the 40 Swiss Deluxe Hotels position themselves more and more strongly via the kitchen: 734 Gault Millau points and 32 Guide Michelin stars are the impressive credentials of a gastronomy that doesn’t have to hide from gourmet restaurants…
The S. Pellegrino Sapori Ticino and Swiss Deluxe Hotels websites promise all the information you need about both.
I’m going to forego listing all the other Sapori Ticino events since they’re all sold out. You can find a nice list on the mentioned websites.
So, if you couldn’t snag a seat this time around, better get the low-down early next year…
Our thanks go to…
… Alexandra Bertram of Swisskonzept for the invitation! It was something to be savored ;-)
I should note that in Berne last year, one of the “outside Ticino” events took place in the Bellevue Palace. Also went over very well…
We gave reviews from more Swiss Deluxe Hotels their own heading here.
And here the official event photographer Rémy Steinegger caught me while I was taking pictures in the kitchen. ;-)
