Elite Traveler January-February 2016

104 elite traveler JAN/FEB 2016

guide, Ursula Casanova, there are more than 350 banks in Zurich, including the headquarters of Credit Suisse, UBS and Swiss Re. Plus in Geneva, which has a history of private wealth management, there are more than 150 banks including major offices for BNP Paribas, HSBC Private Bank and Goldman Sachs. So is the luxury dining scene backed by bankers? This is partly true, if Willi’s theory is to be believed. He says there are two types of backers: major, established investors and young, independent entrepreneurs. “On one hand there are big investors such as financier Urs Schwarzenbach,” he explains, referring to the major shareholder at The Restaurant in The Dolder Grand. He also refers to asset manager Peter Pühringer, who finances the Park Hotel Vitznau and Linda Mühlemann who finances the exquisite Zurich restaurant, Mesa. Of Pühringer, Willi says: “He makes it possible for the popular young two-Michelin-star chef Nenad Mlinarevic to fully work on his version of new Swiss cuisine and be as creative as he is.” And on the other hand, Willi refers to various restaurants run by young, independent entrepreneurs, such as Fabian Fuchs and his Zurich-based restaurant EquiTable, or Mark Blickenstorfer and his successful Maison Manesse, run by head chef Fabian Spiquel. Many top hotels in Switzerland also have top chefs running their restaurants. German-born chef Peter Knogl is chef de cuisine at the three-starred Restaurant Cheval Blanc in Basel’s Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois; three-starred chef Anne-Sophie Pic at the two–star Beau-Rivage Palace Hotel in Lausanne; and the three-starred Roberto Cerea at the Carlton Hotel in St. Moritz. In fact, da Silva has noticed huge investment in hospitality, especially in hotels, both privately and from the government. In 2014 the Swiss

STAR-STUDDED SWISS RESTAURANTS Clockwise from top left: Pavillion Baur au Lac Hotel, Zurich Chef: Laurent Eperon aupavillion.ch Restaurant Focus Park Hotel Vitznau, Lucerne Chef: Nenad Mlinarevic restaurant-focus.ch Da Vittorio St. Moritz Carlton Hotel, St. Moritz Chefs: Enrico and Roberto Cerea davittorio.com Restaurant Cheval Blanc Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois, Basel Chef: Peter Knogl

Society for Hotel Credit, which has a mandate from the Swiss government to promote the hospitality sector, granted loans of $39m. Now, da Silva says, Switzerland’s top service has generated interest around the world: “It is interesting to see many other countries, including the US, send a delegate to Switzerland to start a collaboration in the field of vocational education. People have to look for innovative ideas I think, because there is money here, let’s be honest…” If anyone is being innovative in Switzerland, it’s Nieder at The Dolder Grand. Since its renovation in 2008, his patrons have been able to arrive on the rooftop helipad to enjoy a feast in the gilded private dining room. “We were one of the first ones here who presented a new kind of kitchen,” he says. “There are a lot of famous and very good traditional restaurants in Switzerland, but at first it was difficult because we were so different to the others. When they saw us, they were a bit wary and thought ‘let’s see what happens’. And now it is good. But we still have more to do.”

lestroisrois.com The Restaurant The Dolder Grand, Zurich

Chef: Heiko Nieder thedoldergrand.com Anne-Sophie Pic Beau-Rivage Palace Hotel, Lausanne Chef: Anne-Sophie Pic brp.ch