18-19 August 2012 - Star Dining in the Alps - No Jacket Required

Gentle reader...have you missed me?  It is almost the weekend again and I have so much to share.  I have just had a glorious few days in Paris with the wonderful Penny and Darren but I have some catching up to do with you all.

Last weekend was a pre-organised surprise for me at a one Michelin star restaurant in Switzerland called Gastohof Rossli (yes, it is called "Horse") run by one Stefen Wiesner - is everyone called Stefan here?!?!? (http://www.stefanwiesner.ch/e/)

Of course no good outing is not complete without a decent drive.  So off we set to Eschollzmatt which is a small town near Lucerne which was designated as the first UNESCO biosphere reservation in Switzerland.  I thought we would end up under some sort of giant bubble but it was not to be.

We made it in plenty of time so that we ducked up to our accommodation which was at a local farm house some 15 minutes into the wilderness.  The lovely Andrea and Danny are to be our hosts.  The place is like a B&B so it is modest but just perfect for this setting.  I was of course delighted to see that the room was entirely pine covered!



I pine for this sort of decor

Some decorating tips for Better Homes & Garden

Now you may think that the items in the room are merely to add some Swiss flair (which of course they do) but they are actually awards won by Danny for competing in one of Switzerland's national sports called Schwingen - I know, it sounds dirty.  Here is the link for those of you who are interested (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwingen).  I have to say that the images on the trophies were quite erotic.....bad Rodney.

Anyway we did not come all this way to talk about Schwingen but we did get a quick overview (no demonstration) at breakfast the next day.

So it was off to the restaurant and we were driven by Andrea (so we could drink) and she would also pick us up at the end of the meal at around midnight.  I should note that S's friend Frank was also along for the ride and he is a bit of a foodie.

As you know some of the Michelin Star chefs and their concepts come with a bit of pomp and ceremony.  This Stefan was no different.  To give you an idea, here is an extract from his website....

"Our artistic gastronomy originates from holistic thinking.  I know what it is all about and why I am doing it exactly this way. There are affinities with antroposophy, spagyrics and other sciences. Chemists, magicians, foresters, perfumers, archeologists, foodhunters and composers have influenced my personal approach to cooking."

Tonight's menu was all around the natural elements (wood, air, fire, earth, water and metal).  Each course was explained intricately by the chef (and translated for me by S) including the philosophy mumbo jumbo behind it.  Please don't think I am being unkind, probably too late for that, but generally the concept stuff is fine with me but I do think it "jumped the shark" a little when our soup (served in a cow horn) had a crystal in it for energy.....

Overall there were some standout dishes and a couple of ones which were so so. We matched wines as per their suggestion throughout also.

OK, here we go.

The dining room - nowhere near enough pine on the walls.  Note the piece of bone as the napkin ring.

First course which was wood - I added the napkin ring for effect.  It was actually pretty good - veal from memory and the wood plate is only used once and then used for firewood.

Time for "air" and some potatoes in a blackened crust!

Fire time of some sort of fish.  The fire came from the little bowl which was filled with absinthe and was fun to dip your fish in.  Not sure you were supposed to do that but it entertained me.

The dish you have been waiting for.  Earth - the beef soup in cow horn and crystal within....really it was, and we got to take them as a souvenir.

How to eat the soup being mindful not to choke on the crystal.  That could not be good karma!

This was a pork dish which I did not like much.  The concept was water, can't remember why but there is watermelon on the plate.



Dessert was metal and what looks like a delicious square of chocolate is in fact a plate of steel.

Meal was topped off with a selection from their cheese cellar which has approximately 95 different cheeses.

















we were pretty satisfied but disappointed with some aspects.  It was a good, fun night though.  We were then driven back to the farm house by Andrea and Danny and shared breakfast with them the next morning.  Then I drove back home which is always a bit stressful for me.  The rest of the Sunday was spent relaxing.

Next stop for me is Paris whilst S goes off to Turkey for work.  I am sure it is with baited breathe that you await the next instalment.