Gault Millau – July 12, 2020

Text: Urs Heller Photos: Olivia Pulver

EXPERIENCE 1: «THE PARMESAN OF THE SEA». Jeroen is not someone hiding outside in the kitchen. He likes the contact with the guests, so he prepares the first amuse-bouche outside on the lake terrace with stoic calm and a friendly explanation, «Caesar Salad», of course, one of a kind: a small leaf of lettuce. Pickled tomatoes. Dried, smoked, and grated egg yolk. A «Parmesan», not from Italy, but from the Rigi. A lot of effort for a single bite, but wonderful! Starter No. 2: “Edible charcoal”! Smoked hot peppers are in the black ball, which you can dip into an Indian lime dip. Also good: a Dutch toast with Beeler Sbrinz and mustard seeds; there is a fermented Beet sauce. The recipe can be scanned on the can and read on the iPhone. That’s how it works with young chefs today. The kimchi taco and the roll with chorizo ​​and black garlic were also great. A young chef grates dried and smoked octopus over it: “The Parmesan of the Sea!”

Jeroen Tamme Achtien, Head of Restaurant Sens, Vitznauerhof Vitznau

Recorded! Jeroen Achtien and his Dutch brigade amazed in the “Sens” Vitznau.

Jeroen Tamme Achtien, Head of Restaurant Sens, Vitznauerhof Vitznau

Preferred location right on Lake Lucerne. Dinner at sunset.

EXPERIENCE 2: ZANDER FRESH FROM THE ICE! Can fish be “dry-aged” like a mock of meat that is left hanging on the bone? “Of course,” says the Dutch cook and magician Jeroen Achtien, frees the Pikeperch, from eyes and gills, cleanses and vacuums it. The freshwater fish is then at zero degrees for five days on the ice. “It matures, gets more taste,” says the boss. However, “ice aging” is only half the battle for this parade. It gets awesome because there is a lot more to it: cauliflower. Thin slices of bacon, served with tweezers, fermented grapes, an impressive miso sauce. And a glass of Tonkubetsu Honjozu. “Sake goes best with it,” says Susanne Nguyen (formerly Tim Raue), who heads the service at “Sens”.

 EXPERIENCE 3: DUCK LIVER, STUFFED! Achtien: «I like foie gras very much. But stuffed liver in the menu – somehow this is no longer possible. So I experimented for a long time. » The solution has literally been on the table for a few days now: the chef is picking clarified butter, the foie gras is becoming an incredibly gentle spoon dish. So smooth that Jeroen immediately takes countermeasures: fried orange fillets, pumpkin kombucha, and yuzu gel set the tone. The “Royal Belgian Caviar” is also not “just like that”. The components here: Passion fruit (well!), Egg yolk, goat curd.

EXPERIENCE 4: Also Lamm cheeks can be braised. In the main course everything from the Muotathaler lamb, delivered by the butcher Markus Heinzer. First a cheeky wild garlic Bao-Bun with the small but very fine lamb cheek (!). Then the Back-Fillet matured for three weeks. The Lamb Neck, which has been cooked for twelve hours, lies under a Sakura leaf. We discover the Lamb Sweetbread under a savory salad. The jus has power: XO, with Scallop pieces in it! Sous-chef Marcel Koolen was in Asia for a few months in winter; so there are always Asian components on the menu.

Charcoal Dish – Edible «charcoal»! Smoked hot peppers are in it.

Vitznau Interior – Small, fine, stylish. The «Sens» in the Vitznauerhof.

Dutch Toast – Dutch toast, Sbrinz & Fermented Beet sauce.

EXPERIENCE 5: CHEESE FROM NITROGEN & «SUCKERBÔLLE». It never gets boring until the end. Jeroen Achtien comes out of the kitchen again, dips blue mold buffalo cheese in nitrogen. The effect on the plate: the cheese is just cold for a few seconds – then the typical blue mold taste develops. There is also “Suckerbôlle” (Sugarbread), a specialty from the Dutch Friesland; That’s where Achtien and half the kitchen brigade come from.

 GAULT MILLAU SAYS: “Vitznauerhof” chef Jeroen Achtien is one of the most unusual young wild chefs in the country. “Wild” is only half the truth: his creations are perfectly composed and only want one thing: taste sensations, as much Umami as possible. Taste is “king” in top gastronomy. Potential for improvement? Timing! Four and a half hours at the table are one hour too much, even on the most beautiful terrace on Lake Lucerne.

Hotel Vitznauerhof – Sens Restaurant, Seestrasse 80, 6354 Vitznau, LU, Switzerland

17 points by Gault Millau

Hotel Vitznauerhof on Lake Lucern

The food is Northern Italian and Seasonal Mediterranean, enjoy the self-serve antipasto buffet with a variety of freshly made salads, seafood, and homebaked crusty bread or select from their a la carte menu. Try Swiss Bresaola, the Dried Beef Carpaccio, the Angus Burger, or the Mussels Marinière. After dinner sip on cognac or a glass of wine in the Vinothek.

Visit: Bahnhofstrasse 16, Luzern, Switzerland; +41 41 226 41 41;

https://www.restaurant-opus.ch

This 4-star hotel, built in 1888, is a jewel of Lucerne. Many Dignitaries, Kings, Queens, diplomats, world stars, and the residents of Lucerne have stayed here. The Guetsch funicular takes you quickly and easily to the hotel. The restaurant menu is seasonal Mediterranean and regional cuisine. Enjoy beautiful, panoramic views of Lucerne while dining. Signature selections include Seabream Baked in Salt, Spicy Calabrese Chicken and  Veal Milanese with Rocket Salad. The rooms come in different styles from Queen Victoria, traditional to modern.

Visit: Kanonenstrasse, 6003 Luzern, Switzerland; +41 41 289 14 14; https://www.chateau-guetsch.ch/en/

The Glacier World on Titlis! Winter Fun, Summer Fun, it’s all there on Titlis!

from Snowtubing to the Ice Flyer across the glacier, the Cliff Walk to a stroll through the Glacier Cave, then indulging in a meal or sweets in one of our restaurants at 3000 meters above sea level, the choices are yours!

In the summer, at Trübsee Alpine Lodge Station, you can have fun hiking, mountain biking, rowing on the lake, or have fun at the Titlis Adventure Park.

In the winter there is skiing and snowboarding, tobogganing, ice skating, snowshoe trails, and winter walking.

The world’s first fully revolving cable car transports you conveniently to the Titlis summit station.

For more information: titlis@titlis.ch  Ch-6391 Engelberg, Switzerland. PH:+41416395050

The post Visit Exciting Mount Titlis, Switzerland first appeared on Food, Travel, and Stories from a Swiss Chef Who Cooked Around the World .]]> https://www.ulrichkoepf.website/mount-titlis-switzerland/feed/ 0 https://www.ulrichkoepf.website/restaurant-sonnendeck-apertura/ https://www.ulrichkoepf.website/restaurant-sonnendeck-apertura/#respond Mon, 03 Jun 2019 18:00:37 +0000 https://ulrichkoepf.website/?p=3400  Before you continue your journey to Tessin or a mountain hike in the area, I recommend you make a stop at this restaurant.      Norbert Koller and Torsten Hering are the new operators of this beautiful location, They did … Read More

 Before you continue your journey to Tessin

or a mountain hike in the area, I recommend you make a stop at this restaurant.

 

 

 Norbert Koller and Torsten Hering are the new operators of this beautiful location, They did a great job remodeling inside and out, and the Marina look is a perfect theme being right on the edge of the lake.

Norbert handles the front of the house and Torsten is the chef preparing the great fares.

There is ample space for boat docking if you decide to cruise on the lake in your own boat and dock right in front of the restaurant to have lunch or dinner.

From the train station and cruise ship docks in Flüelen, it is only a 10-minute short walk along the lake to reach the restaurant, there is no parking by the restaurant, therefore you must walk to it, it is, however, a beautiful walk from the stations to the location.

I spent Father’s Day there with my family consisting of 21 in total, the food was perfect, well presented, and served efficiently. The menus were made of a wooden board, the pages attached to the board, and held together with a piece of driftwood from the lake, a great idea!

The menu items consist of items such as  Lamb Loin Portwine Sauce, Ossobucco over Saffron Risotto, Angus Sirloin Steak, Tuna Carpaccio, Pan Seared Branzino, (which was cooked perfectly) Grilled Octopus, Deep-fried Pike-perch from the lake and a variety of great Pizzas. My favorite is the Bruschetta Pizza, a nice, crusty bottom topped with pesto, olive oil, quartered date tomatoes, arugula, and buffalo mozzarella, I did not miss all that tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese at all!

What caught my attention, besides the great food and drinks, was how they served certain items, for example, the Ice tea was served in a small wine carafe, and the Bananasplit was splintered not split, and served in a glass mug, definitely easier to eat!  The Tiramisu was individually prepared in a nice ceramic square bowl. 

Overall I was impressed with the concept, they did a great job rejuvenating this location to what it really deserves and should be.

We wish them lots of success!

+41 (0)41 870 16 80

info@apertura-sonnendeck.ch

 

 

 

The post Rest. Sonnendeck Apertura, Flüelen, Switzerland first appeared on Food, Travel, and Stories from a Swiss Chef Who Cooked Around the World .]]>

The Bernese Tongue Sausage

is to the Bernese government more than Sausage. They want to protect this product. Demand for the product is growing, experts say.
It belongs on every Bernese plate and meat lovers lick their fingers for it: The Bernese Tongue Sausage is known nationwide. For more than two years, Berner butchers fought to make sure that the tongue sausage could only be produced in the Canton of Bern. They feared that wholesalers could move production abroad. Now the application has been approved by the Federal Office of Agriculture. “With the registration, limitations should be avoided in the future and both the good reputation and the excellent quality of this Bernese specialty should be protected,” writes the Confederation.

Survey

When did you last have a Berner Platter?
The Tongue Sausage is one of the most famous specialties of the Canton of Bern. Unlike the name suggests, the sausage is not made of the tongue, but of two different types of bread.

More Popularity for the Tongue Sausage

Objections to the petition can be raised within three months. “I do not think that there will be headwinds from other Cantons,” says Adrian Gygax, butcher and board member of the meat trade association of the Canton of Bern. He led a working group that works to protect the sausage. “The difficulty was that you had to reconcile the different needs of the producers,” says Gygax. That did cost a lot of time.

The goal is now that the Tongue Sausage regains popularity.

“We want to market the sausage better; the protection is a side effect,” says Gygax. One wants to prevent the Bernese original from being made abroad.
As soon as the period of three months has expired and no complaints are received, the Tongue Sausage will be registered in the Swiss Handelsamtblatt as a geographically protected product. From then on, the sausage may only be produced in the Canton of Bern. The consumer should enjoy geographical protection: “This is guaranteed by the fact that we have a top product that comes from the region,” says Gygax.

(Click on the image for descriptions – Recipes available upon request)