I am faced with the same question every summer, ‘I wish I could find some decent tomatoes here, where do you buy yours?’ To which I answer…and this predictably creates a confused, often contorted facial reaction, ‘The best tomatoes in Switzerland are between March and May!’

Ok, I will admit summer time is the best time for tomatoes – but only if you’re growing your own and live in an area blessed with a lot of summer sunshine. I will also admit the tomatoes I am referring to are not Swiss at all, but in fact they are Italian – and mostly from Sicily or Sardegna where the people know a thing or two about growing (and eating) tasty tomatoes.

Tomatoes need plenty of sunshine to develop their full flavor potential …and I’m not talking about the sugars which usually only account for about 3% of the total weight. No, what makes tomatoes so appealing to many are their high levels of glutamic acid – a savory acid more common to meat than plants. It is precisely this acid which creates the necessary balance of sugars and aromatic compounds. Without glutamic acid tomatoes taste…well, really bland and almost starchy.

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It is the same procedure every year… Wineries throughout most of the German-speaking Cantons open their doors for wine tastings on the first of May. It is a young tradition…but, one that is growing rapidly in popularity. This year over 190 wineries will host tastings – many of which also include food, music and other interesting cultural events.

Cantons participating this year include: Basel-Stadt, Baselland, Aargau, Luzern, Schwyz, Zürich, Schaffhausen, Thurgau, St. Gallen, Appenzell-Ausserrhoden and Graubünden.  More...

We are very excited to provide more information about our first culinary workshop week in Tuscany from the 27th of June through the 3rd of July. We are offering a unique opportunity to experience Italian food and wine lifestyle in a wonderfully restored Tuscan bed and breakfast, while offering 5 days of culinary classes, excursions, wine tasting and more!

We will be located in the Val d'Orcia, between the major wine regions of Montalcino and Montepulciano.  The amazing B&B is as Tuscan as it gets, and offers private apartments with kitchens, a swimming pool, and many other features guaranteed to make this a charming and relaxing culinary getaway...and you get to cook with us!

Participation is limited to six so we can keep the experience very personal…and very unique!

• One week workshop held in a beautiful estate in the heart of Val d’Orcia, situated between the world-renown wine regions of Montalcino and Montepulciano – more about il Poggiolo
• Comfortable and spacious apartments with a private bedroom and shared kitchen, living room and bathroom
• Daily cooking workshops in a professional kitchen
• Small group of participants to allow for personal and professional attention and instruction
• Local excursions to wine, cheese and olive oil producers
• Guided wine degustation/instruction exploring the finer side of Italian wine
• Plenty of free time to explore the surroundings or simply lounge by the pool

1,800 Euro for 6-nights’ accommodations and 5-days culinary workshops

Ask us a question…or reserve a place HERE

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Buying fresh fish in Switzerland is not as easy as one may expect. First of all, much of the fresh fish available has been filleted and the skin has been removed, erasing most of identifiable characteristics. So there goes all of those handy tips on buying fresh fish like checking the eyes, gills and skin.

So what is that piece of fish sitting in the ice? Is it a fresh water fish or salt water fish? Is it white and delicate or blue and oily? Is it wild or farm raised? Is it endangered…or perhaps mass-produced and frozen?

Oh the questions…and I haven’t even broached the subject of fish names!

Some of the available fish in Switzerland share the same English name…so that’s easy. Others, though, use the French name, Italian name or – and this is lots of fun – some sort of hard-to-pronounce-tongue-twisting Swiss-German name which doesn’t appear to have any word root whatsoever!

Sure, it may be easy to point-and-order at any fish counter…or maybe even ask the fish monger a question or two about the fish – something I would encourage. Perhaps you may even be tempted to discreetly pull out your iPhone and quickly access Google Translate…hmm!

Or, you could simply use our handy fish translation table for saltwater, fresh water and shellfish varieties in four languages.

Download a Free PDF Version

Finally…and only because this is fun. Try your hand at this dandy little German tongue-twister…

Fischers Fritz fischt frische Fische
Frische Fische fischt Fischers Fritz

Enjoy your fish...

Like bumble bees defying physics in order to fly, the Swiss have managed to disregard any health risks associated with eating high fat/sugar foods; they happily continue consuming desserts like gebrannte crème…a luscious soupy dessert made from caramelized sugar, milk, cream, eggs and a thickener – and amazingly garnished with…well yes, whipped cream.

Warning…you should proceed with caution if you are trying to lose weight or if you are concerned with your blood glucose level…oh, and gebrannte crème can be addictive!

Gebrannte crème is also called crème brûlée in the French-speaking side of the röstigraben but, please don’t confuse this Swiss classic with a baked custard.

My first encounter with gebrannte crème occurred while working at Kaiser’s Reblaube restaurant in Zürich during the late 1990s. It was a late evening on my very first day of work…Suddenly the chef yelled out for one ‘crème brûlée,’ and I immediately felt somehow relieved at recognizing a menu item. You see, I had just spent the last twelve hours trying to understand the strange German dialect everyone around me was speaking…Swiss German with a distinct Portuguese-, French-, Kosovan- or Swiss accent.   More...

The recent frigid weather in Switzerland created perfect conditions to produce ice wines…a situation which does not often occur. Swiss wine-makers produce some of the most remarkable ice wines when given the chance…but only with extraordinary dedication to their craft.

It’s hours before the December sun rises and the temperature outside is well below freezing. It’s the perfect time to get out of a nice warm bed to harvest grapes. This is the type of sacrifice winemakers have to make in order to produce top quality ice wines.

Harvesting proceeds quickly before any sign of warmth thaws the grapes. The frozen grapes arrive at the equally frozen winery. All the doors and windows have been left open to keep the temperatures extremely low. If the grapes melt now, all the effort spent harvesting the grapes, and the risks taken by the winemaker in getting this far, will be in vain.

Ice wines are made from naturally frozen, ripe grapes. Once temperatures reach minus 7°C, the water inside the shriveled grape berries freezes, leaving a concentrated mix of natural sugars, acids and aromas. The frozen grapes are then pressed – a process which can take hours for the syrupy juice to ooze towards the tank. Finally, the alcoholic fermentation begins after a gentle warming of the juice, and the wait begins. Normal wine fermentation occurs on a scale of days, but ice wine can take months to properly ferment because of the high level of sugar in the juice.   More...