Tanja Grandits, Swiss Chef of the Year 2014, Gault & Millau
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND /AMONG THE VINES – Tanja Grandits, chef at Restaurant Stucki in Basel has just become the first woman ever to win the Gault & Millau title Swiss Chef of the Year – 20 years ago Irma Dütsch iin Saas Fee, canton Valais, was famously given the title but she shared it with two other chefs.
The 43-year-old Grandits follows in the footsteps of Hans Stucki, who for decades ran the much-toutedBruderholz restaurant, widely credited with having changed Swiss cuisine, along with Fredy Girardet in Crissier.
Grandits was awarded 18/20, withGault & Millau saying her unique signature “cannot be equaled” and praising her as an ambassador for Swiss cuisine, which she promotes in her wide travels.
She also, happily, brings back flavours and ideas from abroad, notes the Swiss gastronomy guide.
The guide retained 846 restaurants, out of the 1,000 selected for visits this year. Restaurants that appear for the first time this year: 94. Chefs who gained a point: 96. Restaurants that lost a point: 43. (see separate Among the Vines article for the complete list published 7 October).
Switzerland is known for having more Michelin starred restaurants per capita than any other country, and the Gault & Millau guide is eagerly awaited by the food & wine and tourism industries each year as the latest indication of who is rising and where to find world-class top cuisine.
Sommelier of the Year
100 Best Swiss Wine Producers
This year’s Sommelier of the Year is Thibaut Panas, sommelier to Anne-Sophie Pic’s kitchens at the Beau-Rivage Palace in Lausanne.
He was awarded the title for his “management of one of the most impressive cellars in the country”.
Thibaut Panas, Lausanne Beau-Rivage Palace
The guide this year selected 100 top wine producers for the first time in an effort to promote Swiss wines, but the selection, unveiled during the gala grand opening of Swiss Taste week, has come in for some criticism, having left out some obvious names and with a few mistakes.
The lineup of top restaurants, newcomers
19/20 points, Western Switzerland has four of six: Benoît Violier (Crissier, Vaud) who received special notice, Andreas Caminada (Fürstenau, Graubuenden), Philippe Chevrier (Satigny, Geneva), André Jaeger (Schaffhausen), Didier de Courten (Sierre, Valais) and Bernard Ravet (Vufflens-le-Château, Vaud).
The three Promising Chef of Year awards go to:
Pierre-André Ayer, Pérolles, Fribourg
Ticino – Lucerne chef Othmar Schlegel heads the kitchens brigade at Castello del Sole in Ascona. G&M describes him as a “veritable living culinary encyclopedia” who, late in his career “is surpassing himself”.
French-speaking Switzerland – Fribourg is a hotbed of great cuisine and six restaurants have top awards this year, but Pierre-André Ayer du Pérolles dominates the scene.
German-speaking Switzerland – Christian Kuchler at the historic Gasthof Hirschen in Eglisau (Zurich) is only 28 years old but he comes from a tradition of fine cuisine: his father Wolfgang is the chef in Wigoltingen, Thurgau, where he has 18/20). The son now has 17 points.
Two Discovery of the Year awards:
Christophe Pacheco, Le Berceau des Sens, Ecole Hotelière de Lausanne
Lausanne – The Ecole hôtelière has recreated its restaurant, Le Berceau des Sens, with French chef Christophe Pacheco in charge.
Trun, canton Graubuenden, where Manuel Reichenbach has taken over the Casa Tödi from his parents: 14 points.
Newcomers with 17 points:
Rolf Fliegauf (Ecco, Hotel Giardino, Ascona), Tony Schmidig (Rigiblick, Lauerz, SZ), Matthias Schmitdberger (Cà d’Oro, Kempinski, Saint-Moritz), Antonio Colaianni (Mesa, Zurich), Samuel Destaing (Hôtel des Alpes, Orsières, Valais) and Damien Germanier (Restaurant Damien Germanier, Sion, Valais).
The smartphone app for Gault & Millau Swiss guide 2014 will be available, for a fee, in December 2013. The book is out this week.
Photos, copyright Gault & Millau/Schweizer Illustrierte