On a recent Monday night, I had the pleasure of attending the Tour Culinaire Suisse in Geneva — the only stop for this culinary tour in French-speaking Switzerland.
The Golden Chef
You may recall that back in February 2019, Chef Ale Mordasini took home the trophy for Der Goldene Koch / Le Cuisinier d‘Or (the Golden Chef). As part of his responsibilities for winning this title, he is currently participating in the Tour Culinaire Suisse. On four Monday evenings, he steps away from his role as the Chef de cuisine at Relais & Châteaux Krone in Regensberg for this culinary tour of Switzerland, organized by KADI.
Taking his winning menu on the road, Mordasini is in the process of visiting four highly-regarded Swiss restaurants for exclusive, invitation-only dinners. Through this experience, he has the opportunity to cook with and learn from some of the most talented chefs working in Switzerland.
The four sites chosen for the Tour Culinaire Suisse 2019 are:
- Park Hotel Vitznau, June 17
- Storchen Zürich, August 12
- Beau Rivage Genève, September 23
- Casino Bern, October 21
At the Beau-Rivage Geneva, the third stop on his culinary tour, Chef Dominique Gauthier shared his kitchen with Mordasini for one-night only. Gauthier leads the kitchen at the hotel’s fine dining restaurant, Le Chat-Botté. It has earned 18 out of 20 points from Gault & Millau, as well as one Michelin star. At this restaurant, Mordasini also got to work together with one of his former competitors, Kévin Vasselin, who was also one of six finalists for Der Goldene Koch / Le Cuisinier d‘Or.
Here are the dishes presented by Mordasini at the Tour Culinaire Suisse in Geneva:
The fish course…
- Sautéed cod with a crisp buckwheat ring topped with aromatic herbs
- Mousseux de beurre blanc with tarragon
- Crispy tartelette with smoked potato cream and Beluga caviar
- Shrimp with bisque and crisp branches
- Braised onions
The main course…
- Gruyères farm chicken with Sauce Suprême, a classic French white sauce for poultry
- Crispy skin with chicken liver cream and truffled jus
- Braised potatoes and coq au vin chicken leg
- Celery root salad with truffle
- Celery root pudding with a crisp golden branch
These four dinners included about 70 invited guests in all — about 15 times the original number of plates Mordasini needed to prepared for the competition. As a result, he had to scale up his production capacity in order to meet the increased demand. He did so with the gracious help provided by the staff of the four restaurants selected for the tour.
For dessert, Chef Dominique Gauthier prepared an elegant chocolate and hazelnut dessert with smooth, creamy and crunchy textures. A wonderful way to end a special meal at this 5-star luxury hotel facing Geneva’s Lac Léman and the famous Jet d’eau water fountain.
Next steps… With the final stop of the Tour Culinaire Suisse scheduled in Bern, Mordasini will then look forward to his participation in the Bocuse d’Or Europe competition. This will take place in Tallinn, Estonia, in June 2020.
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Photo credit: © Jonas Weibel
Categories: chocolate, Culinary events, Dessert, Gastronomy, Lunch/dinner, Meat, Restaurant, Swiss, Swiss food, Switzerland
eating in geneve maybe a little expensive?
There are lots of good options in Geneva, including grabbing a picnic from the Manor near the station. 😉 Here’s a website from the tourism office to help you find a restaurant. http://www.itaste.com/en/frame/8SearchResultsRestaurantList.php?partner=genevetourisme