The Grace La Margna Hotel partnered with the St. Moritz Gourmet Festival for the first time this year. Classified as a 5-star boutique hotel, it hosted Chef Alex Dilling during the week of January 27 to February 1. His eponymous restaurant at the Hotel Café Royal in London has earned two Michelin stars. With a contemporary approach to French cuisine, his cooking fit well with the festival’s theme of a “New Culinary Lifestyle.”

An Art Nouveau Hotel Reinvented

Constructed in the early 20th century with Art Nouveau details, the historic La Margna wing offers 47 rooms and suites. Connected to La Margna is the new Grace wing, which has 27 more modern and spacious accommodations. The hotel officially opened in August 2023.

Furthermore, within the Grace La Margna Hotel you will find five different dining options:

• N/5 – The Bar: Open daily, the bar welcomes guests from 11:00 to 23:00 for coffee, cocktails and a creative bar menu that includes burgers and lobster linguini.
• Living Room: A comfortable atmosphere for an afternoon tea and a sweet treat in front of the fireplace.

• The Mediterranean: The signature restaurant of Executive Chef Andrea Bonini, this space hosts guests during the morning for breakfast and in the evening.
• Stüvetta Moritz: On the ground floor of the La Margna wing, the cozy Stüvetta opens for comforting Swiss dishes, such as rösti and cheese fondue.

• Beefbar: An international chain, Beefbar recently landed in St. Moritz in the Grace La Margna hotel.

Alex Dilling at the St. Moritz Gourmet Festival

I had the chance to speak with Alex Dilling in the bar at the Grace La Margna hotel, in between his events for the St. Moritz Gourmet Festial. While he told me he had visited Switzerland before, he said this was his first time in St. Moritz. He loves traveling, so he did not hesitate to accept the invitation to the festival when he received the call, and was “flattered to be invited.” To Switzerland, he brought three staff from his restaurant back in London, which opened at the Hotel Café Royal in 2022.

Alex Dilling started appreciating good food at a young age, influenced in part by his grandfather’s passion for cooking. Raised between England and the United States, he ended up working for two legendary French chefs, Alain Ducasse in New York City and Hélène Darroze in London. He stays motivated by the pride he feels for his work—serving high-quality dishes at his restaurant “without pretension,” he said.

As the Grace La Margna’s guest chef during the festival, Alex Dilling prepared his culinary specialties for several different events. His menu for the hotel’s Gourmet Dinners featured his contemporary, elegant interpretations of classic French dishes. Each course highlighted premium ingredients, elegantly presented and absolutely delicious. He loves caviar, which was not surprisingly on the menu, topped with gold leaf and paired with a flavorful smoked eel “rillete” and cuttlefish.

Here is the full menu that Alex Dilling served on January 29:

Winter Broth
barbajuan

Caviar Crystal
smoked eel “rillete” │cuttlefish │ bergamot

Charcoal-Grilled Blue Lobster
bouillabaisse juice │ rouille sabayon

Brittany Pigeon Ballotine
black truffle │ colonatta lardo │ hibiki whisky

Pure 60% Chocolate “Vacherin”
roasted buckwheat ice cream │ vin jaune sabayon

Thai Basil
chartreuse

For a chef who likes to make roast chicken with mashed potatoes when at home, Alex Dilling elevates these comforting dishes that are the hallmark of French cuisine for his restaurant. For example, at the Mountain Brunch held at the Paradiso Mountain Club & Restaurant in St. Moritz, he made a crumpet topped with a luscious lobster salad. I heard from a number of guests that this was their favorite dish at the brunch.

Finally, Alex Dilling only had good things to say about working with the hotel’s Executive Chef Andrea Bonini. Given his experiences at pop-up cooking events at different locales, Alex was surprised that everything was going so smoothly for him during the festival in St. Moritz. When I left him, he was heading directly to the Grand Hotel Des Bains Kempinski to prepare for the closing party. When he returns to London, he will start looking forward to springtime ingredients at his restaurant, like asparagus and wild garlic. How lucky that we got to experience his cooking in St. Moritz, if only for just a week.

For more information:

St. Moritz Gourmet Festival, WOEHRLE / PIROLA Events & Public Relations, +41 (0)44 245 86 88, info@woehrlepirola.ch

Grace La Margna Hotel, Via Serlas 5, 7500 St. Moritz, +41 (0)81 832 22 10, welcome@gracestmoritz.ch.

Please note: I stayed at the Grace La Margna Hotel for two nights as a guest of the St. Moritz Gourmet Festival. As always, the thoughts and opinions expressed in this article are purely my own.