The 31st edition of the St. Moritz Gourmet Festival carried the theme of “New Culinary Lifestyle.” From January 27 to February 1, 2025, the festival’s program included over 30 events held in Switzerland’s Engadin Valley. With a focus on attracting a new generation of festival attendees, organizers added some events this year, such as the Heavensake Party at the Kulm Hotel and the Taste, Scent & Sound – Grace Night by Laurent-Perrier Champagne.

As in past years, the festival hosted 10 guests chefs, who partnered with executive chefs from the region’s finest hotels.

Guest chefs at the St. Moritz Gourmet Festival:

• Alex Dilling, Hotel Café Royal, London / United Kingdom
• Alexandre Gauthier, La Grenouillère, La Madelaine-sous-Montreuil / France
• Caroline Baerten & Nicolas Decloedt, humus x hortense, Brussels / Belgium
• Deepanker Khosla, HAŌMA, Bangkok / Thailand
• Fredrik Berselius, ASKA, New York / United States
• Kanji Kobayashi, Villa Aida, Wakayama / Japan
• Kristian Baumann, KOAN, Copenhagen / Denmark
• Nicolas Darnauguilhem, La Pinte des Mossettes. Cerniat / Switzerland
• Stefano Baiocco, Villa Feltrinelli, Gargnano / Italy

In addition to the Gourmet Dinner with Chef Alex Dilling at the Grace La Margna Hotel, I also attended the Fascination Champagne event at the Suvretta House and the brunch at the Paradiso Mountain Restaurant & Club. Here’s a brief summary of the exclusive events.

Fascination Champagne with Chef Fredrik Berselius

On Thursday, January 30th, Guest Chef Fredrik Berselius prepared a 6-course meal for the Fascination Champagne (CHF 395) event at the Suvretta House. Born in Sweden, his work today centers in New York City, where Aksa restaurant has earned two Michelin stars. Working with the hotel’s Executive Chef Fabrizio Zanetti, the culinary director of the festival, Berselius served his Nordic-inspired dishes at this black tie event. Each course was paired with a different Laurent-Perrier champagne: Héritage, Brut Millésimé 2015, Grand Siècle Itération Nº26, Grand Siècle Itération Nº 23 Magnum, and Alexandra 2012.

Frederik Berselius’s Menu for Fascination Champagne 2025:

Caviar croustade
with kingfish from Denmark and smoked eel

Scallop
with white turnip and black currant leaf

Lobster custard

Turbot
with caviar, Swedish dark beer and flowering dill

Langoustine
with a sauce of the carmalized shell and red gooseberry

Preserved berries
with flavors of the field

Friandises & Pralines

In my opinion, the highlights of this meal included the first course, the luscious bite-size “Caviar croustade with Danish kingfish and smoked eel. I also really enjoyed the turbot, again with caviar, as well as Swedish dark beer and flowering dill. With the Laurent-Perrier champagne flowing all night with each course, the evening was a culinary celebration.

Mountain Brunch at the Paradiso

The next morning, I went to the lobby of Badrutt’s Palace to begin my journey to the hotel’s mountain restaurant, Paradiso. Located at an altitude of 2,180 meters (7,152 feet), it was the location of the St. Moritz Gourmet Festival’s Mountain Brunch event (CHF 160), featuring dishes from five of the guest chefs: Alex Dilling, Alexandre Gauthier, Caroline Baerten, Nicolas Decloedt and Nicolas Darnauguilhem. I arrived at the event via the Suvretta-Randolins chairlift.

Along with specialties from the Paradiso, the guest chefs served the following dishes during the Mountain Brunch.

• Boeuf bouilli en souvenir de Bénichon from Nicolas Darnauguilhem
• Jerusalem artichoke waffle with flowers from Caroline Baerten and Nicolas Decloedt
• Brittany Lobster with fine herbs and citrus butter on a crumpet from Alex Dilling
• Scallop and celery root from Alexandre Gauthier

My favorite dish from the brunch was Alex Dilling‘s crumpet topped with a decadent lobster salad. The comforting, beefy boullion soup with root vegetables from Nicolas Darnauguilhem, was a nod to the Bénichon celebration from the canton of Fribourg, where his restaurant, La Pinte des Mossettes, is located. The Jerusulam artichoke waffle from Caroline Baerten and Nicolas Decloedt reflected their planted-based and anti-food waste approach to fine dining, featured at their humus x hortense restaurant in Brussels.

With approximately 2,300 guests attending the St. Moritz Gourmet Festival in 2025, this year’s event demonstrated its ability to evolve and attract new audiences, ensuring the future success of one of Switzerland’s culinary highlights of the year.

For more information:

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

Save the date: 32nd edition of the St. Moritz Gourmet Festival – January 26 to 31, 2026.

Please note: I attended the Fascination Champagne and Mountain Brunch events as a guest of the St. Moritz Gourmet Festival. As always, the thoughts and opinions expressed in this article are purely my own.