For the inaugural summer edition of the St. Moritz Gourmet Festival, the Suvretta House hosted an extraordinary Garden Party. Thankfully, the weather cooperated, and we had the most beautiful day for this new event during the festival. With unlimited Laurent-Perrier champagne, this spectacular party also featured dishes prepared by highly regarded guest chefs from around the world. They worked in collaboration with local chefs from partner hotels in the Engadin Valley.
Throughout the Garden Party, we enjoyed live music that added to the festive atmosphere of the event. You could pass from stand to stand and sample the elegant dishes and talk directly with the chefs who prepared them.
The Garden Party Menu
During the Garden Party, the dishes served by the world-class guest chefs included inspiration and ingredients from around the world. In fact, among the guest chefs, only one hailed from Switzerland—Pascal Steffen, who leads the kitchen at «roots», a two Michelin-starred restaurant in Basel.
Here’s the menu from the guest chefs:
- Kai Hoi (Tawain) – Taiwanese pepper bun with Iberico pork, egg yolk and coffee gastrique
- Julian Steiger (Austria) – Char, mushroom and ham
- Varun Totlani (India) – Pani Puri
- Álvaro Clavijo (Colombia) – Pig’s ear with chayote, lulo and cassava
- Jospeh Lidgerwood (South Korea) – Swiss Wagyu short rib with galbi glaze, Périgord truffle and white kimchi
- Pascal Steffen (Switzerland) – Kohlrabi, edamame and Lostallo salmon
- Emmanuel Pilon (France) – Chickpea with marinated fish and black lime
- Marcel Ravin (Monaco) – Tuna souskaï with coconut, lime and Osietra caviar
- Mikael Svennson (Norway) – Oyster chawanmushi with oyster sauce and lovage, cucumber and caviar served in an oyster shell
When you finished with the selection of savory dishes, which also included De Cecco pasta, local cheeses and more, the executive pastry chef from Badrutt’s Palace, Stefan Gerber, had an impressive collection of desserts for the guests. They included a light vanilla cheesecake, ice cream and choux buns.
As this was the final event of the first-ever summer edition of the St. Moritz Gourmet Festival with all the guest chefs in attendance, each was brought on stage and presented with a certificate of participation and a parting gift. After three decades of being held in the winter, the general manager of the Suvretta House, Peter Egli, told the guests that this event was like “a dream come true.” He added, “our hotel has a 114-year old history, and bringing together so many highly acclaimed chefs today gives us the opportunity to build on that legacy and write an exciting new chapter in the culinary story of our hotel.”
St. Moritz Gourmet Festival 2026: Partner Hotels
In all, nine partner hotels took part in this year’s St. Moritz Gourmet Festival. Nearly all have participated in the past winter editions of the festival, except for the Krone Säumerei am Inn, which joined the festival for the first time this year.
- Nira Alpina – Chef Janko Glotz
- Krone Säumerei am Inn – Chef James Baron
- Waldhaus Sils – Chef Gero Porstein
- Kulm Hotel – Chef Mauro Taufer
- Grand Hotel Suvretta House – Chef Fabrizio Zanetti
- Grand Hotel Kronenhof – Chef Fabrizio Piantanida
- Grand Hotel des Bains Kempinski
- Grace La Margna – Chef Andrea Bonini
- Badrutt’s Palace Hotel – Executive Pastry Chef Stefan Gerber
With views of the Alpine landscape surrounding the Suvretta House, along with the outstanding weather, we feasted on culinary delicacies in the sunshine of St. Moritz. This memorable event will stay with me for a long time. Furthermore, I am convinced that the decision to move the festival from the winter season to the summer has been a good one, and I look forward to seeing the Garden Party on the schedule again for next year. Let’s hope the weather is just as nice!
The details:
St. Moritz Gourmet Festival – Garden Party
Where: Suvretta House, Via Chasellas 1, 7500 St. Moritz
When: Saturday, August 29, 2026
Cost: CHF 450, per person (all drinks included)
For more information:
Please note: I attended the Garden Party at the Suvretta House as a guest of the St. Moritz Gourmet Festival. As always, the thoughts and opinions expressed in this article are purely my own.