This week’s foodie overview

I spend a lot of time reading, researching and tweeting about food and restaurants these days, so I thought I’d jot down my tweets from the last few days. These are from both The Rambling Epicure and Swiss Foodies and should give you an overview of what’s going on in the foodie world this week, in Switzerland and around the world.

These tweets are often focused on Switzerland, but also include a lot of links to Swiss, French, German, British, American, Canadian and other research on food.

Sometimes I couldn’t resist writing about the snow and skiing conditions, because that determines how a lot of us in Switzerland plan our weekends, and therefore what restaurants we go to or what recipes we cook up. And of course occasionally, watches and wine . . . and this week, the Vancouver Winter Olympics and those cute wooly pigs you see in the photo.

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This week’s foodie overview

I spend a lot of time reading, researching and tweeting about food and restaurants these days, so I thought I’d jot down my tweets from the last few days. These are from both The Rambling Epicure and Swiss Foodies and should give you an overview of what’s going on in the foodie world this week.

These tweets are often focused on Switzerland, but also include a lot of links to Swiss, French, German, British, American, Canadian and other research on food.

This week was the countdown to Valentine’s Day, so I listed oodles of Valentine’s dinners, weekend packages at hotels and chocolate shops. You can find the Valentine’s venues I tweeted last week in the 20 Valentine venues, posted earlier this week.

Sometimes I couldn’t resist writing about the snow and skiing conditions, because that determines how a lot of us in Switzerland plan our weekends, and therefore what restaurants we go to or what recipes we cook up. And of course occasionally, watches and Alinghi . . .

Remember, these are just tweets

Remember these are just tweets, so they are short and sweet. They are not particularly orderly; I just tweeted the information as I found it.

I suggest you skim over the headings, and if you’re interested, just click on any of the links that interest you in order to read the detailed article.

Who knows, this might even tempt you to start tweeting yourself!

This week’s tweet list

Valentine’s

20 Valentine venues: restaurants, chocolate and hotel packages for the “big day”!

Valentine’s events in La Gruyère.

Valentine’s package at Bernard Ravet, CHF500, hotel, champagne, 9-course dinner, breakfast for two, Relais & Châteaux.

Restaurants in French-speaking Switzerland w/ Valentine’s specials; just click on your canton! NOT TESTED BY THE RAMBLING EPICURE.

GenevaLunch: Lake Geneva Valentine’s cruise.

Ramada Geneva offering Valentine’s Day brunch as well as candelit dinner.

Hôtel des Armures in Geneva: special Valentine’s package, rooms, champagne, breakfast and chocolate.

Valentine’s package at Hotel Royal Geneva. Le Duo, chic delish restaurant & brasserie, chef trained by Bernard Loiseau.

Jamie Oliver’s Valentine’s Day menu, along with recipes and tips for a romantic feast.

GenevaLunch: Valentine’s for the “older” crowd.

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Final countdown to Valentine’s Day: take your pick!

For the last week or so, I’ve had Valentine’s on the brain. I’ve been posting restaurants offering special Valentine’s meals, chocolate shops making all sorts of beautiful Valentine’s chocolates, as well as hotels offering Valentine’s packages on the Swiss Foodies Twitter account.

Photo courtesy of Salvatore Vuono.

I’ve been trying to get you in the spirit, but now it’s time for the final countdown, because time is running short. To make things easier, I’ve gathered all the Valentine tweets here so you can start making plans for the weekend!

This list is by no means exhaustive and I may well add to it during the week, so keep in touch either here on The Rambling Epicure, or by following the Swiss Foodies tweets. Every time I stumble on something interesting, I’ll make sure and tweet it.

Valentine’s specials: something to suit everyone’s budget and schedule

1. On Sunday, 14 February 2010, the CGN is sponsoring Valentine’s lunch cruises on all their major routes.
2. List of restaurants all over Switzerland with Valentine’s specials; just click on your canton!  Please note that I haven’t tested these restaurants, but they should include something appropriate for everyone’s taste, location and budget.
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Fine dining, Rudolf Steiner style

The Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner was the inventor of the spiritual movement anthroposophy, a kind of intuitive ethics which has thrived in Switzerland, chiefly through the Waldorf schools and through foundations and communities inspired by his teachings. This seventeenth-century castle, Le Castel, was bought by the Lausanne branch of the Rudolf Steiner Foundation in 1989.

The current community living on the grounds of Le Castel practices biodynamic farming, quite in line with Steiner’s view of humans’ relationship to the world. These products are used in the restaurant.

Restaurant de Bois Genoud “Le Castel”: gourmet, and it’s organic!

The Restaurant de Bois Genoud is organic, but don’t think that means boring. The dishes use daring combinations of ingredients and variations on classic themes, such as duck breast with Sechuan pepper and orange sauce, or a warm goat cheese pastry served with apply chutney, pear caramelized with honey, and orange- and ginger-flavored carrot sauce. Does that not get your taste buds going?

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Photo courtesy of Fiveprime

Genève Tourisme has published a list of the hotels and restaurants in Geneva that are offering special Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s meal packages. Some are at lunchtime, others in the evening.

The list includes restaurants in all price ranges, as well as details about dates, times, set menus, and locations.

It can be found in pdf format, under Christmas Dinners and New Year’s Dinners. Just click on “Download the document” on the Genève Tourisme site.

The American International Women’s Club will be sponsoring a Thanksgiving Day lunch at the Royal Savoy Hotel in Lausanne from 11:30 A.M. to 14:00 P.M. on Thursday, 26 November 2009.

The luncheon starts with a cocktail and wine party, offered by the club. The menu includes pumpkin soup with cheese straws, turkey stuffed with chestnuts, cranberry sauce, sweet potato gratin, French green beans, and apple tart with pecans and ice cream.

The price is CHF 60 for members, and CHF 70 for non-members.

You must register IMMEDIATELY, by e-mailing: registration@aiwc-lausanne.org.

Students from the International School of Lausanne will perform during this annual event, and the Community Services Committee will be holding a supply drive for the benefit of the Terres des Hommes federation to support children in need.

Map.

The P’tit Bonheur in Chambésy will be serving Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, 26 November 2009.

The menu includes pumpkin soup with pumpkin seed oil, apple and walnut salad with cranberry vinaigrette, roast turkey and giblet sauce with fig stuffing, mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts, and pumpkin pie with whipped cream and vanilla ice cream for CHF 55, not including drinks.

The Thanksgiving meal will be served from 12:00 to 14:30 and from 19:00 to 21:30 on Thursday only.

Reservations are recommended.