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.

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!

The list is long, so I’ll list the main topics, which are marked by headings in bold: Restaurants, Recipes, Swiss news, International news, Food trends, Nutrition, health, healthy lifestyle, Chocolate, Wine, Miscellaneous food and related info, Skiing, snow, lifestyle, and Nice quotes.

This week’s tweet list

Restaurants

Taste the latest in the food world, the wooly pig, 23 & 24 Feb. at du Chalet-des-Enfants in Le Mont-sur-Lausanne.

Tired of roestis and pasta in Verbier? Good classic French at La Grange, no surprises.

The Rambling Epicure: check out our restaurant listings.

The Bernerhof hotel in Gstaad has a restaurant for everyone’s taste: pasta, Chinese, traditional.

Tired of roestis in Zermatt? Check out authentic Japanese cuisine and sushi at Myoko, Seiler Hotel.

The food at King’s restaurant Verbier is a delightful mix of English, French, and world influences.

The Walserhof in Klosters is a perfect place to celebrate special occasions, and the food is top notch.

Everything you need to know about eating in Zermatt.

Check out the divine rolled truffle pizza at Quirinale in Geneva.

The Cottage Café in Jardins de Brunswick in Geneva is a great place to meet for afternoon meeting.

Site that lists restaurants in Switzerland that do home delivery.

Read more…

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.
3. Valentine’s package at L’Auberge in Baulmes for CHF105, including gourmet dinner, champagne, wine and room. They adhere to the Slow Food philosophy.
4. Restaurant de Bois Genoud Le Castel in Crissier. See our post of 1 February 2010. Elegant setting, organic, biodynamic food grown on the property, and real gourmet dining.
5. Valentine’s events in La Gruyère.
6. Valentine’s package at Bernard Ravet’s splendid L’Hermitage in Vufflens-le-Château, CHF500, including hotel, champagne, 9-course dinner, and breakfast. The package goes for CHF500 per person per night. Price justified by the restaurant’s 19 out of 20 rating in GaultMillau, the setting, that it belongs to Relais & Châteaux, and the presence of Nathalie Ravet, named best Swiss sommelier in 2007.
7. Commercial listing of Geneva restaurants serving special Valentine’s dinner. Please note that I haven’t tested these restaurants, but they should include something appropriate for everyone’s taste, location and budget.
8. Spa, chocolate bath, and GaultMillau 13-rated restaurant at Ferian Art in Saas-Fee in a drop-dead beautiful setting and exquisite decor.
9. Hôtel des Armures in Geneva: special Valentine’s package including room, champagne, breakfast and chocolate, for CHF860 for two nights. Located in the very heart of Geneva’s old town.
10. Ramada Park Hotel Geneva offering Valentine’s Day brunch as well as candlelit dinner. CHF75 for Sunday brunch, and CHF79 for candlelit dinner.
    
11. How to make a chocolate heart for your sweetie, but please substitute Swiss chocolate!
12. From chocolate lollipop to cup of organic dark hot chocolate, dip into hot milk and stir for few moments. For those who really don’t have much time but want to make a gesture!
    
13. Exquisite Italian food for romantic Valentine’s dinner at San Marino in Lausanne.
14. My Switzerland also lists a number of romantic Valentine’s getaways, mostly in the German-speaking part of Switzerland.
15. A real deal, but in high style: The Mövenpick in Prague is offering the best Valentine’s package I’ve found. €114 for a couple for one night, with a real spread.
    
16. All local chocolate makers will be competing with all the others to create the most beautiful, original Valentine chocolates possible. See our Easter post about chocolate shops in Geneva.
17. In our initial countdown to Valentine’s, we also listed Durig in Lausanne for its organic, fair-trade chocolate hearts that you can order online.
18. For those who don’t count pennies but love fine food, the Richemond in Geneva is offering an all-out spa, champagne, gourmet Italian dinner (the chef is none other than Fulvio Pierangelini, Italy’s top chef 2009), full breakfast and room for CHF1025 for two.
19. For those who love antique cars and have the time and money to hop over to the French Riviera, this is a real find. The Hôtel Beau Rivage in Nice has a Valentine’s package that includes a jaunt in the countryside around Nice in an antique Lotus for a whole day. The package includes two nights in the hotel, the car for one day, breakfast in the room and one dinner at the restaurant of your choice (they offer two) for €530 for two people.
20. It’s Monday, so I can’t get hold of L’Esquisse in Lausanne. I don’t know whether they have a Valentine’s menu. All I know is that they have a refined menu and the setting is beautiful. I vote on it being romantic, no matter what the occasion.

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?

Read more…

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.