SWITZERLAND is 2010’s most competitive country in the world, according to the World Economic Forum. But there’s more to the Swiss than meets the eye. It’s their knack for secrecy which has led many customers to stash their savings in a nation with the most stable banking industry. But the Swiss are now more open to exposing some secrets, including one about food which was divulged during a luncheon at Red Restaurant in Makati Shangri-La recently.
Swiss food is actually unique due to the nation’s two obvious characteristics: its mountainous topography and cold weather. These contribute to a roundabout story involving grass and cows, an unlikely marriage which has contributed to the fat in Swiss cheese, but here goes the mouth-watering explanation of why Swiss food is actually quite yummy.
Atop the cantons of the rambling country, near the line of the Swiss Tundra, a different kind of feeding has been taking place since the first tribesmen of the Helvetii domesticated cows. And the secret, as told by Chef Oskar Marti, master chef from Munchenbuchsee in the canton of Bern, with a rating of 17 Gault-Millau points for his restaurant, was quite eye-popping. Chef Marti, a 64-year-old educator and award-winning author of 14 cookbooks, including the popular children’s cookbook Cocolino, explained that the secret ingredient of Swiss food is in the grass and the healthy vegetation of a higher and cooler altitude.
Only stubborn, survivalistic types of flora can live in climates where the oxygen supply is thinner and the weather is colder. This explains why the cows that feed in elevated areas are deliciously yummier—because the animals feed on a different type of plant life that has survived the year-round winter and lack of oxygen. These healthy plants add flavor to our bovine friends even before the milk is turned into cheese and chocolates. But what more if you begin to consider eating the cows themselves.
So to prove his point, Chef Marti imported from Switzerland not only samplings of edible hay, leaves and flowers, but slabs of different meats, cheeses and chocolates for a weeklong celebration of the craftsmanship and traditions of his country for a string of events called “Swiss Made,” Makati Shangri-La’s celebration of Swiss food and tradition that concluded last week. Guests sampled authentic Swiss cuisine from distinguished chefs flown in from Switzerland.
Not surprisingly, Red was the premier venue as Chef Marti with cohorts Chef Michael Ramseier, a member of the Swiss National Culinary Team, and Chef Michael Emmenegger, a pastry chef and chocolate sculptor, showcased exclusive à la carte and degustation menus during the week for the restaurant’s Gault-Millau Indulgence.
Likewise for the same duration, foodies melted away into afternoons of light and not-too-sweet chocolate idylls during high tea as master chocolatier Chef Emmenegger demonstrated the art of praline-making in a special live station at the hotel’s Lobby Lounge. More Swiss chocolates punctuated the buffet meal at Circles Event Café where Chef Emmenegger also worked his magic at a live chocolate station.
***Swiss Made was in partnership with the Embassy of Switzerland, Swiss International Air Lines, Breguet, Lucerne and Victorinox Travel Gear.
IN PHOTO -- Pan Seared Rack of Lamb topped with edible bits of hay
