A devotion to luxurious tastes and cultivation of food, art and music. That is the short definition of Epicure which happens once per year at the fabulous Dolder Grand hotel in Zurich.
The hotel hosts 5 dinners where a world class chef is invited to cook a long side Heiko Nieder head chef of the 2 Michelin star The Restaunt in the hotel. This culminates Sunday evening where +10 chefs cooks a long side each other in a feast like no other.
However the Epicure is not only about the food. It’s about enjoying all the finer things in life like art and the hotel has the most impressive collection I have ever seen outside a World class museum. So it’s fair to say that it’s an experience for all senses, as is the hotel in general.
I was invited to stay at the hotel for two nights to experience two different collaborations which also gave me enough time to experience the hotel.
The hotel has seven restaurants and I would try three of the, during my stay. So it’s needless to say that there is enough to do.
Bloom is a vegan restaurant that is only open in the summer when whether permits it. It is located in the vegetable garden centered both around the freshly grown vegetables and herbs and a massive sculpture. What better place to eat a light vegan lunch.
Heiko Nieder oversees all restaurants and you can tell that a 2 Michelin star chef had his hands involved from the start as small snacks started to arrive. Elaborated in flavor and presentation.
For the rest of the menu in reality I don’t want or need to say more than fresh quality products without too much fuss.
The Salz Terrasse is like the other restaurants filled with art and a very cool design. If the weather is nice you can enjoy a perfect view over Zurich from the terrace. The food is designed to be accessible for anybody, but again using great ingredients. So whether your are looking for grilled sole, oysters, steak or other types of comfort food they have you covered.
Now for the main event which were the collaborative dinners. The first was with Norbert Niederkofler and the second was the creative mad man from New Zealand Vaughan Mabee.
Given that Heiko Nieder was going to be a big part of both I was very curious to see how he would be able to change his menu to the visiting chefs or whether or not he would repeat his dishes. After all you are not suppose to go twice in a row. I can easily say that they were two very different evenings without any repetitions.
The first night would be all about “cooking the mountain” the filosofi of Norbert. The first dish from him would be trout. Part of the cook the mountain filosofi is nose to tail or in this case fin to tail as they would use everything including shales and roe. Served together with a rich buttery sauce it was pure deliciousness.
Many gourmet restaurants find their inspiration in local traditions and dishes. The same would be the case the next dish from Heiko. A local dish usually served with potato and here the salad was crispy herbal leafs, very small crispy salad and generous amounts of caviar.
We would continue to explore the mountain, but this time with much more unusual ingredients. A gnocchi served with nettles and fresh goat cheese and just the perfect amount of butter = a lot.
Yet another dish of pure deliciousness was up. Artic char cooked ever so gently with a buttery sauce with a bit of a bit of camomile. A simple dish but also a very delicious dish. Another dish proving that gourmet food can also be about good craftsmanship.
The two chefs would but serve beef as their main. Norbert ribeye and Heiko wagyu. In reality two similar but very different dishes as they were both served with the jus and different herbs. The wagyu was naturally much richer where the ribeye was served with a more acidic sauce. Both dishes were naturally pleasing and delicious.
Pleasing and delicious is also good description about the two desserts. The first very sweet and simple with the second from Norbert would be more refreshing as it used celeriac as the main ingredient.
Our second night with the Madman from New Zealand would obviously be a more theatrical evening, but not at all the expense of flavor.
Theatrics was obvious from the very first snack which was “crispy duck foot” with truffle nails. Fun and creative.
As a contrast the next dish would be a crispy tart with botteraga and trout eggs. Elegant and delicious by Heiko.
The same can be said for a beautiful and precise serving of turnip and a sauce made with a generous amount of olive oil. A sauce with a lovely punchy sour flavor plus I loved the precise and elegant presentation.
Oyster, caviar and refreshing herbs would follow from Heiko. The use of mustard seeds provided a very nice contrast to the delicate flavor of the oyster and caviar.
Moving to the larger dishes starting with lobster from northern France served with a potent sauce filled with acidic and floral notes. A dish that devided our table but I loved that Vaugh dared to use strong and powerful flavors and to served a dish that is not meant to be balanced.
The next two were however very well balanced. Aussie taco with lots of truffle and wagyu served with apricot.
From Vaugh we would finish the way we started which means with a show. Rich milk of deer had been turned into ice cream served in the shape of deer antler which they poured a beetroot sauce over table-side. A presentation worthy of Hannibal Lecter. I loved the presentation and the flavor. I do know that unique dishes becomes harder and harder to come by and maybe it wasn’t intentionally but the dish reminded me way to much of the milk and beetroot ice cream served at Asador Etxebarri.
Heiko would round of our evening with a classic cherries with white chocolate and herbs de Provence. It was fun to see that the more theatrical Vaugh got the more Heiko went classic and delicious. This is how great 4 hands dinners should be. Chefs that complement each other which they really did this evening. They represented two different styles but without at any point looking too different but complementary.
Finishing this second evening of luxury I kept thinking about the definition of epicure which is about enjoying all the finer things in life: like food, fine art and hospitality. It’s safe to say that I had experienced just that at my stay at the Dolder Grand. There are lots of beautiful hotels in the world and the Dolder Grand is one of them. What makes it stand about it the feeling they give you as a guest. From the moment I stepped in through the doors everybody made me feel welcome. They would go out of their way to make my stay as comfortable and memorable as possible catering for what ever I wanted. That is the true luxury that goes beyond a comfortable bed, a big room luxurious food which they also do.
Needless to say my stay at the Dolder Grand was epic and memorable. A place I cannot wait to visit again.
I was invited by the hotel who paid for my trip
Practical information
Website: www.thedoldergrand.com
Restaurant: The Restaurant 2 Michelin Stars
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