3. August 2014: 1. Silser Gourmet Walk

The First Silser Gourmet Walk is a rather new invention – and a lovely concept: While hiking through the surroundings of the little town Sils-Maria located in the mountains close to St. Moritz you get to visit restaurants and their chefs which prepare one course of the whole meal for you, and to taste some great wines.

The starting point was Peider-Duri Witschi of the Restaurant Alpenrose which served the following …

… “salmon rolls filled with vegetables juliennes and a lime mint emulsion” …

… “focaccia with fennel and sun-dried tomatoes and goat cheese from Cavalocia” …

… “spicy sausages from Puschlav on caramelized sour cream” …

… “mushroom salad with pancetta and quail egg from S-Chanf” …

… “mozzarella skewers with ham and nectarines” …

… “baked vegetable skewers on sauce Rouille” which were all accompanied by the sparkling wine “Francicorta Brut, Vini Plozza, Brusio”.

After a short walk of approximately two kilometers, it was time for the next course prepared by “Kurt Röösli and his team from the Hotel Waldhaus”: “medaillon of the Swiss lake trout baked in alu foil with grilled vegetables and joghurt dip”. The fish was still a tiny bit raw when served but of an absolutely lovely consistency and went very well with the “Kernling Spätlese, Burkhart vineyard, Weinfelden”.

After, this time a bit shorter, walk of 500 meters it was time to try what “Thomas Herbst and his team of the Hotel Edelweiss” had prepared for us: “Mountain hay soup from Fex served in a bread cup with black summer truffle and salsiz”. The soup was very welcome as the weather was rainy and cold – and it was not only welcome but absolutely yummy. Especially the salsiz which was served in the soup gave it the little extra note. The “Humagne Blanc Barrique, Albert Mathier & Fils SA, Salgesch” rounded up the soup perfectly (a great wine which I also have privately in my cellar).

Besides everything it was not only about walking and food – but also a tiny bit about culture. Our guide explained us quite a bit about the landscape and showed us the Nietsche Memorial where apparently Nietzsche had resided.

In order to get warm again, a little longer march was to be taken again to arrive to try the dishes of “Freddie Zwimpfer and Dumeng Giovanoli from the Restaurant Kuhstall and the Hotel Privata”: “beef rips on juniper jus with Luganighetti from the grill, served with Polenta Taragna and sautéed dehydrated plums and a small ratatouille”. The meat was aromatic and rich in flavour, the polenta – and I’m not a huge polenta fan – was absolutely great and went incredibly well with the dehydrated plums. The sausage – although it looked like it was still a bit raw was actually perfectly seasoned and very lovely in taste – also it went very well with the “Maienfelder Pinot Noir Barrique, Markus Stäger vineyard, Maienfeld”.

After another short walk it was time for the first part of the dessert – prepared by “Luca Buzzetti and his team of the Hotel Schweizerhof” which had created a nice selection of cheese dishes from four cheese types: “Alpkäse, Fexer Mutschli, Mascarpin d’Isola and sheep cheese from Tschlin”. At first I expected actual cheese dishes but …

… somehow the intepretation of cheese was quite extensive. The first one to be tried was a “Crème brûlée made from the Engadiner Alpkäse with spicy redwine rhubarb compote” which was already very interesting. The second dish were “Milles Feuilles from the Fexer Mutschli and Gelée from Fexer jostaberries on pear bread chutney à la Schweizerhof” which was interesting but not entirely to my liking. Sweet and cheese with hard cheese consistency did not turn out to be my favourite.

Next in line was the “Mascarpin praline in chestnut crumbles, rolled in pesto of ‘Good Heinrich'” which was very taste-intense. The “sheep cheese cream, perfumed with Iva served in mountain herb cake cannelloni” were actually almost my favourite cheese dish but only until I have tried the pure cheese as it was actually the real thing.

But besides the nice selection of cheeses and their respective cheese dish creations, there was also a great selection of various breads – which fit perfectly with the cheese.

Now, usually I would not take a picture of the guy who presented the wine – but as this guy is actually my cousin and I did not know that he was there, I kind of had to. The wine he presented (and no, I’m not biased in this case) was the “Amphore, Albert Mathier & Fils SA, Salgesch” where he works as an oenologist – that is definitely what I call an incredibly tasty sweet wine.

Finally, it was time for the last march – to pay “Eugenio Caelli and his team of the Hotel Margna” a visit – where a large selection of dessert was offered ranging from dark and white chocolate mousse …

… to various little treasures …

… cakes and more mousses …

… fresh fruit …

… more cake …

… and icecream …

… and more sweets …

… but also very decorative and artsy creations which for sure needed a lot of effort by the chefs to prepare them. All this was obviously served with espresso, more sweet wines and grappa.

After approximately 5 hours of walking, eating, and enjoying great wines – it was over. And I must admit that it is an experience worth taking, for only CHF 140.00 per person you get to enjoy a day in the nature, to walk, do sports, enjoy the dishes and wines and to get to meet new people – and the date for the 2. Silser Gourmet Walk is already scheduled – the 8th of August, 2015 it is. I will definitely attend again!

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Contact Details:

1. Silser Gourmet Walk

Hotel Edelweiss

7514 Sils-Maria (CH)

Tel.: +41 81 838 42 42

Fax: +41 81 838 43 43

E-Mail: info@hotel-edelweiss.ch

Homepage: http://hotel-edelweiss.ch

About the Author: Sven

I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org. Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City.