The thirty first version of the St. Moritz Connoisseur Pageant carried the theme of “New Culinary Life-style.” From January 27 to February 1, 2025, the pageant’s program included over 30 occasions held in Switzerland’s Engadin Valley. With a concentrate on attracting a brand new technology of pageant attendees, organizers added some occasions this yr, such because the Heavensake Get together on the Kulm Lodge and the Style, Scent & Sound – Grace Night time by Laurent-Perrier Champagne.
As in previous years, the pageant hosted 10 friends cooks, who partnered with govt cooks from the area’s most interesting resorts.
Visitor cooks on the St. Moritz Connoisseur Pageant:
- Alex Dilling, Lodge Café Royal, London / United Kingdom
- Alexandre Gauthier, La Grenouillère, La Madelaine-sous-Montreuil / France
- Caroline Baerten & Nicolas Decloedt, humus x hortense, Brussels / Belgium
- Deepanker Khosla, HAŌMA, Bangkok / Thailand
- Fredrik Berselius, ASKA, New York / United States
- Kanji Kobayashi, Villa Aida, Wakayama / Japan
- Kristian Baumann, KOAN, Copenhagen / Denmark
- Nicolas Darnauguilhem, La Pinte des Mossettes. Cerniat / Switzerland
- Stefano Baiocco, Villa Feltrinelli, Gargnano / Italy
Along with the Connoisseur Dinner with Chef Alex Dilling on the Grace La Margna Lodge, I additionally attended the Fascination Champagne occasion on the Suvretta Home and the brunch on the Paradiso Mountain Restaurant & Membership. Right here’s a short abstract of the unique occasions.
Fascination Champagne with Chef Fredrik Berselius
On Thursday, January thirtieth, Visitor Chef Fredrik Berselius ready a 6-course meal for the Fascination Champagne (CHF 395) occasion on the Suvretta Home. Born in Sweden, his work at present facilities in New York Metropolis, the place Aksa restaurant has earned two Michelin stars. Working with the lodge’s Government Chef Fabrizio Zanetti, the culinary director of the pageant, Berselius served his Nordic-inspired dishes at this black tie occasion. Every course was paired with a distinct Laurent-Perrier champagne: Héritage, Brut Millésimé 2015, Grand Siècle Itération Nº26, Grand Siècle Itération Nº 23 Magnum, and Alexandra 2012.
Frederik Berselius’s Menu for Fascination Champagne 2025:
Caviar croustade
with kingfish from Denmark and smoked eel
Scallop
with white turnip and black currant leaf
Lobster custard
Turbot
with caviar, Swedish darkish beer and flowering dill
Langoustine
with a sauce of the carmalized shell and pink gooseberry
Preserved berries
with flavors of the sphere
Friandises & Pralines
For my part, the highlights of this meal included the primary course, the luscious bite-size “Caviar croustade with Danish kingfish and smoked eel. I additionally actually loved the turbot, once more with caviar, in addition to Swedish darkish beer and flowering dill. With the Laurent-Perrier champagne flowing all evening with every course, the night was a culinary celebration.
Mountain Brunch on the Paradiso
The subsequent morning, I went to the foyer of Badrutt’s Palace to start my journey to the lodge’s mountain restaurant, Paradiso. Situated at an altitude of two,180 meters (7,152 toes), it was the placement of the St. Moritz Connoisseur Pageant’s Mountain Brunch occasion (CHF 160), that includes dishes from 5 of the visitor cooks: Alex Dilling, Alexandre Gauthier, Caroline Baerten, Nicolas Decloedt and Nicolas Darnauguilhem. I arrived on the occasion through the Suvretta-Randolins chairlift.
Together with specialties from the Paradiso, the visitor cooks served the next dishes in the course of the Mountain Brunch.
- Boeuf bouilli en memento de Bénichon from Nicolas Darnauguilhem
- Jerusalem artichoke waffle with flowers from Caroline Baerten and Nicolas Decloedt
- Brittany Lobster with positive herbs and citrus butter on a crumpet from Alex Dilling
- Scallop and celery root from Alexandre Gauthier
My favourite dish from the brunch was Alex Dilling‘s crumpet topped with a decadent lobster salad. The comforting, beefy boullion soup with root greens from Nicolas Darnauguilhem, was a nod to the Bénichon celebration from the canton of Fribourg, the place his restaurant, La Pinte des Mossettes, is situated. The Jerusulam artichoke waffle from Caroline Baerten and Nicolas Decloedt mirrored their planted-based and anti-food waste method to positive eating, featured at their humus x hortense restaurant in Brussels.
With roughly 2,300 friends attending the St. Moritz Connoisseur Pageant in 2025, this yr’s occasion demonstrated its skill to evolve and appeal to new audiences, making certain the long run success of certainly one of Switzerland’s culinary highlights of the yr.
For extra data:
St. Moritz Connoisseur Pageant, WOEHRLE / PIROLA Occasions & Public Relations, +41 (0)44 245 86 88, [email protected].
Save the date: thirty second version of the St. Moritz Connoisseur Pageant – January 26 to 31, 2026.
Please be aware: I attended the Fascination Champagne and Mountain Brunch occasions as a visitor of the St. Moritz Connoisseur Pageant. As at all times, the ideas and opinions expressed on this article are purely my very own.
