From 2 December 2015 until 1 March 2016, SWISS First and SWISS Business passengers on long-haul flights from Switzerland will enjoy top cuisine from the renowned The Alpina Gstaad boutique hotel.
SWISS will be serving its premium travellers culinary delights from Switzerland’s Bernese Oberland from the beginning of December onwards. For this latest chapter in the airline’s award-winning “SWISS Taste of Switzerland” programme, the select cuisine has been devised by top chef Marcus G. Lindner of the boutique The Alpina Gstaad hotel. SWISS also remains in the Bernese Oberland for its January “SWISS Traditions” feature, which will focus on the World Snow Festival in Grindelwald.
From 2 December 2015 until 1 March 2016, SWISS First and SWISS Business passengers on long-haul flights from Switzerland will enjoy top cuisine from the renowned The Alpina Gstaad boutique hotel. In collaboration with Marcus G. Lindner, executive chef of the hotel’s 18-GaultMillau-point and Michelin-starred Sommet gourmet restaurant, its 16-GaultMillau-point MEGU restaurant and its Swiss Stubli, SWISS will be offering select culinary creations with an international slant that combine the three hotel restaurants’ differing ingredients and aromas into a sensual gourmet experience. “It’s a particular honour for my team and me to create meals for SWISS and its guests,” says Marcus G. Lindner. “And we’re truly delighted to be on board.”
SWISS First travellers in the winter months can look forward to delights that include lobster medallions, Thai red curry soup with fried duck wonton, beef tenderloin with red wine sauce and Belper Knolle cheese served with herbed mashed potato, and Bernese meringue with mixed berries and vanilla ice cream. And for SWISS Business customers Marcus G. Lindner has created such delicacies as a starter of mildly smoked char with horseradish and buttermilk timbale, a main course of veal ragout with arugula spatzle or pike perch with cider compote and a dessert of chestnut cake with lingonberry compote.
All the meals are accompanied by selected wines from Cantons Valais and Bern, with both reds and whites from Switzerland’s biggest wine-producing canton and the small but excellent Spiez winegrowing area by Lake Thun. SWISS First customers can enjoy a fruity Spiez Pinot Noir or an elegant Petite Arvine Reserve Speciale Maitre de Chais white; and SWISS Business guests can delight in a Cornalin Clos de Montibeux or a Spiez Riesling-Sylvaner.
A selection of these latest “SWISS Taste of Switzerland” inflight meals will also be served in the SWISS Lounge at the 86th International Lauberhorn Ski Races, which will be held in Wengen in the Bernese Oberland in mid-January. Chef Marcus G. Lindner will even be at the Lounge, which is located in the finish area, on Saturday 16 January to personally present his creations.
SWISS Traditions offers Grindelwald delights
SWISS will also be taking its Business Class guests into a winter culinary wonderland this January on selected European flights. The latest feature in its “SWISS Traditions” programme focuses on the annual World Snow Festival in Grindelwald, when ice artists from all over the globe descend on this small Bernese Oberland village to present their skills and sculptures. To mark the event, SWISS will be serving – depending on the flight length – such regional specialities as Emmental veal ragout with spinach and herbed pureed potato, stuffed wild-mushroom crepes with vegetables, or meringue with vermicelles and pear compote.
Stylish hotel, unique location
The charming and award-winning The Alpina Gstaad hotel stands just above the idyllic centre of the village of Gstaad, amid its own 20,000-square-metre park. With its Six Senses Spa (complete with hammam, salt room and indoor and outdoor pools) and its three award-winning Sommet, MEGU and Swiss Stubli gourmet restaurants, this delightful boutique hotel is a haven of rest, relaxation and luxury for body and soul alike.
The hotel also offers a wide range of sports and culinary attractions in its spectacular alpine surrounds. Gstaad is renowned for its gourmet and its wellness credentials, while winter sports enthusiasts will delight in the region’s 220 kilometres of pistes extending from Zweisimmen up to the only glacier ski area in the Bernese Oberland. And with its cosy chalet-village ambience and its undisputed glamour, Gstaad will make any vacation an unforgettable experience.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
