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FOOD AND DRINK

Veggie lovers challenge Swiss eating habits

The Swiss are known for being hardcore meat eaters but traditions are slowly changing thanks to increased health consciousness and the growing influence of expats.

Veggie lovers challenge Swiss eating habits
Photo: Tibits

A recent study conducted in the German-speaking part of Switzerland found that 18 percent of those questioned identified themselves as “flexitarians” – or occasional meat eaters.

Three percent were vegetarian or fish eaters and one percent avoided all animal products, according to the survey done for 20 Minuten newspaper. The remaining two-thirds were regular meat-eaters.

Swissveg, the information centre for a plant-based diet, also estimates that around three percent of Switzerland’s population is vegetarian. It says that while this figure has stayed roughly the same for 14 years, there is a growing awareness of the health benefits of a non-meat diet, leading many people – young adults and women in particular – to reduce meat consumption.

“As with all change in Switzerland this is no revolution, but rather a gradual evolution,” Swissveg spokesman Renato Pichler is convinced. “However, long-term it is unstoppable.”

International flavour

Mirjam Hauser, a trends and consumer behaviour analyst at market research company GIM Suisse, sees the veggie trend as part of a broader move towards a more varied diet, with an increasingly international flavour.

“Immigration from the European Union is driving demand for a wider range of foodstuffs and menus, including ethnic cuisine, which frequently goes down well with the Swiss too,” Hauser tells The Local.

“When there is an influx of more well educated people to Switzerland they tend to be more food aware and eat more healthily, raising demand for meat-free dishes,” she says.

Zurich-based Spanish expat and vegan author Ana Ortega believes immigrants enrich Swiss society with their culinary traditions. “Cheese fondue, rösti and raclette are great Swiss dishes but not to eat every day. Why not bring in a bit more creativity? Why not add some colour and spices? Why not replace the old potato with the sweet potato, and the meat with some beans? And if it happens to be good for you, even better!”

Colour, spices, sweet potatoes and more are all available to diners in the Tibits vegetarian restaurant chain, with its many Asian-inspired dishes. And for those preparing their own meat- or dairy-free meals the range of ingredients available in Swiss shops has been steadily increasing.


Photo: Tibits

Eva’s Apples, the first vegan shop in Zurich, this month opened an offshoot in Bern. Products can also be ordered online. But Ortega says you don’t have to go to these lengths.

“I wrote Vegan recipes for Newbies with the intention of showing society how easy it is to eat vegan,” Ortega tells The Local. “The ingredients you need for a vegan-based diet are already within everyone’s reach at Migros, Coop and your local store and farm. You find chia seeds and even almond butter – something I am really crazy about now – in your local supermarket. It really is that simple!”

Swiss supermarkets say they are attempting to satisfy customers’ appetite for vegetarian and vegan products, bringing out new lines and adapting vegetarian recipes to make them suitable for vegans.

“We want to offer our one million customers a day, including vegans, the products they are looking for,” Coop spokesman Ramon Gander tells The Local. “Although vegan food is a niche market, it is a trend that is likely to keep growing.”

Vegan meatballs

Coop says it stocks over 200 own-brand products with the official vegetarian stamp, almost half of them vegan. Sales are increasing, with some vegan products recording double-digit growth in the past year, according to Gander.

It is not just supermarkets that are adapting to the changing eating habits. Swedish furniture retailer Ikea recently introduced a vegan version of its hugely popular Köttbullar meatball in its Swiss restaurants.

Despite the vegetarian trend, the Swiss meat industry association Proviande says meat consumption is stable, at around 52 kilos per head per year.

It is eager to counter the negative press the meat industry often gets by stressing the quality of Swiss production.

But the fact that its “Swiss meat – everything else is trimmings” advertising campaign is subsidized to the tune of 50 percent by the government, ruffles feathers at Swissveg.

The vegetarian information centre says subsidies to the meat industry cannot be justified given the ecological cost of meat production. But without the subsidies Swiss meat would become more expensive and production would no longer be economically viable.

Trends and consumer behaviour analyst Mirjam Hauser can foresee a drop in meat consumption, as more people adopt a flexitarian diet, but thinks this is not necessarily bad news for the Swiss meat industry.

“If in future people eat less meat, they will appreciate it more and demand better quality products,” she tells The Local.  

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DISCOVER SWITZERLAND

Where are the ‘best’ restaurants in Switzerland?

Switzerland is home to some top restaurants, many of which have earned the prestigious Michelin stars. But where are they all and does this mean they are the best? Share your own recommendations below.

Where are the 'best' restaurants in Switzerland?

In October, Michelin presented this year’s renowned restaurant selection of the Michelin Guide Switzerland 2023 at the EHL Hospitality Business School in Lausanne.

The guide introduced five two-star restaurant newcomers (three of which are based in French-speaking Switzerland), while Michelin handed out a total of nine MICHELIN Green Stars for environmentally conscious gastronomy.

In addition to the newly crowned restaurants, Michelin also announced that a further 15 Swiss restaurants had been awarded the Bib Gourmand – which highlights good-value-for-money restaurants – prior to the award ceremony.

Overall, Switzerland’s local gastronomy includes 138 starred restaurants as well as 33 MICHELIN Green Stars-eateries.

So, where can you find the crème de la crème of Swiss restaurants?

Top of the list

The gourmet restaurant Memories, located in the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz (St. Gallen), is among Michelin’s four three-star restaurants this year and a great start for indecisive eaters with an appetite for Swiss alpine cuisine.

Under the kitchen management of Sven Wassmer, Memories’ offers customers seasonal menus consisting of several surprise taste experiences in place of an à la carte menu.

Schloss Schauenstein in neighbouring Graubünden – where Andreas Caminada and Marcel Skibba run the kitchen – is also among Switzerland’s three-star Michelin restaurants, alongside the Cheval Blanc by Peter Knogl in the city of Basel with Peter Knogl as head chef and the Restaurant de l’Hôtel de Ville in Crissier (Vaud) with Franck Giovannini at the helm of the kitchen.

Two-star newcomers

This year also saw five Swiss restaurants snag two Michelin stars for the first time, of which The Japanese Restaurant at the luxurious The Chedi Hotel (Uri) is particularly noteworthy. Swiss twin chef duo Dominik Sato and Fabio Toffolon took the reins of the Andermatt-based restaurant in the spring where they serve up an exciting blend of Japanese cuisine and timeless European influences.

While in the Deutschschweiz, you may also want to check out the region’s second two-starred newcomer: Mammertsberg.

Diners at this exclusive boutique hotel and restaurant, with Silvio Germann as head chef, get to enjoy elaborate meals with deep flavour while overlooking Freidorf (Thurgau) with views reaching all the way to Lake Constance. A three-course meal at the restaurant will set you back 184 Swiss francs per person and needs to be prebooked.

Those looking to enjoy fine dining in French-speaking Switzerland will find themselves spoiled for choice as three new restaurants have joined Michelin’s two-star ranks.

L’Atelier Robuchon in the city of Geneva, which is housed in the basement of the luxury hotel The Woodward, offers diners a cuisine inspired by regional and seasonal products cooked up by executive chef Olivier Jean.

In neighbouring Vaud, the menu at La Table du Lausanne Palace – with an unmatched panorama overlooking the rooftops of Lausanne, the mountains and the lake – includes anything from delicious frog legs to salmon from Graubünden and wood-fired venison, while La Table du Valrose in Rougemont (Vaud) wows diners with its modern French-influenced menu.

19 new one-star restaurants

2023 also saw a total of 19 Swiss restaurants added to the country’s list of one star Michelin-rated eateries, bringing the total number of one-star restaurants to 108.

Among them is the Wiesner Mysterion – Zauber in Romoos (Lucerne) with its unique alchemical natural cuisine – as chef Stefan Wiesner puts it, for which the restaurant was awarded one star on its first try. The restaurant’s exceptional nine course menu – which is introduced with a short story by Wiesner and tailored to reflect each season – costs 225 Swiss francs per person.

The restaurant ZOE in Switzerland’s capital Bern – which also received the green star for its sustainable concept – is renowned for its modern and creative vegetarian dishes prepared by operational duo Fabian Raffeiner (kitchen) and Mark Hayoz (service).

Restaurants with sustainability at heart

With sustainability gaining importance worldwide, many on the lookout for their next perfect night out also choose to consider a restaurant’s sense of responsibility.

This year, nine Swiss restaurants were newly granted a MICHELIN Green Star for their commitment to the environment and resources and acting as role-models within sustainable gastronomy.

Among them is the modern Zurich-based elmira. Based in the basement of a former silo on the Löwenbräu brewery site, elmira’s cuisine places importance on choosing seasonal products – meat, fish or vegetarian – as well as ingredients sourced from the immediate vicinity where available.

Meanwhile, the La Tapis Rouge in Brienz (Bern) relies on its 2-hectare vegetable garden for fresh produce which is supplemented by local farms and small-scale producers. The produce the restaurant does not manage to use up for either its vegetable-focused or completely vegetarian menu is not wasted, but rather fermented or marinated.

READ MORE: Swiss government wants residents to eat less meat to protect the climate

15 affordable restaurants

In this year’s edition of the MICHELIN Guide Switzerland, 15 new restaurants have received Bib Gourmand award, which highlights restaurants that stand out for the particularly good value for money they offer.

Not surprisingly, most of them are located in rural areas and offer a good assortment of Swiss and international – particularly Asian – delicacies.

If you’re looking for inventive cuisine on a (Swiss) dime in a cosy setting, then you may want to visit the Le Mont-Rouge in Haute-Nendaz (Valais). At the restaurant, guests can order local, authentically homemade dishes paired with a selection of fine wines from the Valais region.

In German-speaking Switzerland, the rustic Schüpbärg-Beizli may be in the middle of nowhere, but it is well worth the trip to Schüpfen (Bern) if it’s Swiss specialties you have your eye on.

The restaurant – or Beizli (tavern) as it’s called in Swiss German – aims to delight guests with a range of traditional Swiss dishes with a modern twist. Its current menu includes cheese ravioli, Swiss salmon, and beef fillet to be followed by a pumpkin pie, plum compote and a variety of ice creams.

You can find a comprehensive list of the remaining restaurants featured on the MICHELIN Guide Switzerland 2023 here.

READ MORE: How many of these must-try Swiss regional delicacies have you tasted?

Is your favourite restaurant in Switzerland in this list? If not where would you recommend for readers?

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