Here come my 5 favourite Pizzerias in Zurich!
What makes a Neapolitan pizza special?

Where everything began – the invention of Margherita Pizza

Back in time, the ancient Greeks were the first ones to top flatbreads with tasty ingredients. The term ‘pizza’ came up near Rome or Naples (depending on who you like to trust) around 1000 AD. This is why we differentiate between Neapolitan and Roman Pizza. Later more about this. By the 18th century, pizza had become a cost-effective way of feeding the peasantry. The Italians discovered a new fruit brought over from the New World. So easily the humble tomato made its way onto this traditional flatbread. We are all happy about this accident since then the Pizza is desired on the whole planet. We cannot think it out of our plates.

Queen Margherita and King Umberto back in 1889 influenced their personal Chef to create a Pizza showing the Italian flag. The green comes with the basil, the red with the tomatoes and the white by using mozzarella. He named the pizza after the monarch, that is how we got today’s Margherita pizza!

What is an authentic Neapolitan Pizza?

Most know a pizza with a thin-to-medium crust and soil, this is the so-called Roman Pizza. It tends to be crunchier than the pizza in Naples. The Roman-style dough is typically left to rise for about three or four days, then baked at 500°F-600°F — much cooler than the temperature in which Neapolitan pizza is cooked (at least 800 F°). When it comes to a thicker, soft and elastic crust that is easy to fold (also named pizza al portafoglio), we talk about the Neapolitan Pizza. There is a governing body called the ‘True Neapolitan Pizza Association’ (TNPA) that keeps the standards of true Neapolitan pizza alive.

Only the Pizza Margherita and Pizza Marinara are regarded as authentic Italian pizzas. The Marinara comes with tomato, garlic, oregano, extra virgin olive oil and possibly basil. The Margherita exceptionally with certified mozzarella di bufala cheese or fior di latte mozzarella. A Place where you get delicious fior di latte Mozzarella is the Ristorante Più at Schiffbau for example.

By reading all of this Pizza knowledge you may understand, that pizza is not equal to pizza. It is a really complex topic. In the end, your stomach and eyes will decide. I promise you, that these three spots will make it difficult for you, to return to other standards.

5 places to get Neapolitan quality pizza in Zurich

Pizzeria & Friggitoria Margheri

Do you like it molto buono and truly original? The pizza at Margheri is made strictly according to the guidelines of the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana. Chef pizzaiolo Gianluca Biondo has plenty of years of experience and serves in my opinion the perfect pizza Napoletana! Something you really need to try as a starter is their Campanian street food!

My recommendation: Pizza “MARGHERÌ D.O.P.” that comes with pomodoro, parmigiano, bufala, pomodorini, basilico, olio evo  and Grana Padano! Do you smell the Mediterranean taste? The tomato sauce of their pizza tastes like a fresh south Italian tomato!  The fried starters are a must-try: Go for the cuoppo napoletano misto di fritto where you get 2 of every starter. My absolute favorite one is the frittatina (Bucatini, carne macinata, piselli, parmigiano, provola).

Opening hours: Monday closed– Tuesday – Thursday:  11.30–14.30 / 18.00–22.30 , Friday: 11.30–14.30 / 18.00–23 .00, Saturday: 18.00–23.00, Sunday: 18.00–22.30

Address: Limmatstrasse 273, 8005 Zurich

Ristorante Più Schiffbau

My recommendation: Pizza Bufala (tomato sauce, Bufala mozzarella, basil). The place I found the mozzarella is really juicy and fresh. The dough they prepare at Più gets enough time to rest, at least 48 hours, this makes the dough ideal to digest. The restaurant is spacious and really lovely for a date. Get the whole food experience here on my food guide. The staff is always welcoming you with a smile, that’s why I really appreciate it a lot coming here.

Costs: Pizzas start with CHF 17 (Marinara) to CHF  27

Opening hours: Tuesday – Thursday: 11.30–14.00 / 18.00–22.30, Friday: 11.30–14.00 / 18.00–23.00,  Saturday: 18.00–23.00, Sunday: 12.00–22.30, Monday: closed

Address: Hardstrasse 259, 8005 Zürich

Ristorante Pizzeria Napulé, Zollikon

My recommendation: Pizza Salsiccia con Friarelli. A combination of ingredients and flavours that make your palate dance!

The Pizzaiolo World Champion Raffaele Tromiro suggests the simple Marinara Pizza! Did you know why it is called so? In Napoli, all fishermen used to eat this pizza, due to its quantity of tomato sauce it stays fresh for a while! Welcome to the original Neapolitan Pizza in town prepared by the Pizzaiolo World Champion Raffaele Tromiro and his staff. Good news for all the ones that like to enjoy the delicacy in Zurich City: there is a takeaway spot close to Bellevue where you can get your takeaway pizza every day. Lots of the used ingredients such as flour, tomatoes or mozzarella are all original and imported from the region of Napoli. This makes its taste 100%  distinctive from many other pizzas. Find two more restaurants in the region, one in Zollikon and one in Meilen.

Costs: Pizzas start with CHF 22 for a Marinara Pizza – 37 CHF for the Mortadella & Pistacchio one.

Opening hours: Napulé Zollikon: Monday – Sunday 11:30 – 14:00 h, 18:00 – 22:00 h

Address: Alte Landstrasse 94, 8702 Zollikon

Pizzeria San Gennaro

My recommendation: Prosciutto & Funghi. Best selection of fresh ingredients, not overloaded with mozzarella.  The pizzeria moved to Schlieren as of Oktober.  The pizza is authentic Neapolitan style. I liked the consistency of the dough very much! The rising time of at least 48 hours and the pizzas make them perfect to digest, they are baked at a temperature of 450° for no more than 90 seconds for perfect consistency!

Costs: Pizzas start from CHF 18 (Napoli) to CHF  26.50 (Pizza San Gennaro Fior di latte, salsiccia, parmiggiano, basilico)

Opening hours: Monday – Friday: 11:30 – 14:00 / 17:30 to 23:00, Saturday – Sunday: 11:30 to 23:00

Address:  Kesslerstrasse 7, 8952 Schlieren

Pizzeria Ribelli

Have you been at 25 Hours Hotels Zurich West yet? Located only a few tram stops away from Hardbrücke this is the home of modern living spaces, clubs and also the Pizzeria Ribelli. If you are looking for truly original Italian flavours such as the Prosciutto Crudo Parma DOP 24 months or the Mozzarella di Bufala DOP on your pizza, this spot is a must-try! The ingredients are of high quality and selected directly from Italy! Also, their dough rests for at least 48 hours. The warm and colourful interior of the Ribelli Restaurant is designed by the Swiss architect Alfredo Häberli and offers the perfect atmosphere for lunch or dinner.

My recommendation: The “Giro Pizza” offers you a taste of various pizzas to share according to the choice of their pizzaiolo! Costs 29 CHF / person.

Costs: Pizzas start with CHF 18 for a Marinara Pizza – 29.50 CHF for the Tartufo pizza.

Opening Hours: 18.00 – 24.00 h

Address: At 25hours Hotel Zürich West – Pfingstweidstrasse 102 – 8005 Zurich

Are you in the mood for more food suggestions? Find them here!

My personal highlight: A secret dinner capturing all senses with passion through a 5-course menu in a coffee roastery!

Welcome to a Secret Dinner! Last month I had the opportunity to experience a 5-course menu in a secret location! The concept of Secret Dinner is very simple: you get a time and a meeting point via email, you meet there with other participants and you follow a path until you get in front of an extraordinary venue! As a coffee lover, the coincidence brought me to a coffee roastery in Zurich!

The industrial ambience gave a special touch to the long Travolta in the middle of the production hall.

The menu was designed to touch all of our senses with every course. And guess what, it really happened!

The secret dinner is the perfect gift for your best friend, a special date or a company event. The location and the motto of the event change regularly. It’s a nice way to chat with other guests, too, since everybody sits at one long table.
Get all of the information about the dinner package on their website. Every dinner starts with delicious cocktails or selected wines.

The secret sensual rapture menu at a glance

Course 1: The sense “vision”

Tomato – Mozzarella – Basil
This course was pure deception, the ingredients were prepared in a surprising way! The white slice was not mozzarella but a crispy crunchy cheese basil cracker!

Course 2: The sense “smell”

Salmon – peperoni – mint
The salmon came in an aluminium can that was smoked just ad hoc. Super rough and intense in the taste!

Course 3: The sense “Touch”

Apple – Fennel – ice steam
A light clear fennel soup served with fancy iced steam floating in my glass.

Course 4: The sense of “Hearing”

Flank steak – coffee – sweet potato – jackfruit
I found this course the highlight of my dinner! The coffee was perfectly balanced in the sauce. The sound of a common coffee roasting day accompanied our dinner!

Course 5: The sense of “inebriety”

Espresso – Lime – Pistachio – Chocolate
Only the picture describes best why this course gifted all of us with the final sensory “high”. Guess what the white powder is!?

A wine pairing with every course is available. The dinner price starts at 100 CHF/person excl. drinks and wine pairing.

www.secretdinner.ch

My personal highlight: Throwback to my roots and traditions from Calabria discovering a cozy place in Kreis 4, Zurich

The food discoveries in Zurich continue covering restaurants that offer Italian Cuisine from the south. After traditional food from Puglia in May it’s time to move more south towards the heel of the Italian boot. Calabria!

This is the region where I was born, here is where my heart gets emotional.

What food specialities is Calabria famous for?

Extra-virgin olive oil, wines, bergamot liqueurs, peperoncino and jams from Calabria are incomparable. One world famous delicacy is the red onion called Cipolla rossa di Tropea which is mild and a bit sweeter than other varieties. Another speciality is the Nduja. A paste consisting of noble pork meat, fresh cream of red hot chili pepper and extra virgin olive oil.

Chianalea is a place in Reggio Calabria. A pearl where the beaches are turquoise and small fisher houses make you feel remote from the world. Enrico is the owner of the Ristorante Chianalea in Kreis 4. He ist the perfect Calabrian host and cook when it comes to make your soul and belly happy. The ingredients are simple with a genuine taste. All is hand made, so the sweet sour peperoncino jam on the bruschetta or the eggplant pickles.

Experience food & entertainment at Chianalea. The music is on, the staff moves dynamic from table to table. Find a uncomplicated and homy ambience. The path of Enrico’s journey since he came to Zurich is displayed everywhere in the restaurant on beautiful pictures and articles. His love for food & Italy is obvious.

The only restaurant in Zurich where the owner shouts through the megaphone to tell you to lower the voice and enjoy the silence for a moment

Enrico doesn’t shy to remind you by shouting into his megaphone to slow down and relax. He loves to communicate with his guests. Making jokes is an easy way to remind that life is simple! I fall in love with the story he shared driving with his fiancé on a Vespa from Zurich to Sicily!

Signature dishes at Chianalea Restaurant

Enjoy a traditional antipasto plate to share. It’s the best way to get introduced to the culture of Calabria. As a second plate try their pasta with tomato sauce and pork salsiccia. The daily menu varies. Find fish or meat with side dishes as grilled seasonal vegetables. The wine selection is from Calabria, too. Absolutely to recommend is the fruity bit dry red wine called Scilla IGT rosso from criserà.

The pizza is worth trying, too! To end your dinner order a typical digestif called Vecchio amaro del Calabro. This is the moment when you finally should fee a bit Calabrese! It’s a must! Curious to experience it by yourself? Make a reservation here.

The prices are in super relation for what you get. Starters as of 8.50 CHF, main dishes with pasta as of 24 Chf.

Address: 

Chianalea, Brauerstrasse 87, 8004 Zürich

Opening hours: 

Monday – Friday: 11.30-14.00 & 18.00-24.00 Saturday: 18.00-24.00

www.chianalea.ch

Travel friends! Check out this cool new travel experience for your next individualized holiday! Participate at the Quiz in cooperation with ebookers  and win your own trip*!

Summer vibes are in the air! I am very happy to be part of that amazing contest organized by ebookers.

There are several ways to organize the ideal holiday. What I appreciate most is a specialist that gives me a choice and support in finding the perfect location and activities for my holiday.

What runs through your mind when you think of an individualized travel adventure? What does it include? How could this work?

Sometimes we have a rough idea in our mind on where to spend our holiday. We use google to find out more about the country or a lonely planet. We get lost in the million available options.

What if we could have some support in preparing our perfect holiday?

How about having support and inspiration from an experienced operator? A service that helps to organize an individualized holiday easy and fast at home on the computer.

A specialist that has contacts to local suppliers and gives us plenty of options for accommodations or maybe culture and adventure packages. I found this new way from ebookers very helpful and exciting, since it inspires me with many different ideas by using a very simple holiday online guide.

WIN your holiday: Are you interested in knowing more about the new individualized travel experience by ebookers?

Than you should absolutely participate at this online travel quiz. You can win your own composed travel. Try it now! Feel free to share your experience with me and your friends, drop me a line by contact form!

To the Quiz…

Follow the link below.

German Quiz:

https://www.ebookers.ch/reise-blog/Individuelle-Buchen/quiz

French Quiz:

https://www.ebookers.ch/blog-voyage/réservez-unvoyage-uniqu/le-quiz

Good luck!

All rights reserved, read more about the terms of conditions here.
*sponsored content in cooperation with ebookers

I had the great pleasure to cooperate with the Australian Magazine Threepence to create a personal story about my passion for food blogging. Britta is the publisher/Editor of the magazine that discovers stories of people with passions around the world.

In this article you will learn a lot about how I came to my blogging and how traditional home made tomato sauce is made! I thank Britta for the story!

SwiTalian: Discovering my identity

Italians speak with the heart and the hands. They are temperamental and proud when they talk about their culture and habits. They forever seek to pass on their passion. I realise now that growing up in Switzerland as a child in a south Italian immigrant family gave me the ideal cultural mix in life.

From the Swiss side, there is humility and an honest attitude. Swiss people may not show their hearty character from the beginning, but they are the most open-minded and respectful people I have ever met. They care about their neighbours and love to create surrounds that are welcoming and comfortable.

It is so akin to me when I reflect on the special combination of a reliable and humble Swiss attitude mingled with a temperamental, creative and enjoyable Italian Dolce Vita style. I am SwiTalian, as someone once described me!

Following the unknown

Calabria is a beautiful region located at the toe point of the Italian boot surrounded by the splendid crystal blue Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas. It’s a land of strong and intense emotions.

Despite its beauty and picturesque lifestyle, many south Italian regions experienced economic stagnation for many years. Hence, my parents immigrated from Calabria to the Swiss canton Baselland in the 70’s to find luck, love and a better future for their children. They heard about Switzerland offering work and support for families and business alike. They decided to take a risk and follow an unknown path in search of a better future.

My mother and father taught me much about life and food, about never giving up and following my dreams. I admire the fact they left their home for the unknown with only a few coins in their pocket. They may have been penniless, but they held a rich history of heritage and tradition.

My father worked many years as a mason then later as an operation employee in an industrial company. My mother took care about us kids.

My food and travel journey

I have always been thirsty to discover the world, to travel and discover different cultures. This passion keeps me enthusiastic about life every day. It flows in my blood. Thanks to my parents, growing up in Switzerland with a solid education in marketing  & communication offered the perfect base to realize my dreams. I worked as Marketing & Communications Manager in the healthcare area. So, I was fortunate enough to be part of a challenging and interesting working field.

Why traveling captures my heart

Venturing through unknown places allowed me to intimately experience and understand the food and culture, and how these bind people together no matter where from. I may not know the local or native language in a country, but this is no barrier when you share food and life by your gut instinct.

Today I communicate with the language of love and appreciation, usually through the currency of food, smiles, hospitality and hugs.

These experiences led to my blog, Lovefoodish. It makes me ultimately happy to have the chance to share my food and life stories with a curious community throughout the world. Blogging opens the door to local and international places. I encounter lovely people full of passion. They motivate me by sharing their knowledge, and listening to their personal stories fills me with joy.

Gifted with sharing cultural heritage

Although I traverse the world in search of great food and culture, it is my family roots that I cherish the most. I often think back to the time where I would accompany my father to the local Swiss farmer to buy fresh vegetables, fruits or meat. My father’s German was a bit sketchy so he would also gesture with his hands and feet to communicate, which was very entertaining! Having learnt German at a Swiss school it wasn’t long before I was very fluent in German and I helped my parents learn to adopt the language more comfortably.

What makes Calabria special?

My father transferred to me the view to always question the origin of food and how to select quality products, and to really appreciate food from the land.

A tomato isn’t just a tomato.

He loved to explain to me what makes Calabria special. I still feel pride for him when he reminisces. But he also taught me how to appreciate delicious Swiss ingredients, such as potatoes or seasonal juicy apples and cherries. Living in a small village in the countryside gave us close accessibility to the farmer. This made him feel more at home and serene, since in Calabria he also lived on a farm.

The extra-virgin olive oil, wines, bergamot liqueurs, liquorice, citron, herbs, honey and jams from Calabria are incomparable. They also offer a famous red onion called Cipolla rossa di Tropea which is mild and a bit sweeter than other varieties. There are special types of homemade pasta, one is called maccaruni, still made today using the traditional methods.
Maccaruni are made using a thin long squared wire. The technique used goes back to my grandmother, and beyond. Another one is gnocchi. Calabrians celebrate food that is made as a family and there are some classic meats, cheeses and breads amongst the fresh produce.

Italian immigrants in Switzerland

A typical thing that immigrants have here in Switzerland are rented gardens allotments where they spend much of their summer days and evenings planting and tending to vegetables. My father was no exception. He planted his edible garden to replicate the farm where he grew up in Italy. It gave him the “freedom” to be in nature and do something he loved.

What about Italians loving Swiss food?

When my parents visit me in Zurich they crave a Zürcher Geschnetzletes. It’s a veal steak cut in little slices with potato Röschti and a champignon cream sauce. We love to go for lunch at the Restaurant Kronenhalle. The place is historic and famous for serving this dish since 1924. Artists like Picasso, Strauss and Coco Chanel used to come here for a drink and food. This history somehow makes it so much more enjoyable.

Zurich has a lot to offer besides traditional Suisse Cuisine. You can find good quality, creative and multicultural food in every corner of the city. These multicultural vibes give me the feeling of traveling whilst still in my hometown. I invite you to stroll through my blog and get a picture of the culinary offerings in Zurich.

The humble tomato – making Passata 

There is nothing like producing tomato sauce from scratch, particularly when it is shared as a family tradition. Handmade and flavoursome, one of the tastiest things you will ever try. It is the highlight of our summers, when the family comes together spending hours sorting, peeling, and boiling tomatoes while chatting. Once you understand that good food is about simple, basic quality ingredients you won’t hesitate one minute to invest time in preparing it yourself.

How to prepare your own passata

My mother talks to friends and parents to find the best tomato supplier at a decent price. We use around 100-150 KG of tomatoes which produces sauce for up to a year and is shared amongst my brother, parents and myself.

Despite the volume, home is where our tomato sauce is produced. Once the tomatoes are ordered, we drive at least 2-3 times to get all of the boxed tomatoes back home. Today mostly it’s my brother, his wife and some aunts and uncles that all produce the sauce together. 

The tomatoes are carefully washed. My parents are perfectly equipped with all the material and instruments needed as big pans, manual mincer/sifter, Plenty of empty jars with a matching lid, big pans, cookers (gas).
After we wash the tomatoes they are cut into half pieces. The seeds, spotted or blotted pieces are removed. Than we add water in the pan and they cook for several hours (covered up) in a huge container over the gas until they are mushy. Once they are cooked, we leave them to cool. After cooling  a sifter is used to eliminate the tomato skin and the seeds. 

Now the beautiful red liquid is filled into the washed and pre-prepared jars. As a nest step the jars are sterilized for few hours on the fire in a huge aluminum pan. And of course before everybody leaves, the highlight of the day is to eat pasta with the fresh made sauce all together.

Recipe of a traditional Italian Tomato Sauce (makes 4 serves)

500 ml pot of tomato passata 1 red onion, chopped 1-2 spoons of olive oil handful basil leaves salt/pepper

Preparation

Roast the onions with the oil, add the tomato passata, bring to boiling add salt and basil, let boil on little temperature for 30 min. ca. Adjust it with salt/pepper to your desire.

The marvel of life’s pantry staples

Alongside taking care of the administrative tasks, my mother is an excellent pasta maker. On occasion she loves to spoil us with homemade maccaruni, tagliatelle or gnocchi. It’s a skill passed down from my grandmother.

On a classic Sunday in my family’s home the family comes together to enjoy food and energetic discussion. It’s not a cliché, we really do speak very loudly to each other. It’s how we express our emotions and feelings.

For this occasion, we often make pasta from scratch. It is a way of playing with ingredients, getting the feeling on how texture and shapes are created. While writing this post I shared this tradition with my niece and nephew. There is no other experience like eating homemade gnocchi with home-produced tomato sauce. It is no doubt the cherry on the cake, except it’s tomato sauce and pasta.

Recipe for gnocchi (makes 4 serves)

General rule of thumb:
1 medium-sized potato per serving or person. For every potato, use approximately 1/2 cup of flour.

1 Kg of potatoes, 1 egg, 300 g of flour,  salt

To serve : Grated parmesan cheese Basil Leafs

Making the gnocchi

• Boil the potatoes in a large pot for 20 minutes until fork tender, put just enough water to cover them, leave the potatoes’ skin on. The skin helps the potato not too absorb access water. Over-boiling will cause potatoes to become mushy and too wet. 
• Drain potatoes well, remove them from the pot. Allow them to cool. 
• Peel potatoes 
• Rice the potatoes by using a potato ricer or simply a fork, this is how my grandmother did. 
• Mound riced potato on the middle of a clean, dry countertop, create a little vulcano and top with flour. 
• Add salt 
• Add the egg, break the egg into the centre of the well. Beat the egg with a fork.
• Incorporate all ingredients by using the fork.
  Start to pull in flour and potato to mix ingredients. Use your hands to combine all the ingredients. Start to form the dough. 
• Knead the dough until it has a smooth surface. Be careful not to over-knead. Be aware of adding flour at this point, careful: too much flour will give you hard gnocchi. 
• Shape dough into a long, wide rectangle for cutting. 
• Cut the dough into several pieces. 
• From this piece, you start to roll the dough into ropes. Make an evenly-distributed rope. 
• Cut little cubes out of the robe and start forming the gnocchi either with a fork or a wood gnocchi roller or even by using the tip of your trigger and middle finger. 
• To prevent the gnocchi sticking, keep gnocchi in a cool area and tip them with flour.

The cooking:

• Shake away any superfluous flour.
• Place the finished gnocchi in a large pot of salted boiling water.
• Cook the gnocchi until they float to the top. Usually 2-4 minutes. Gently remove them with a slotted spoon.
• Drain them well.
• Toss them in the tomato sauce pan and cook together for about 2 minutes.
• Put your grated parmesan cheese and basil leaves on top. 

In the mood of a good Italian restaurant in town where to find home made pasta? Check my online food guide here.

My personal highlight: quotes, life stories, flavors. Woman Chef are best story teller ever!

After attending the St. Moritz Gourmet Festival this winter I could not wait to get in touch with more passionate International Chefs! For those who missed that story, you can dive into it here.

My experience at Chef Alps 2017 starts with Chef Dominique Crenn. She is a French born raised in a family of artists. You can feel her creative heritage in the way she prepares and presents the dishes and in the stories of life she tells. Today she lives in San Francisco where she runs two restaurants, Atelier Crenn (2 Michelin Stars) and Petit Crenn, a third one to be opened soon. Her easiness and authenticity inspired myself. If you feel your own fire inside, it’s what brings you forward in life. One of her attributes is the fact, that she loves to transmit a poem with food.

„Food is a language“ she says. It’s more than a sophisticated dish you get on your plate.

A focal part of my interview: Crenn’s personal story about working as a Woman Chef in South East Asia

In 1997, she made culinary history being the first female executive Chef in Indonesia leading the kitchen at the InterContinental Hotel in Jakarta. Crenn mentions during the interview that this time was one of the most challenging of her life. It touched my heart, how she approached and supported the Indonesian women staff she was managing by that time.  Giving them believe in their qualifications and professional goals. Due to the political turmoil in Southeast Asia, she returned to California in 1998.
At her restaurants in San Francisco food waste is a number one topic. On stage she presented to the audience how to prepare the marrow from the swordfish. It turned out to be a real delicacy.

Why a food blogger should visit an International Cooking summit like Chef Alps

It’s the place where creative people come together for sharing life and food stories. The event is an inspiring platform for Chefs, gastronomes, foodies and media. After attending the St. Moritz Gourmet Festival beginning of the year I was very honored to be part of Chef Alps 2017.

It’s a unique experience talking in person to world famous Chefs.

You understand, why food has such an important influence and it bridges cultures and humans.

It’s more than tasting a piece of delicious prepared meat or admire a good looking plate. It’s the procedure, the origin of a Chef, their motivation and struggles. Their complete life.

Hearing Antonia Klugmann from Italy (1 Michelin Star) explaining, how a menu is created and that it includes complex, thoughtful steps with several months of tests until it appears on the menu, left me with an open mouth. On the stage she presented two of her own original dishes.
The tomato strawberry spaghetti and the beef carpaccio aromatized with herbs from her garden at  Restaurant L’Argine a Vencò in Dolegna del Collio, Gorizia Italy. Using a variety of alpine herbs is a signature of her recipes.

“Respecting the use of fresh and local ingredients by an accurate preparation is only one parameter to be considered,” says Chef Klugmann. Further, it’s essential to be a good example for ongoing Chefs and to stay as authentic as possible.

How to be a good leader

Being a leader for the employees and sensitive enough to understand when the team needs a break is a topic that Chef Ana Roš mentions during her session on the stage. She is the World’s Best Female Chef 2017.  While traveling to Zurich she got a phone call from her Sous Chef. They were discussing the need of a break due to a very intense time at her Restaurant Hiša Franko in Kobarid, Slovenia.

Her cuisine focuses an avant-garde approach with local and seasonal ingredients from her home country. One of the dishes Chef Roš prepared on the stage is a cooked tongue of a milk cow. It came paired with a home made Dashi, pickled celery, smoked celery purée, light sweetened algae and a scallop. A complete surprise. That is how she loves to cook, creative, sustainable and full of energy.

Ana Roš achieved her international fame overnight, thanks to an episode of her cookery skills shown in the series “Chef’s Table” on Netflix. ‘The visitor numbers on the website increased from 200 to 10,000 a day. They were absolutely swamped with reservation requests.

What impresses me much is the fact, that she started her Chef career from scratch by autodidactic tools. She was a former professional skier and studied politics. Her way into cooking was completely new.

These my friend,s are more than just Chefs preparing food to satisfy guests or winning awards. These are inspiring personalities that motivate all of us to follow our dreams and passions.

Thank you for reading the Lovefoodish food stories!

My personal highlight: Being thrown back in time with two simple inventions: A vacuum pack full of delicious strong coffee and a small smart can called moka bialetti.

My relatives in Italy used to give us a present when we left after a visit. Offering a coffee is a tradition, a way of saying GRAZIE. Seeing this Lavazza packs all over the room at Restaurant Le Chef in Zurich, together with the most simple metal coffee maker Moka from Bialetti gave me back some moments of my childhood I love to think of. Lavazza invited journalists and bloggers to share bit of the history and future plans in the world coffee.

Did you know that Lavazza is the inventor of the vacuum packaging?

Coffee caviar. Experimental Coffee Food & Lavazza Training Centre

It’s about fascinating people with an own passion and dedication towards a high quality product. This is how Michele Pulver, Coach and Trainer at Lavazza’s home office in Turin, introduces us into the world of Lavazza.

Lavazza produces and distributes coffee and coffee machine systems for private and business use for over 25 years. It’s a family business founded 1895 in Turin, run in forth generation today.

Luigi Lavazza discovered the different origins and characteristics of the coffee plant. He studied the art of blending to meet the tastes we desire. The Lavazza coffee we drink today is a result of his idea. It combines coffees from different parts of the world. These are coffees that are harvested, processed, mixed and roasted to create many different and balanced blends.

Have you ever had coffee caviar? It’s super delicate, and cool to prepare.

Who invented coffee blending?

For lots of people coffee brands as Lavazza describe a culture and a lifestyle. It’s the moment of the day to lean back and sit at the bar with a little cup of espresso. The moment to enjoy the taste and smell of fresh coffee beans.

After some Coffee Caviar Chef Meta Hiltebrand, host at Restaurant Le Chef, Zurich, demonstrated how to integrate coffee in food recipes. Some of them where really exciting, although I prefer coffee best pure and natural.

Want to get a Lavazza expert and know how to prepare your coffee best? Visit a Lavazza training Centre. They are happy to assist you and introduce you to the world of Lavazza.