Beni Meier and his 2014 world record-breaking pumpkin © Keystone
OK, we don't expect you to find one this big! A new 2014 world record was broken this year with a pumpkin weighing in at 951kg, proudly presented in the above photo! The farmer responsible for this beast is again Beni Meier, from Zurich, who has beaten his own record for 4 consectutive years now. Unfortunately last year, his montrous 1,053.5kg pumpkin was disqualified for having a hole.
If you love the colors and selections of pumpkins that are avaiable today, then wait no longer! You can buy a great assortment and even make it to a festival as well. Most restaurants will be serving pumpkin soup around this time of year but see bottom of page for Lisa's recipe.
1001 Courges
Familles Jean-Mairet-Favre
Rte de Chavornay 1
1372 Bavois, VD
024 441 41 74
079 241 19 68
Pumpkin-tasting and meal and all things pumpkin as well as huge sale. They festival with tasting and food the weekend of 4-5 October, 2014.
Schilliger
Rte Suisse 40
1196 Gland, VD
022 354 44 44
20,000m2 garden center and boutique, see photo above for their extensive selection of pumpkins. Weekdays 9h-18h30, Saturday 8h-18h. Check-out the pumpkin competition and estimate the weight of their giant pumpkin between 17 October to 1 November (both in Gland and Plan-les-Ouates).
Famille Claude et Carine Jaquier
La Grange aux Courges
Rte d'Eclagnens 7
1376 Goumoens-la-Ville, VD
021 882 20 02
079 380 10 40
Open daily from September through mid-December from 9h-20h in self-service choice and honor box payment system.
Ferme Courtois
Rte de la Branvaude 13
1290 Versoix, GE
022 755 43 16
Pumpkins, apples (15 varieties), fresh apple juice, flowers, and more. Open Monday and Tuesday 9h-12h and 13h30-18h, Friday 9h-18h, Saturday 9h-17h.
Verger St. Loup
54, rte de St. Loup
1290 Versoix, GE
022 755 60 10
Apples (15 varieties), fresh apple and pear juices, apple cider (hard), honey, a few pumpkins, and more. Open Tuesday to Friday 15h-18h, Saturday 9h-17h.
Ferme Perroud
Rte de Rombuet 148
1616 Attalens
The selection of pumpkins is incredible (see photo below). Open daily with honor box payment system.
Fête de la Courge
Ouchy, VD
021 616 26 72
Saturday, 25 October, 2014
16h workshops for kids
17h open to the public
Free bowl of freshly-made pumpkin soup for all! There will be a parade of kids in Halloween costumes.
COOP
Au Centre Coop Lausanne
14h-17h30
St. François Coop Lausanne
14h30-17h
both on Wednesday 29 October, 2014
Face-painting and pumpkin decorating.
Key English School
Saturday, 25 October, 2014
Held at: Twinkle Twinkle Lab
Boulevard du Pont D’Arve 2
1205 Genève
Workhop for age 3-12 (3 separate age groups and times) with Halloween as the theme! Click here for more information.
© Photo taken at the Ferme Perroud by Annemieke De Koster 2013
Au P’tit Bonheur Restaurant
4, ch. des Cornillons
1292 Chambésy, GE
022 758 08 48
HALLOWEEN SUNDAY BRUNCH
26 October and 2 November, 2014
Their traditional Halloween Sunday Brunch and Pumpkin Carving Workshop between 11h-14h. Come join the fun - children and adults alike – or bring a pumpkin that your child can carve (under the supervision of an adult) so that you, the parent, can enjoy a relaxing Sunday Brunch.
If you would like to reserve a pumpkin for your child to carve, please let them know in advance. If you have a large group with kids and would enjoy coming earlier or later, let them know, they can always try to accommodate. Make your reservations now! Limited places available.
Spooky Afternoon Tea
Hotel d’Angleterre
Quai du Mont-Blanc 17
1201 Geneva
Switzerland
022 906 55 14
cwaeger@rchmail.com
www.dangleterrehotel.com
The Hotel d’Angleterre is getting into the Halloween spirit this month, with a series of spooky afternoon teas being held throughout the whole of October. A special Halloween event will take place on November 2nd. Click here to read the full article.
Self Service pumpkins (if you know of some that are not listed, please tell us)
—On the road to Chavannes Centre near Commugny.
—Across from Media Markt in Meyrin.
Pick the one you want and put the money in the honor box.
Manor, Migros, Coop, Carrefour, LeClerc, outdoor farmer's markets
Also have a selection of pumpkins for carving or for cooking. Try to get the green skinned pumpkin (a chunk not the whole thing) and using a mandolin cutter, slice as thin as you can and serve raw on salad. It is really delicious!
Halloween
October 31st. This ancient celebration has now become very popular in Switzerland. In October, you’ll find everything from costumes to candy on sale in the shops. Traditionally, kids ring the doorbell and you give them some candy/sweets. Pumpkins can be bought at supermarkets, garden centers, or outdoor markets. Most kids will only ring the bell of houses or appartments that have some kind of Halloween decoration.
Costumes
Please read this recent article about a local company that supplies some fun and scary costumes and take advantage of the 20% discount for knowitall.ch readers.
Lisa's recipe for the best pumpkin soup
- Any combination of pumpkin, butternut squash, sweet potato, etc.
- Cut into even size pieces and coat with olive oil and salt.
- Roast in hot oven 200°C for about 1 hour.
- Heat a little olive oil, onions, garlic, celery leaves (if you have some) on your stovetop in a deep pan with lid.
- Add salt and pepper to taste
- Take cooked pumpkin pieces and add to pan.
- Cover with boiling water.
- Add as much whole chorizo sausage (peel skin first) as you like and let cook for about 20 minutes.
- Remove sausage.
- Add some cream to soup.
- Purée soup.
- Chop chorizo into bite size pieces and return to soup.
- Serve and enjoy with a thick piece of toasted crusty bread and a dollop of cream.
