If someone were to ask you what food you associate with Switzerland, chances are that you will think of cheese and chocolate. We all have our own favorites…whether it’s Gruyère or Emmental, Lindt or Toblerone…you can’t beat Swiss cheese or chocolate.
However, there is so much more to Switzerland than its dairy products! There are terrines from Fribourg, olive oil from Tessin, apple juice from Thurgovie, honeypots from Zürich, and brandy from Valais, indeed the list is endless…Which is why husband and wife team, Alexandra and Guillaume Schleipen have set up their own food store in Lausanne to showcase the many and varied culinary delights of all 26 cantons within Switzerland.
Bringing everything together
Guillaume told knowitall.ch, “Eight years ago, my wife and I met at the Ecole Hotelière de Lausanne, where we soon discovered we had a mutual passion for food; we simply loved discovering the specialties of the regions we visited all over the world. After we left the hotel school, my wife used to work a lot on the Swiss-German side of Switzerland, and would bring home lots of specialties from this region, which we had never seen before. And it wasn’t just us, our neighbours were equally astonished at the many different types of food my wife would show them! When it comes to food, the “Röstigraben” cultural boundary that many people joke about between the French and German speaking parts of Switzerland has certainly had a divisive effect !”
© EMO-Photo
A traditional Mongolian yurt has recently been installed in the park of the Hôtel du Léman in Jongny, Vaud.
The new yurt will offer guests a unique gastronomic experience, in a tranquil setting at the gates of Lavaux, overlooking Lake Geneva.
With its luxurious array of shimmering colors, and perfect “cocoon-like” sound proofing, the yurt makes an ideal location for anyone looking to celebrate a birthday with family or friends, organize an aperitif with colleagues, or run a motivational evening for their sports team! Measuring up to 50m2, the yurt can accommodate up to 35 people at a time.
On the menu is a special 3-course dinner, proposed by chef Laurent Omphalius and priced at Fr. 85.- per person, which includes chestnut soup (served in the cauldron outside, weather permitting), a meat or fish-based Mongolian fondue, with rice noodles and julienne vegetables. The homemade dessert is a mouth-watering combination of pineapple and coconut rolls with lychee sorbet.
© Point of views
Ideally located in the heart of Geneva, only steps from the lake and the Place des Alpes, Eastwest Hotel opened its doors 10 years ago. To celebrate this anniversary in the chic nomadic style that characterizes the hotel, Eastwest will take its guests on a journey from East to West through 10 exciting destinations. From Switzerland to Thailand via Japan and Denmark, this gourmet and cultural itinerary will make a stopover in a different country each month.
EASTWEST - the spirit of a private home in the heart of Geneva
A boutique hotel of understated luxury, Eastwest has attracted guests for 10 years with its intimate atmosphere and casual elegance in the spirit of a private home. Its refined contemporary setting is a subtle blend of East and West. A choice meeting place for a cosmopolitan Geneva clientele, the restaurant reflects the hotel’s traveling spirit, offering creative, modern world-inspired cuisine. The open-air patio and its wall of streaming water framed by vegetation is a real urban oasis. From February this year, the patio is transformed into a winter garden for the season, offering a new idyllic space that can be privatized for events or dinners under the stars.
Enjoy 50% off a healthy juice or snack with every "menu" purchase!
Everyone’s talking about healthy eating at the moment…workshops are popping up all over Geneva and Vaud about how to live more healthily, and invariably this includes making sensible choices about your diet. We all know it makes sense, but do we have the time required to research the recipes, buy the food and then prepare it? How much easier it would be if that could all be done for us!
One local company which does just that is TAKINOA. Knowitall.ch met with Sales Manager, Delphine Graf, at their boutique restaurant in Nyon to find out more and the company and discover the secret behind its huge success in this region.
Founder, Eric Lebel
Launched officially under its current name back in 2013, TAKINOA is the brain child of Eric Lebel, a passionate mountaineer who was constantly searching ideas for healthy food that would give him the energy he needed when walking in the mountains.
Delphine told us, "As Eric researched various food options for his hikes, he soon realised that he was not alone in wanting to know more about healthy eating…indeed, it wasn’t just sporty people who were looking for healthy food, people from all walks of life were keen to improve their eating habits by introducing more healthy, balanced meals into their diet."
To celebrate the launch of its new brandname and logo, “le Cercle du Thé” tea shop in Nyon is offering knowitall.ch readers the chance to win afternoon tea for two!
With more than 200 different teas to choose from, plus the serving of home-made scones, real clotted cream and strawberry jam, as well as fresh sandwiches and sweet delicacies, this is one prize that you will certainly want to win!
About “le Cercle du Thé”
Le Cercle du Thé is the new name that owner, Anne von Erlach, has decided to give to her popular tea shop in Nyon. First launched four years ago under the name La Boite à Thé, the shop is a haven of tranquillity in the bustling centre of Nyon, close to the Place Perdtemps car park.
Selling “all things tea-related”, the shop includes a beautiful display of multi-colored tea sets and tea pots, canisters, thermos flasks, spices, syrups, chocolates, and biscuits, as well as a vast array of honey and jams. To create the perfect environment for your tea drinking, the shop also sells a wide variety of candles and mini-statuettes, plus additional items such as jewelry, scarves, and wraps.
In the summer, guests have the option of taking their tea outside in a beautiful, small terrace, sheltered from the noise of the streets outside.
Why the new name?
Asked why she wanted to rebrand her tea shop, Anne told knowitall.ch, “I wanted to give the shop a bit of a boost, and create a new “spirit”, with additional services that I felt our customers would appreciate. In Asia a circle is a concept strongly associated with Zen. A circle symbolizes absolute enlightenment, strength, elegance, the universe, and the void. Le Cercle du Thé is a natural outcome of this.”
