CMN Video: Fun with Fondue in Zurich

Jennifer and Chef Mark have fun with fondue and raclette at the world famous Adler Swiss Chuchi Restaurant in Zurich, Switzerland. We learn about the traditions, and what NOT to drink with fondue with our friends from international publications while on a recent trip to Switzerland. Careful not to drop your bread in the cheese!

A production of The Culinary Media Network. www.culinarymedianetwork.com

CMN Video: Alpine Delights – Luzern’s Mount Pilatus

Jennifer and Chef Mark ride to the peak of Mount Pilatus, just outside Luzern, Switzerland, and discover a winter wonderland at the top. The Taverne Restaurant at the Hotel Bellevue serves up a hearty lunch, with a special local cheese and pasta dish with a few surprising ingredients!

A production of The Culinary Media Network. www.culinarymedianetwork.com

CMN Video: Hiltl Vegetarian Restaurant, Zurich

Who says vegetarian food can’t be sexy? We visit Europe’s oldest vegetarian restaurant (founded in 1898), which has one of the busiest — and cleanest — kitchens we’ve ever seen. Managing Director Peter Vauthier gave us full access to the operation, from kitchen to dining room…to secret hidden room.

A production of The Culinary Media Network. www.culinarymedianetwork.com

We’re all about free travel, and you know we have been featuring info about Switzerland for the past few months. Well, you could actually win a trip to Switzerland yourself! Our friends at Switzerland Tourism have a brand new feature on their website, “eHeinz”, the Swiss Tourism expert who gives 60 second video tours of different areas of Switzerland each week. By watching these videos carefully, you can be eligible to win a trip to Verbier, in the Swiss Alps.

Prize: 7 nights for 2 people in a choice of 3-star hotel, including breakfast, 6-day “4 Vallées/ Mont Fort” ski pass and flights to Switzerland on Swiss International Air Lines.

Check out eHeinz HERE

CMN Video: In Flight Meals

We learn what SWISS International Airlines is doing to improve the image of airplane food with their new In Flight Meal Service in Premium classes. We fly from New York to Zurich and pay a visit to the Gate Gourmet facility where the meals are made.

A production of The Culinary Media Network. www.culinarymedianetwork.com

Since coming home from Switzerland, I find myself craving hot spiced wine whenever I come in from the cold. The soothing fragrance of the cinnamon and its mulling companions is like a cozy blanket for my chilled bones, and now that we’re in the thick of the holidays, I’m up for any reason at all to get that pot of wine on the stove!

There are many variations of mulled wine, from Glühwein in Switzerland and Germany to Glögg in Nordic countries and hõõgvein in Estonia. Whatever the name and combination of ingredients, this comfort-laden beverage is sure to be a hit for your holiday entertaining. I found some variations online and came up with my own potion, so I encourage you to use the recipes below as a starting point and experiment to suit your tastes.

Glühwein (this is what we sipped in Switzerland)
Glögg (this one’s interactive!)
Mulled wine (including historical information and oodles of variations)

I love to share sumptuous treats and a glass (or three) of something very special with my friends and loved ones for the holidays; if I’ve crafted the goodies myself, it elevates the experience for me. Such things are the very alchemy of love. I suppose that’s also why I’ve got dishpan hands from days of cooking, baking and candy-making, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Whatever holiday you celebrate — or if you don’t celebrate anything in particular, just celebrate celebrating! — I hope you’ll take the time to share a glass, a bite, and a toast with the ones you love. To those who celebrate my holiday, Merry Christmas, Buon natale, Joyeux Noël, Happy Christmas, and all the others I can’t pronounce or spell!

From my chaotic, love-filled house to yours, I wish you the happiest of holiday seasons.

CMN Video: Christmas Time in Zurich

Jennifer and Chef Mark wander around the Christmas Markets in Zurich, Switzerland, and discover a couple holiday treats that are everywhere this time of year: Lángos and Glühwein.

A production of The Culinary Media Network. www.culinarymedianetwork.com

See all our adventures in Switzerland here:

Jennifer and I are visiting Switzerland for a short 3 day trip. The main purpose was to see how SWISS airlines is overhauling their premium class in-flight services. We were given a tour of the Gate Gourmet facility at the Zurich airport, and we’ll have videos of that in the coming weeks. But we couldn’t come all the way to Switzerland in December without discovering the beautiful cities, the Christmas Markets, and of course the foods!

Here I’m enjoying the classic Swiss Raclette, which is a dish of melted cheese that you scrape from the pan yourself and pour over any number of foods, from sausages and bratwurst, to mushrooms, potatoes, pearl onions, pickles and tomato!

Here are links to a few facebook photo albums of the trip so far:

Chef Mark’s photos of SWISS Business Class meal service

Chef Mark’s photos of Zurich

Chef Mark’s photos of Luzern

Chef Mark’s photos of Mount Pilatus

Jennifer’s pictures from Zurich

When I think of Christmas time, Switzerland embodies all the things that inspire my love for the season. In addition to the sense of history one feels when walking through the streets here, there is an aesthetic sensibility that can make this time of year feel like a fairy tale brought to life.

The Christmas markets are filled with people buying their holiday gifts, many of them stopping for a warm and spicy cup of Gluhwein to soothe chilly noses and hands. There is sheer magic to be found in the pretty white lights decorating towns everywhere, and shop windows decorated to entice. Old Man Winter was even kind enough to provide a dose of snow to bring our holiday show to life.

You’ll see more details of our Swiss travels in the weeks to come, but we wanted to give you a sneak peek at some of our journey so far. We arrived in Zurich on Tuesday for a day with SWISS International Airlines to learn more about their in-flight services, which included a look at the first and business class meal preparations. If you’ve ever wondered why it is so challenging to have a great meal on an airplane, it’s important to consider not only the logistics, but also the sheer science involved in feeding people at 40,000 feet. Sauces that aren’t adequately thickened will run amok at take-off, for example. There are no stoves in an airplane galley, for another. That’s just the beginning.

We look forward to sharing much more with you, including our adventures in tasting Swiss specialties like fondue, raclette, sausages and that infamous Gluhwine. For now, we invite you to peruse our Culinary Media Network photo album of Zurich on Facebook, which include some of the sights from today’s tour. They will also appear in our Flickr feed (little box toward the bottom of the sidebar).

We’re now in Luzern, and will post more from there in the next day or two. Auf wiedersehen!

P.S. Did you know that schmuck is German for jewelry? Neither did I.

Culinary Media Network, www.culinarymedianetwork.com
food, food podcast, cooking, Switzerland, Chef, Food Philosophy, Culinary Media Network, Gilded Fork

Culinary Media Network, www.culinarymedianetwork.com
food, food podcast, cooking, Switzerland, Chef, Food Philosophy, Culinary Media Network, Gilded Fork

Food Philosophy Video #20: Singing Chef Dan Daniell

I’ll bet you don’t know of many chefs with their own music videos. Meet Dan Daniell, the singing chef from Switzerland, who treated us to a meal as tasty as his tunes.

You can see him singing from his restaurant kitchen at:
http://www.dandaniell.ch/

Music: Beau Hall (http://www.beaurocks.com/)

Food Philosophy is a production of the Culinary Media Network (http://www.culinarymedianetwork.com/).

food, food podcast, sensuality, Food Philosophy, Culinary Podcast Network, Culinary Media Network, Gilded Fork, Jennifer Iannolo, chef, Switzerland, Dan Daniell

food, food podcast, cooking, wine, Switzerland, ReMARKable Palate, Culinary Podcast Network, Gilded Fork

ReMARKable Palate Video #28: Swiss Wines

We speak with representatives from 3 different regions in Switzerland, learning about the unique wines of this small, mountainous country. We learn about the wines of Lake Geneva from Beat Dreier of Geneva Tourism, The Matterhorn Region from Bruno Huggler, and the Vaudois from Francois Michel.

Music: “Go Fish” by Big Money Grip, from the Podsafe Music Network. music.podshow.com

The ReMARKable Palate is a production of The Culinary Media Network. www.culinarymedianetwork.com

food, food podcast, ReMARKable Palate, Culinary Media Network, Gilded Fork, Chef Mark, wine, Switzerland, Lake Geneva, Matterhorn Region