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BY EDUARD PEYER
I was given the opportunity to stay for three more weeks in St. Moritz, Switzerland and move uphill to the Villa Suvretta to replace the vacationing Chef of this small Inn right in the middle of Europe’s most expensive Real Estate. Sometime in the seventies The Shah of Persia purchased the Villa Suvretta and lived there for some time after he was ousted from Iran. I had little to do, since we never had more than three guests in the house. When there were no guests in the Villa, Mr. Gredig, the General Manager gave me on three occasions daily ski lift passes for some fantastic skiing at Diavolezza, Lagalp and Piz Corvatsch. It was truly a wonderful time!
I left St. Moritz and traveled to Lugano to visit some relatives and my parents who happened to be there on a short vacation. After a short rest, I packed uniforms and knives and made my way up north over the Alps for a new summer season. The kitchen at the Grand Hotel was completely renovated, form coal to electricity. It was so exciting for us cooks not to shovel coal anymore all day long as we had to do the year before. My position that summer was “Chef Tournant” and my assignment was the high Alpine Pool with its underwater bar and spectacular view of the Swiss Alps. The clientele was some of the wealthiest, discerning and difficult to please persons in the world. For the price they were paying, perfection in every area was understandably expected in the areas of food, service, and accommodations. No food request was denied. Many guests checked out with a bill often totaling the equivalent of $100,000! Every morning I worked mostly with the Garde Manager to get the cold buffet ready, which included two dozen compound salads, Pâtés and Charcuterie, condiments as well as a first-class variety of delectable desserts our Pastry Chef prepared daily. It was a “go” every day, but on occasion the weather in the Alps played a trick on us. Chef Ruegsegger had the last word in case the desirable pool service had to be called off. Arnold, a local man, showed up at exactly 10:30am at the base of the kitchen with his “Electro” mobile. He gave us a hand loading all foods, then drove us on a paved small road uphill to the swimming pool. In addition, we had the Grill Menu with Burgers, genuine Swiss Bratwursts and very thin sliced Veal loins called Paillard of veal, very quickly grilled and served with some lemon butter.
Next was the daily Voiture with a special hot Entrée, like Bouillabaisse, Pot of feu or Bollito Misto with Mostarda fruit and Italian Salsa Verde. Surprisingly, the most delicious and requested item was the fruit cocktail made daily by a lady named Bruna. She cleaned the pool area after lunch and got it operational again for the next day. Her specialty was to prepare a wonderful peach salad with Raspberry coulis, Champagne and fresh mint.
Bruna’s PEACH SALAD WITH RASPBERRY COULIS AND CHAMPAGNE
For the simple Syrup:
2 cups of granulated sugar, use Palm Sugar if available.
2 cups of Water
Mix in a small saucepan, boil for a few minutes, then set aside and chill.
For the Raspberry coulis:
2 pints of fresh Raspberries
Place Raspberries in a blender
Add simple syrup to the berries to get your required sweetness.
Puree Raspberries and add some Champagne or Prosecco to taste
Add more simple syrup if necessary.
For the Peach Salad
4 to six ripe peaches
A 4-quart saucepan with boiling water
A stainless-steel bowl with ice water
Make a small cross incision on all the peaches.
Place peaches into boiling water for anywhere from 20 to 40 seconds, depending on ripeness of the fruit.
Remove peaches promptly with a slotted spoon and place in ice water.
Chill fruit for 5 minutes
Peel peaches and slice in thin wedges
Presentation:
Use a Champagne flute and place enough sliced peaches to fill the glass ¾ of the way.
Drizzle with plenty of Raspberry Coulis and some extra Champagne or Prosecco
Garnish the top with some fresh Raspberries and Mint.
Serve well chilled. It is very refreshing!
The clientele was demanding. Most were billionaires. It was a place for lunch to be seen. Among the regulars were Gianni Agnelli, the founder of Fiat. We called him Mr. Fiat.
Sean Connery was seen on occasions, while filming “Goldfinger” in Switzerland. George Simenon, the famous Belgian writer and creator of Inspector Maîgret. We remembered him well. Mr. Simenon brought his own Mazzola Corn Oil every summer. Everything had to be prepared with this oil from salad dressings, Hollandaise Sauce, mayonnaise, roasted meats and sautéed vegetables just to name a few. Audrey Hepburn got married in the Bürgenstock. She and husband Mel Ferrer were at the pool frequently. They always appeared low-key, always very polite to staff and so was Sophia Loren, who stayed mostly at her Chalet. Prime Minister Mr. Karamanlis, an especially important Greek politician had all his meals served at his suite. We never had the opportunity to see him. Our all-time favorite was Sophia Loren. When she stayed at her Chalet, at times we had to cook breakfast or lunch for her on site. Naturally, we were fighting amongst us cooks and tried to influence the Chef to get this exciting assignment. I was fortunate and was picked two or three times.
My good fortune happened at the end of that summer as Mrs. Loren returned from a film break from what was then, Yugoslavia. A wonderful party was arranged at the Golf Club for an interesting group of VIP’s like Carlo Ponti, the husband of Sophia, astronaut John Glenn, Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer. Since I usually handled all of the parties at the Golf Club, Chef Ruegsegger assigned me to handle this event.
In the next issue of “San Antonian” magazine I’m going to tell you what we served at this incredible, no expense spared party, including recipes!
Bon Appetit!
