SWISS Taste of Switzerland

From March 6th to June 4th, SWISS travelers will be able to enjoy culinary creations from Canton Zurich while onboard. In the latest chapter of the airline’s well-known ‘SWISS Taste of Switzerland’ inflight culinary program, Stefan Heilemann, executive chef of the Ecco Zurich restaurant, has created a number of dishes exclusively for SWISS premium customers.

For the next three months, First and Business Class guests aboard Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) long-haul services from Switzerland will be able to sample the exemplary cuisine of Stefan Heilemann, executive chef of the five-star Atlantis by Giardino Hotel’s Ecco Zurich restaurant. Heilemann and his team put a firm accent on product quality. “Whether it’s our fruit, our vegetables, our fish or our meat, we always strive to source the very finest ingredients,” the top chef explained. “And we place a particular emphasis on regional and sustainable produce, too.” Soon after it opened, Ecco Zurich was promptly awarded two Michelin stars and 17 GaultMillau points, continuing the success of the Ecco Ascona and Ecco St. Moritz establishments and their founder Rolf Fliegauf.

SWISS has been running its award-winning ‘SWISS Taste of Switzerland’ inflight food and beverage program since 2002. The concept provides a creative platform for a top chef from a selected Swiss canton, every three months, to showcase Switzerland’s culinary variety to SWISS premium travelers.

Confit monkfish or bison tenderloin for SWISS First

In the latest ‘SWISS Taste of Switzerland’ for spring 2019, First Class travelers will enjoy delights such as marinated snow crab salad with dill, watercress and cucumber, followed by a main course of bison tenderloin with hazelnut crumble, port wine jus, mashed potato and carrots or a confit monkfish with tomato and escabeche sauce, potato gnocchi and fennel ragout. An exquisite dessert of yoghurt mousse with pistachio and Felchlin white chocolate ganache, raspberry sorbet and shortbread conclude the selection. Further, Zurich touches are provided in SWISS First by the Wiedikerli sausages from Keller butchers and the legendary Luxemburgerli from the Sprüngli confectionery house.

Saddle of veal or Luma beef patties in SWISS Business

Stefan Heilemann’s Business Class starter has a distinctly Asian touch: Hiramasa kingfish with seaweed and radish salad, guacamole, calamansi and soy vinaigrette. For a main course, he offers a saddle of veal with braised onion sauce, mascarpone polenta, broccolini and pearl onions or fine Luma (of Schaffhausen) beef patties with red wine and balsamic jus, potato gratin and kohlrabi. His SWISS Business selection is completed with a Felchlin chocolate mousse slice with passion fruit and tonka bean.

Zurich cheeses and wines

The cheese and wine selection for outbound long-haul SWISS First and SWISS Business travelers will also have a distinctly Canton Zurich touch for the next three months. The menus in both cabins will be supplemented by a range of regional cheeses that include a selection from the Sternenberg cheese dairy. SWISS First travelers will be offered a choice of top wines that include a Pinot Gris white by Erich Meier of Uetikon and a Pinot Noir Barrique red from the Zweifel winery in Zurich’s Höngg district. Zweifel also provides a white wine for SWISS Business, a Riesling-Silvaner Zurich AOC, while the SWISS Business reds will include an Hors-Série Pinot Noir by the Zur Metzg winery in the ‘Wineland’ of Canton Zurich.

Cocktails fresh from the bottle

In a further innovation, SWISS will also be offering its Business Class travelers a range of cocktails on board, in collaboration with Zurich start-up Mikks. Mikks’s cocktail mixers are all hand-made, and can be excellently combined with spirits, champagne or mineral water. “We are delighted to add this further appealing option to our extensive drinks selection,” said Jan Trachsel, SWISS’s Inflight Product Manager.

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) is The Airline of Switzerland, serving over 100 destinations in 43 countries worldwide from Zurich, Geneva and Lugano and carrying some 17 million passengers a year with its 90-aircraft fleet. The company’s Swiss WorldCargo division provides a comprehensive range of airport-to-airport airfreight services for high-value and care-intensive consignments to around 130 destinations in more than 80 countries. As The Airline of Switzerland, SWISS embodies traditional Swiss values, and is committed to delivering the highest product and service quality. With its workforce of over 8,800 personnel, SWISS generated total revenues of around CHF 5 billion in 2017. SWISS is part of the Lufthansa Group, and is also a member of Star Alliance, the world’s biggest airline network.