UPDATE: Michelin three stars as from fall 2022

Sven Wassmer, one of Switzerland’s hottest chefs, at two Michelin-starred restaurant:

A stay at Grand Resort Bad Ragaz in the eastern Swiss pre-Alps is not complete without dining at one of its Michelin two star restaurants. At least if you are a foodie. Yes, you read right, you find here two double starred establishments! As to my husband and I, we dined at Sven Wassmer’s Memories. And – spoiler alert – it was a truly memorable experience despite being one of the most expensive restaurants we have ever been in Switzerland. But one thing after the other. Before going in my experience here, a few words about the chef and his career.

Chef Sven Wassmer

His career

Sven Wassmer became known in the Swiss culinary scene as head chef of the 7132 Silver Restaurant in Vals in the eastern Alps. While holding this position from end of 2014 until mid 2018, he received his first Michelin star in 2016 and the second a year later. Before, he had already worked for master chefs as Andreas Caminada or Marcus Lindner.

Several times during his time in Vals I checked on him and the restaurant, but always dismissed having dinner here. First, the place is located very remotely and second, dining here appeared rather expensive (240 SFR/US$ for the full menu already in 2017). At the beginning of 2019, he was announced as culinary director of the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz. He was going to be responsible for two new restaurants, the signature restaurant Memories and the health-food restaurant Verve by Sven, to be opened in July 2019.

Start at Grand Resort Bad Ragaz

From this point of time, there was a great fuss in the Swiss press about Sven Wassmer and his new position. It felt not a week passed without news about his progress: his team (recruited from the best establishments), his food scouting & recipe development (done in his kitchen lab), the one of a kind restaurant design (show kitchen), the trial meals (from every food journalist). It was simply too much information.

And then came the opening, of course it was very most noticed. I would qualify it as a mixed start. Although Sven Wassmer was recognized as one of the most accomplished chefs in the Swiss culinary scene, his every step was watched like a hawk. First, the restaurant critics did not like all his creations equally. Second, the price tag coming with dining at Memories was discussed controversially. Third, the processes and the timing during dinner were not flawless.

And what happened afterwards? Here my findings …

First year at Restaurant Memories

After a lot of hype in the run-up of the restaurant opening and the somewhat turbulent start, things seem to have calmed down afterwards. Sven Wassmer and his team got in gear and I assume that they also made some adaptions. As an outsider, I noticed two changes. On the one hand, the chef launched a third menu option with fewer courses (6-course menu in addition to the the 9- and 12-course). On the other hand, the menu now seems a bit less vegetable-focused than at the beginning.

One thing became apparent in the first year, Memories still have to find its audience. I read that it did not book up as quickly as other comparable dining hot spots. And I can confirm this. My husband and I decided to stay at the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz at short notice and wondered why we were able to secure a table at Restaurant Memories without problems. In contrast, the other hotel’s two star Michelin restaurant, IGNIV by Andreas Caminada, was booked up for the month to come. Several times after our stay in Bad Ragaz I checked the reservation situation at both spots. And it was still the same way: quite a few availabilities at Memories, no tables at the other!

After this background information about the chef now to my experience at Restaurant Memories.

Review of Restaurant Memories

Location

As mentioned, Restaurant Memories is one of eight restaurants at the splendid Grand Resort Bad Ragaz in the foothills of the eastern Alps. For more information about the hotel have a look at my first blogpost about this establishment. As to the fine dining opportunities at this hotel and in the area, please refer to me latest blogpost.

Premises

As you know by now, Restaurant Memories, is a fairly new place. It just turned one year old. The restaurant is housed in a beautiful room where the vaulted ceiling has been adorned with a striking chandelier.

The wood floor is gorgeous too, stemming from the time when the hotel was opened 150 years ago.

Eye-catcher number one in the restaurant is the open kitchen, which has a radically new design. I have been to Japan where such kitchens are common yet I have never experienced a comparable one. This one is not completely encircled with a counter but one side remains open. There are two free-standing kitchen counters where the chefs put on the finishing touches at their very ends where the guests can watch all the action.

Eye-catcher number two are the variously shaped wooden elements that serve as room dividers. As a consequence, every table is in some kind of a bubble and has much private space.

While all tables offer a view of the show kitchen, there is one with an optimal vista. My husband and I were lucky enough to be allocated to this one right by the counter where you find also a few seats. In normal times, the closeness of our table to the counter seats might be disturbing. But as we were here in Corona times, this was no issue. Only two persons dined in this “pole position”.

Food concept

Sven Wassmer has made a name of himself with “the new Swiss cuisine”. He uses the nature around him as culinary treasure chest by foraging wild fruits, herbs and mushrooms for his dishes. While he values local ingredients, he also likes to combine them with the best produce from all over the world.

The chef has several “purveyors to the court” whom he can blindly trust. Marcel Foffa, a vegetable grower, is one of them. Others are a fish farmer who breeds this special bar or a dairy farmer who produces that one of a kind cream.

When it comes to his style of cooking, Sven Wassmer celebrates a minimalist approach. He says that the longer he cooks the more he leaves out. He also experiments with techniques like fermentation and salting. In any case, the chef intents on pushing the soul of a product to its most sophisticated and refined expression.

9-course menu

After some promising snacks

we began with the bread, not just any bread, but probably the best I have ever tasted. The sourdough bread was crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, it really deserves a separate praise!

Next was a seemingly simple dish, green salad fresh from Marcel’s field but of course it was far from being ordinary. Combined with peas (cooked and as a flan), sea buckthorn and chili, it was a real treat.

And then it was already the turn of Sven Wassmer’s popular signature dish, char from the nearby Val Lumnezia. It is slightly smoked and accompanied by an unbelievably delicious cream. He reduces it until it caramelizes and seasons it with fir oil, heavenly!

We proceeded with white asparagus, fermented in whey and paired with a bear’s garlic-caper sauce, a perfect blend and full of umami.

And yet another fish, this time whitefish. Normally, this is not one of my favorite but this one was different. Stemming from Lake Zug, it was poached, burned and combined with sorrel and horseradish. The cherry on the cake was the caviar garnish.

The next course featured roasted sweetbreads blended with cauliflower and lovage leaves. Although being a distinctive dish, I liked that strong and unique taste coming into its own.

The meat course was from an Angus cow. Precisely said, it was saddle from an animal called Maddie, butchered at the age of 13. While the meat was robust and succulent, I personally favor more tender pieces, but of course this is a matter of taste. What the dish elevated to another level, was the accompanying jus and the yummy paste, which delivered a real punch of flavor. A great addition to the meat were the season’s final bear’s garlic.

We ended the dinner with cheese and two desserts. And they were all amongst the best I ever had in these categories. Responsible for these masterly crafted dishes, which were all refined, inspired and original, is Andy Vorbusch, an extraordinarily skilled dessert expert. The start made a potato cookie filled with a soft cheese called “Hoelzern Hirt”,

followed by a variation of early summer blossoms and flower pollen.

The final was a combination of shortcrust, hay nougat and apricot.

The feast was rounded up with tiny madeleines paired with mascarpone

and brown butter as well as chocolates.

Needless to say, they were absolutely divine and the perfect end point to a fantastic meal.

The wine pairing, composed by Sven Wassmer’s wife Amanda Wassmer Bulgin, ideally complemented the menu. It was varied, featured some real gems from the nearby Buendner Herrschaft and made the pleasure yet more intense.

Ambiance/Service

Sven Wassmer considers his restaurant with the open kitchen as some sort of living room where the guests and the chefs can get in touch with each other. He does not want the ambiance in here to be stiff and distant but he strives for an easygoing manner and an approachable spirit. And I think he succeeds in realizing this.

The chefs perform well as a unit. Once in a while, they come to the guests’ tables to tell something of interest about a dish, a product or a producer. You easily notice that they are trained to convey a picture and enthusiasm. My husband and I enjoyed these bits of information.

As a concession to the Corona times we are living in, the chefs all wore face masks and disinfected their hands all the time. There is also a bottle of disinfectant on the guests’ tables to use it at their convenience.

Service is well orchestrated. You have the impression of a constant flow of dishes coming, and all this impeccably coordinated. It is like some sort of a show unfolding before your eyes. Every member of the team knows exactly how to play the role he or she is holding.

Pricing

Sven Wassmer’s cuisine is only available in the form of a menu, be it in 12, 9 or 6 courses (330, 260 or 195 SFR/US$). A must in my opinion is the wine pairing (145/125/95 SFR/US$). It also exists an alcohol free version (120/90/60 SFR/US$).

While dining at Memories is definitely no bargain, the overall experience is worth its high price tag. You pay here for the cost of work, not necessarily for the cost of goods. Sven Wassmer is not much into luxury products but rather counts on high-quality goods from hand-picked suppliers. He strives to bring out the best of these using the latest technology, which is a labor intensive thing to do. In addition, he and his team spend a lot of time with food scouting and recipe creation.

Overall

I have had my share of memorable dinners, and the one at Memories is definitely part of those. It needs a certain combination of sight, smell, taste and hearing to form a lasting memory. Sven Wassmer and his team were able to make it happen. All these sensory impressions fused in such a way that the memory deeply anchored in our mind.

Looking back and looking ahead

My latest blogposts were about the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz and dining opportunities for foodies at the hotel as well as in the area. After letting you know more about our culinary highlight in Bad Ragaz, a dinner at Sven Wassmer’s Restaurant Memories, next on the blog will be an overview about worthwhile walks and hikes to do in this town in the eastern pre-Alps  of Switzerland.

Date of stay: May 2020

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The post Review of Restaurant Memories at Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, Switzerland first appeared on Swiss Traveler