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Nespresso Gourmet Weeks at the Dolder with Heiko Nieder
It’s always a treat to dine at The Restaurant at the Dolder Grand and this year we re-visited for the Nespresso Gourmet Weeks event 2017 and enjoyed a fabulous lunch by Heiko Nieder, Fine Dining Chef at “The Restaurant”. The Nespresso Gourmet Weeks have been taking place in 25 top restaurants across Switzerland from 2nd – 19th November 2017, and the Dolder Grand is one of the restaurants offering this wonderful combination of coffee and haute cuisine.
Heiko Nieder and his team, have developed a special three course menu for the event, with each course incorporating a hint of Grand Cru Nespresso coffee, and all for a special set price.
We arrived on a dismally grey November day but it all brightened up once we sat down at a lovely table with a window view across the lake. It was so grey we couldn’t actually see much of the lake but that didn’t matter one jot as we were happy to concentrate on what appeared on our plates – and we were not to be disappointed!
Chef Heiko Nieder is well known for the impressive range of flavours in his creations and not only did the presentation of all our food look great, but the flavours were truly amazing.
To begin with we had a selection of delicious amuse-bouches. There was vegetable juice with apple and miso, truffle mozzarella cornet with celery, orient rolls, pickled cucumber with sesame and tomato ponzu, pumpkin kraut wrap with old balsamic vinegar, belper knolle toast and baked potato. An explosion of different tastes!
This was followed by a delicious Seafood Broth which as well as beautifully fine slices of calamari, shrimp, arugula, and banana, also contained coffee.
It might seem strange to combine banana with seafood but this recipe really pulled it off and the coffee was barely discernible, just adding an extra depth of flavour. In fact if you didn’t know it was there you probably couldn’t distinguish it.
Heiko used the Nespresso Grand Cru Indriya from India, which is quite a powerful blend of Arabica and Robusta, but because the seafood also has a strong flavour it could take it, and the resulting taste was wonderful.
The 2 Michelin star chef, who also has 18 Gault Millau points and countless awards to his name including “Best German Chef Abroad”, certainly knows a thing or two about creating unique flavours. He told us that he used coffee in the menus like a spice to add depth and flavour – but not so that you would identify it as a coffee taste for example. It’s a very finely balanced thing – to get a hint of flavour – but not so that the dish is overwhelmed by coffee.
Our main course was veal served on a beautiful round dish with a round of spiced bread and accompanied by a selection of carrots, all served with a rich sauce. This time the Arabica Grand Cru Livanto from Costa Rico and Colombia was used, and its malty, almost caramel flavour, really complimented the veal.
The meat itself was so tender it just melted in your mouth and the flavours were deep and satisfying. It was all served with a light, fluffy mashed potato. Heiko explained the process involved in making the potato and it involved quite a lot of work – it was really wonderful but rather too complex to attempt to recreate at home – at least for me!
The dessert was a very light meringue, fruit and coconut creation which again was light as air but packed with flavour. It also looked very pretty too! Called Coconut Namelaka it was delicious and here too coffee was incorporated in the dish. This time is was Grand Cru Cosi, a blend of Arabica from East Africa and Central and South America.
By this time we were both feeling pretty full, but it was then time for the petit fours – a cluster of dainty little works of art.
They comprised of “Apple Studel”, Beetroot Cookie with passion fruit, Muesli, Fruit stones, Horchata , Buckwheat with cranberry, Angostura and Thai basil and the Amazake rice milk with Yuzu. A complete array of different textures, flavours and consistencies!
So what do you round off a wonderful lunch like that with? Coffee of course! But not just any coffee – a choice of Nespresso Grand Cru coffee, which were served alongside a beautiful selection of chocolates. Of course we did not need the chocolates – it was complete indulgence – but a lovely way to finish off an amazing meal that we will remember for a long time to come.
Please note that the Nespresso Gourmet Weeks menu at the Dolder Grand is only available at lunchtime and the Nespresso Gourmet Menus are very popular and get booked out very quickly.
There are 25 top restaurants all over Switzerland taking part offering the special lunch menus at CHF 70 and the dinner menus at CHF 120 per person just until 19th November 2017. To find out more please read our article all about Nespresso Gourmet Weeks here.
The Restaurant at The Dolder Grand
Address: Kurhausstrasse 65, 8032 Zürich
Tel: +41 44 456 60 00
Open: Tuesday till Friday 12 till 2pm and 7pm – 10pm, Saturday 7pm till 10pm.Closed Sunday and Monday.
For more information on the Dolder Grand visit the website here.
For more information on Nespresso Gourmet Weeks see here.
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Photos taken on Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mk iii
We were invited to lunch but all views are entirely our own.
For more information about events and things to do in Zurich and beyond please see our Home Page or our What’s On Page and for regular updates subscribe to the blog.
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