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Zurich restaurateur named chef of the year

Rico Zandonella, proprietor of Rico’s Kunststuben restaurant in Küsnacht on Lake Zurich is Gault Millau’s ‘chef of the year 2017’.

Rico Zandonella, who comes from Ticino, received 18 Gault Millau points to take the highest honour in the annual restaurant guide awards.

Since taking over the Kunststuben restaurant in 2011, Zandonella has changed the name and style of the restaurant and lowered its prices, the Swiss news agency SDA reported.

“Rico’s stands for perfect, exciting cuisine in a relaxed, uncomplicated atmosphere,” said Gault Millau Switzerland’s editor-in-chief Urs Heller, according to the Tages-Anzeiger.

The Hotel de Ville restaurant outside Lausanne, which last week took three Michelin stars, held onto its 19 points despite the death in January of chef Benoit Violier.

Heller described Violier’s replacement, Franck Giovannini, as “outstanding”.

The restaurant guide named the ‘rising stars of the year’ as Laurent Eperon of the Baur au Lac in Zurich, Felix Suter of the Schlüssel in Oberwil, Basel-Country, Alain Bächler of the Trois Tours in Fribourg and Andrea Bertarini of the Conca Bella in Vacallo, Ticino.

The Chedi Andermatt, owned by Egyptian businessman Samih Sawiris, was named ‘hotel of the year 2017’.

The Michelin Guide said “Rico Zandonella’s restaurant attracts an international following thanks to its fresh and light-hearted, aroma filled cuisine and the young, attentive yet pleasantly relaxed front-of-house team. The design is both stylish and individual, featuring numerous artworks and a lustrous red and gold colour scheme.“

Source: The Local