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Great moments at the Zurich Gourmesse
Many people came to the Zurich Gourmesse last week, which lasted four days. If you enjoy food and wines the gourmet fair is always a place worthwhile visiting. While some visitors sat down to watch the live-cooking shows or to listen to speeches about wines other mingled in the various floors to try some delicious food and talk to the many exhibitors.
St Jakob chocolate pavés – Gourmesse 2013 – copyright Véronique Gray
Some of the exhibitors had been at the fair numerous times like Goufrais with its cacao treats, Danoi Due with its Sizilian sweets, the Casa del Jamon with its Iberian ham (Jamon Iberico de Bellota), La Rösa with its hard goat Tomme (Engadin region) or Don Giovanni with its delicious Italian cheeses, sausages and fresh pastas.
Tomme from La Rösa, from the Engadin
Mrs Hess cutting goat cheese from La Rosa near St Moritz copyright Véronique Gray
That is not all, one of our favourite stands was the stand of Willi Schmid with its goat Reblochon, Mühlestein and Jersey Blue. In 2012 his Jersey Blue was awarded with the prize of World Best Jersey cheese. Beatrice, his wife, said proudly that her children drew all of the animals, which cover the cheeses.
Muehlestein from Willi Schmid in Lichtensteig – Gourmesse 2013 – copyright Véronique Gray
Goat Reblochon from Willi Schmid in Lichtensteig – Gourmesse – copyright Véronique Gray
If you care for other cheeses there were Werber fondue, great emmenthal at Natürli and the most perfect ricotta pecorina from Masseria de Tursi in Italy.
Ricotta Pecorina from Masseria de Tursi – copyright Véronique Gray
Emmenthal cheese from Natuerli – Gourmesse in Zurich – copyright Véronique Gray
For those in love with chocolates a couple good stopping points were the stands of Oberhöller with fine South Tyrol chocolates, the Confiserie Hirt from Frauenfeld selling Cho Abonnement or the chocolate pavés, croquantines or oranges & ginger pralines from St Jakob chocolatiers.
Delicious chocolates with orange and ginger – copyright Véronique Gray
Oberhöller chocolates from South Tyrol – copyright Véronique Gray
Choco Abo by Hirt – copyright Véronique Gray
Simona from the Leonardo gelateria was at the Gourmesse with her Minou, a small round ice-cream with chocolate on the outside. The mango ice-cream with strawberry flavoured chocolate was just delicious. You can buy them at the shopping center in Sihlcity when you stop at the gelateria. A box of 8 costs 30 CHF, otherwise 4 CHF each. For the fans of Leonardo, they are opening an osteria in December in the same shopping center.
Simona holding a minou ice-cream – Gourmesse – copyright Véronique Gray
A box of Minou ice-creams – copyright Véronique Gray
Fish lovers could stop for fresh fish, oysters and also Oona Swiss caviar from Bern! Many tried the truffle butter and hard cheese with truffles called Trüffelperle from die Trüffelmanufaktur. Their Trüffelbutter already won many prizes.
Fresh fish from the Viadukt fish market in Zurich
Siddhi Metha from 108 Foods near Lausanne talked to us about her new good-for-you-dessert-bars. She just opened an online shop selling small individually packed lemon cakes, apple pies with cinnamon, coconut macaroons, banana muffins and choco-walnut brownies. In about one month, you will be able to find them in some bio-stores across Switzerland. They all weigh 42 gr, are made with no added sugar or syrups, are all 100% organic and rich in calcium and fibre. The apple pie with cinnamon was absolutely delicious!
Family Siddhi at the Gourmesse presenting their mini cakes
Cakes made by Siddhi Mehta – Gourmesse 2013 – copyright Véronique Gray
Apple Good For You Dessert Bar from 108 Foods copyright Véronique Gray
There were many stands for olive oils like the one from family Di Bennardo. Many known chefs in Zurich use his oils, which received several awards.
Di Bennardo and his olive oils – Gourmesse in Zurich – copyright Veronique Gray
Many wine, beer and liquor exhibitors had come for the Gourmesse like Perrier-Jouet, Heineken, Chopfab biers from Winterthur, Pernod Ricard, Dettling with its thirty cherry kinds of liquors. The South African stand with Ueli Schmidt was really nice. One could try Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Shiraz, Pinot Noir and Pionotage. Our favourite was the Cederberg from 2009.
Dettling products at the Gourmesse – copyright 2013
Dettling liquors copyright Véronique Gray
Ueli Schmidt presenting South African wines at the Gourmesse – copyright Véronique Gray
South African wines at the Gourmesse with Frankies Wine Selection SA – copyright Véronique Gray
Gerard Depardieu signing a bottle of Confiance at the Globus department store in 2009
For amateurs of Grand Vin de Bordeaux, you could taste Confiance, a wine produced in Gérard de Depardieu’s vineyeards. Confiance is a mixed between Merlot and Malberc (4%) in the Premières Cotes de Blaye. The chateau only produced 5800 bottles in 2009 and the only distributor in Switzerland is Albert de Chavigny Sarl. When Depardieu came to Zurich in October 2009 he signed some of his bottles at the Globus department store.
The Gourmesse will be back next year in October for those who could not make it.
