Lunch with Legendary Michelin-Starred Chef Anton Mosimann

It’s not every day you get the chance to be served a set course meal that’s fit for royalty — all served by a Michelin-Starred chef who has made a name for himself in the culinary world… That’s why when the Swiss Education Group and the Embassy of Switzerland in the Philippines invited me to a lunch affair at Marco Polo Ortigas with the world-renowned Swiss Chef, Anton Mosimann OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire), I gladly said ‘yes‘ in a heartbeat!

After all, I found out that Anton Mosimann is the chef who cooked for the guests of Prince William and Catherine “Kate” Middleton in their evening wedding reception at Buckingham Palace! And that’s not all, because this is but just two of the many known figures worldwide that he has cooked for in his whole career. With that in mind, it was truly an honor that I was able to be a part of this event!

About Anton Mosimann, OBE

Here are a few notable facts about Chef Anton Mosimann:

• Born in  Solothurn, Switzerland, Mosimann received his diploma as a chef de cuisine (main chef in a restaurant) at the young age of 25. He then proceeded to work at hotels in Belgium, Japan, Montreal, and Rome.
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• At 28, he was appointed as the Maitre Chef des Cuisines at the Dorchester Hotel in London. During his 13-year tenure here, he achieved a 2-star rating in the Michelin Guide thereby making it the first hotel restaurant outside of France to do so.
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• Anton Mosimann has led culinary teams that cooked for 5 British Prime Ministers, 4 generations of the British Royal Family, 4 Presidents of the United States of America, and most of Europe’s heads of state. Additionally, he was the catering partner for the 3 latest Olympic games!
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•  In 2000, he received the Royal Warrant of Appointment to HRH The Prince of Wales for catering, in 2004 Mosimann received the excellent British OBE title “for services to the Tourist and Food Industries” and the Catering Industry’s Lifetime Achievement Award among many other grand accolades.
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• In 2017, The Mosimann Collection of Culinary Heritage in Geneva, Switzerland was opened and it features Anton Mosimann’s extensive library of cookery books alongside his medals and other memorabilia.
  • You will find here his first owned cookbook which is the world’s largest (66cm x 47cm) from 1733.
  • Plus, you will also see here the smallest cookbook: The Handbook of Practical Cookery (10cm x 6cm) from 1960.
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• He currently runs a private dining club called Mosimann’s in London, a cookery school, and other enterprises in the hospitality industry.

My Dining Experience with Anton Mosimann

There’s one word I would use to sum up the luncheon that we had with Chef Anton Mosimann and it would be the word: unforgettable.

There were over 50 other guests that day at Marco Polo Ortigas and it was a mix of business people, media persons, and Swiss personalities and this was actually the first of the many events that will be happening this year whilst the Embassy of Switzerland celebrates its great 60-year-long relationship with the Philippines.

Once I was ushered to my designated seat, I instantly glimpsed the exquisite 4-course wine-pairing menu that had an attached bow tie to it — apparently, this was being given away to every guest since it perfectly signifies the funky bow ties that Anton Mosimann usually wears!

He was quite the personality as he gave us a quick warm welcome before drifting back into the kitchen to prepare our meal.

The dishes that he served to us were as follows:

• 1st: Marinated Salmon with Dorset Crab, Spring Onion & Lemon Dressing
• 2nd: Anton’s Risotto ai Funghi
  > This is the dish that the late Princess Diana has named as her personal favorite and I can fully understand why!
• 3rd: Seared Fillet of Lamb, Rosemary Sauce & Market Vegetables
• 4th: Passion Fruit Soufflé with Yogurt Ice Cream

It helps to note that Anton Mosimann is known for his signature cooking style which he started in 1985 and which he calls as ‘cuisine naturelle‘.

“I created what I call cuisine naturelle. Its main characteristic is that it does without such ingredients as butter, cream, and alcohol. The focus is concentrated even more on the flavour of the individual ingredients. The dishes are only lightly cooked. In nouvelle cuisine and also cuisine naturelle, enormous emphasis is put on the presentation of the dishes.” — Anton Mosimann

To cap off our delightful and scrumptious meal, we were served a plate of sweets which was called Petit Four.

Overall

…It was all so divine!

Savouring all of the dishes that were laid before me, I could clearly see how Anton Mosimann is a legendary and award-winning figure in the culinary scene.

And with all that, I just want to express how I am absolutely thankful for the people at the Embassy of Switzerland in the Philippines, the Ambassador Andrea Reichlin, the Deputy Head of Mission Mr. Raoul Imbach, and of course, Mr. Herve Findeisen from the Swiss Education Group.

It was surely a pleasure to have been able to be a part of this gathering which gave me a chance to know more about Switzerland, as well as one of its renowned personalities! I do hope to be a part of more!

^{Images from: Swiss Education Group, KumagCow}