Lausanne à table – once again Zurich all the way back

“Lausanne organises so many free events for its people. Theatre, opera, concerts and culinary walks. From June to the end of September. You can imagine what a stress this is for me,” gushes out of our table neighbour, who is taking part in the event “Übergeil: un aller-retour Lausanne-Zurich” in Allaman today with her daughter and son-in-law and 19 other guests. We can’t help but smile at this torrent of words. However, it is undisputed that Lausanne organises an extremely large number of innovative events compared to other Swiss cities. This also includes “Lausanne à table“, where a wide range of culinary experiences are offered, from picnics to funky brunches to culinary city walks. I think that’s a great thing.

Last Friday, we were able to get a taste of the series of events, and fittingly an event that focuses on the culinary specialties along the Zurich-Lausanne route. You can eat your way across the Röstigraben, so to speak. We took the title of the event literally and boarded the train in Zurich at 4:00 p.m. on Friday evening. Let’s go to Lausanne. Less than three hours later we reached the idyllically situated Château Rochefort in Allaman near Lausanne. In the warm light of the last rays of sunshine of the day, the Vaudois vineyard landscape presented itself from its most beautiful side.

The initial spark of this “trans-Röstigraben experiment” was laid in Zurich, where the “Welschanschauung-Series” was started by Alessandra Roversi from French-speaking Switzerland. Fascinated by the variety of products in French-speaking Switzerland, she also wanted to share the pleasures of French-speaking Switzerland with the German-speaking Swiss in the Röstigraben. In Lausanne, it’s the other way around. For the French-speaking people, the German-speaking Swiss creative minds Valentin “Valefritz” Diem and Laura Schälchli cook a potpourrie of culinary discoveries along the Zurich-Lausanne railway line

We toast on the castle terrace with a glass of Chasselas and nibble on salty flûtes from Fribourg and delicious farmer’s bacon (modestly called “le meilleur du monde”) from the village of Begnins, which is not far from Allaman. With this beautiful view, a truly worthy start to the weekend.

For dinner, we go into the warm living room. Not to the castle, as I first thought, but to a modest outbuilding with a no less cozy parlour. It is tightly seated. At Lausanne à table, not only culinary enjoyment is to be lived and cultivated, but also social exchange. As the only German-speaking Swiss at the table, we naturally attract attention and are approached from all sides.

As amuse-bouche, we are served veal tongue from Zurich and crayfish from Allaman. Nowhere else on Lake Geneva are there as many fishermen as in Allaman, Alessandra tells us. Interesting combination, although veal tongue and I will probably never become great friends.

Pike from Lake Zurich processed into white sausage and served in a saffron and pike soup follows the starting signal. Also a very unusual dish that may not convince my taste buds 100%.

Thirdly, there is a delicious classic from German-speaking Switzerland, which the French-speaking people also eat radibuz at the table. Lamb’s lettuce with an egg with carrot sauce and chanterelles. Hallelujah is that good!

The lamb’s lettuce is followed by a very ingenious creation, which totally amazed us in terms of taste. Dried beans and smoked celery, which in this combination are reminiscent of a Bernese platter in terms of taste. Both thumbs up. Terrific!

The main course is pork belly with beetroot and onion. A colourful mix of products from German-speaking Switzerland and French-speaking Switzerland.

The cheese platter that follows makes everyone revel. Best Vacherin au lait cru, old Gruyère cheese, Capriflocon, blue cheese and Schnebelhorn. And lo and behold, the two German-speaking Swiss at the table also learn something new that evening – the Schnebelhorn is the highest peak in the canton of Zurich and the cheese of the same name tastes super good. Served with fresh pear bread.

The evening is rounded off with the Freiburg speciality “Poire à botzi”, leeks and a stuffed pretzel. The leek gives the dessert an unexpectedly tart taste.

A suitable wine was served with each course – with two exceptions: a Degen beer from Trimbach near Olten was served with the lamb’s salad and a cider from Fribourg for dessert. That evening I finally got out my French again, which had become bumpy. We feasted, laughed and tried surprising combinations.

Punctually at 11:22 p.m. we went back to Zurich. Once Lausanna à table aller-back. I can warmly recommend this culinary excursion to you.

Please note: Lausanne Tourisme has invited us to this culinary event. Thank you very much for this! As always, my readers can be sure that I always represent my views and enthusiasm.