GstaadLife

ROFL - Oliver Preston published two new books recently - 'Another Log on the Fire' and 'Fondue and Furs'. The latter looks at Gstaad and Saanenland and a barrel of laughs is guaranteed :-)

by Peter Sonnekus-Williams

Ian Wilson: ­ businessman, lawyer, photographer, writer, all words that have been used to describe Ian’s career over the past years.

A father of three, Ian was born in an old seaside town of 1960’s England from where he says he ‘escaped’ for the bright lights of London as soon as he could. After studying law at King’s College, he spent 8 years in Hong Kong where he soon left be­hind his burgeoning legal career as ‘too boring’ and has since built successful business interests that have taken him all over the globe.

He now lives in the beautiful moun­tains of Saanenland and Pays d’Enhaut and, writing under his nom de plume of Dan Fox, Ian’s de­but novel, Nine Lives, was recently published. A deep and highly emotional journey, this book was nomi­nated for the 2011 Booker Prize.

by GstaadLife print Editor-in-Chief, Peter Sonnekus-Williams

In her book on Swiss culture 'Beyond Chocolate', Margaret Oertig-Davidson uses an interesting analogy to describe the differences between Swiss and the English speaking societies. She equates the Swiss to coconuts and the English to peaches. Digging a little deeper, we see that she explains how breaking through a coconut’s outer shell is not an easy task and this analogy of breaking into Swiss society and getting to know people in a meaningful way, is what she references. In her view the Swiss have a softer inner part reserved only for family, close friends and relationships that are poised to last a lifetime. This private sphere often includes the home, which is rarely opened up to strangers. This can make the Swiss come across sometimes as cold or distant, however according to Oertig-Davidson what to outsiders appear to be unfriendly, is actually a respect for another’s personal space and taking time to get to know someone. Whilst the coconut analogy clearly isn’t a rule for all of the Swiss, it certainly is broadly accurate. The Swiss come across as polite, but not exactly forthcoming with newcomers and they certainly tend to bunch together.

In contrast to Oertig-Davidsons cautious and concerned coconuts, English speaking societies are made up of peaches.

The 2001 Gault Millau guide 2011 is out and in it are 14 restaurants in Saanenland boasting a total of 207 points - 16 points more than the year before. As ever the Chesery Gstaad with Robert Speth comes up top with 18 points, followed by Martin Dalsass at the Chlösterli restaurant 'By Dalsass'. Also awarded 16 points were La Bagatelle at the Grand Chalet, Sonnenhof, as well as Le Grill and La Grande Terrasse at the Palace. 15 points went to The Grand Hotel Park's Azaleé, JP's Grill Restaurant at the Hostelerie Alpenrose in Schönried, as well as the Prado at the Grand Hotel Bellevue. 14 points were awarded to the Ermitage Stube and Golf Restaurant of the Ermitage-Golf in Schönried. The Bernerhof, the Belle Epoque at the Golfhotel Les Hauts de Gstaad in Saanenmöser as well as the Alpenbistro at the Chlösterli all picked up 13 points. And finally the Spitzhorn in Saanen got 12 points. Well, there are many, many supreme restaurants in our region and we say it again and again - the Gault Millau Guide knows many of them but definitely not all of them (otherwise they would have included the Olden).

Last Saturday February 20 saw star chef Edgard Bovier signeing his new book "Edgard Palace" at Pernet Comestibles in Gstaad. And it is there where you can also get his Mediterranean product line. Even the book cover is mouth-watering, and if you are in Lausanne you should definitely pay M Bovier a visit at the Lausanne Palace.

Now this sounds like a good coffee table book. The photographer and extreme alpinist Robert Bösch went to explore the most beautiful tours in Switzerland with his camera. But it is not only the extreme tours that feature, but there are also some pleasure hikes that found their way into the book. For each tour there's loads of detailed information about distance and difficulty, and good descriptions of starting points, ascent and descent. So... the snow is melting and its time to think about hiking again. With the help of a book like this, it just might be hiking with a whole new level of engagement.

Remember the debacle with last year's Saaneblitz (the local phone book), where Swisscom messed up and some of the telephone numbers were completely wrong and others were completely missing? Well, in order for this not to happen again, local publisher Müller Marketing und Druck AG is asking folks to check their entries in the Saaneblitz, Regioblitz and Bottin d'Enhaut. If you have any changes, you'll need to let know by May 1 2009. Register your changes over the internet at www.tel.local.ch or by phone at 0848 86 80 86. If you have questions contact Eliane Behrend at Müller Marketing & Druck AG on 033 748 88 74 or email her at eliane.behrend@mdruck.ch.

The Gastroführer guide-bleu.ch includes 2500 restaurant tips, detailed evaluation of restaurants, shopping tips for gourmets and a listing of 'Spitzenköchen' (superior chefs). In this year's edition Gstaad-Saanenland is mentioned 25 times.

It is up to the businesses themselves to decide whether they want to be included in the guide or not. If they do, they have to pay a fee (SFr 450) which buys them the privilege of a surprise visit by an anonymous person.