You can hardly blame him; last season was a real struggle for the Berghaus up on the Rellerli, with its famous all-day sun responsible for melting anything that fell within a couple of days, culminating in the unprecedented lay-off of 17 workers this past February. But Oberson has not been able to completely shake the mountain from his system. While he will devote his evenings to his guests in Zweisimmen, during the day Oberson will chef Saanerslochgrat’s self-service restaurant. Hmmm, self-service...

You may remember that when Oberson (left) took over the Rellerli and removed its self-service facilities in the impressive rennovation, there were quiet rumblings in the local business community that trouble lay ahead, since it was considered that Rellerli's shorter sun-fuelled ski season could not economically support the higher costs of a full-service concept. This came into stark relief with last year's lack of snow. None of this has deterred Raymond Schauss, however, who new to the region, will be taking over the helm on everyone's favorite sun hill. Schauss has directed numerous hotels and restaurants throughout Switzerland, including the Hotel Walser in Saas Fee and the Hotel Jungfrau in Mürren. Let's just hope we get some decent snow this year.