If you want to keep the sunshine of summer fresh in your memory, then why not try some refreshing paletas? Read on to find out what they are! Arnaud Golay and Benoît Bryand are offering a voucher for some frozen Paleta Loca popsicles to one lucky reader, read below! Here is the interview with Paleta Loca.
Can you explain your company name?
We chose Paleta Loca because paleta is the typical popsicle from Mexico. We discovered it in Mexico and wanted to develop it in Switzerland. Paleta keeps the origin of the product, and the way we produce it as well, as we produce exactly the same way as they do in Mexico. Then, we wanted to add a word that everyone can understand, and that represent who we are and what we want to do. We wanted something fun, that we could easily use to promote the product. Finally, we wanted a name that can easily stay in mind, people don't forget: Loca = crazy in Spanish.
When did you start?
We went to Mexico in January 2016 to learn with paleteros how to produce paletas, then we bought a machine from Mexico and we started the production in Switzerland in May 2016. At this time we were both still students at the Ecole Hotelière de Lausanne (EHL) and worked on it full time during our summer holidays.
Why popcicles? What is your background?
We started this project for different reasons.
Arnaud explains: First, I discovered paletas travelling in Mexico and found it good, cool and with many positive points for the Swiss market (100% natural, low sugar, no additives, real taste of the fruit, low calories, no intolerances...) so I thought it could work in Switzerland during summer. I was 18 and had no idea how to start a business.
Then I attended EHL, and during my last year I felt I was ready to start. I ask my best friend Benoît to join as it would be more fun to do together.
Finally, it was the perfect business to start as a student, as we had a very small budget. We invested Fr. 5'000.- each to buy a machine, some sticks and some packaging, and we started to sell paletas. Then the company grew. No profit was made at the beginning.
Les Pierogi Restaurant Geneva. Photo credit: Instagram @MichalGrupa
Have you ever eaten a pierogi? This Polish dumpling is the vessel to carry a variety of meats, vegetables, or cheeses! Every country has a version it seems: The Italians have ravioli, the Indians have samosas, the Spanish have empanadas, the Portuguese have papas rellena, the Brazilians have coxinha, the Germans have Knödel, the Chinese have wontons, and the Greek have Koulakli Manti. I could go on and on with a list but my mouth is watering thinking about all these delicious stuffed dumplings!
In broad terms, dumplings consist of dough wrapped around a filling or just made one dimensional with plain dough. The dough is usually made from bread, flour, or potatoes, and can be filled with meat, fish, cheese, vegetables, fruits, or sweets. Dumplings can be baked, boiled, fried, or steamed. Don't get them mixed up when the exterior is made of rice or meat and stuffed with a contrasting food, as this is not classified as a dumpling (refering to the Italian arancini di riso or the Turkish kibbeh).
Make sure to read on to see how you can win a copy of the book.
There must be something in the water, or wine, as there seems to be a prolific amount of English-language books being released at the moment in Switzerland! After Hester Macdonald's latest release, Gardens Schweiz/Suisse/Switzerland, Bergli books had indeed another one on the burner, as we say.
With the upcoming "Caves Ouvertes" — 25 May in Geneva and 8-9 June in Vaud — the timing is perfect! How lucky we are to live in such a beautiful area, full of history, amazing views, great food, and delectable local wines!
Sue Style has lived in Switzerland for many years before moving across the border to Alsace and has always been interested in the (many) good things to eat and drink from all around the country - as seen in her book A Taste of Switzerland, where each chapter is devoted to some delicious speciality, including wine. The book was continuously in print from the early 90s until just a couple of years ago. Together with Richard Harvell of Bergli, they considered revisiting the subject, always with a focus on gastronomy, but in the end decided that a completely new book with an exclusive focus on wine would bring something fresh to the market. And this is how The Landscape of Swiss Wine was born boasting some 50 cellars and stunning photos.
Sue recounts, "Over the years on my travels around Switzerland I had visited many cellars and tasted many wines, both professionally (I have served regularly on the jury of the final tasting of the Grand Prix Du Vin Suisse and written articles for e.g. Decanter, the British wine magazine) and for my own pleasure, so I had plenty of material to work with - the difficult part was to narrow it down to what is in the end a very personal selection of just 50 of my favourite wineries and winegrowers, each of whom has a story to tell. They're dotted all around the country in a sort of clockwise tour, starting in the Valais, all along the Rhone and up to Lake Geneva, then Lake Neuchatel, Bielersee and Murtensee, followed by selected growers in the large sprawling German-speaking region and ending up in Ticino."
Image by Kerstin Riemer from Pixabay
Tasty news: The Alimentarium in Vevey is launching its weekly brunches. Sunday is traditionally a day for taking it easy and, amid the array of activities on offer, brunch is a time for togetherness, to savour with family or friends. Brunch has become a real social gathering, THE must-of-musts in a myriad of restaurants, hotels and cafés, whether snug or smart. Why not add a little food for thought too, by combining it with a Museum visit?
For the launch of its first-ever Brunch with artisanal produce, the Alimentarium is pulling out all the stops! The first bountiful buffet will be served on Mother’s Day on Sunday 12 May 2019, from 10h30 to 14h. In line with the annual theme, the many workshops and other activities complementing the Museum’s permanent exhibition, the Alimentarium has developed Sunday brunches hand-in-hand with longstanding local partner artisans to promote their specialist expertise. Each week, they will create a different brunch highlighting a variety of their unique produce. Parents will be delighted to know that they can enjoy some time alone too, while their children enjoy culinary activities in the JuniorAcademy. There, the little ones can feast on crepes, pancakes, waffles and cordials they make themselves.
Knitted selection from a butcher shop
Boucherie de Madame Tricot alias Dominique Kähler Schweizer | Wil SG | © Daniel Ammann Herisau
"Show me what you eat, I will tell you who you are": immortalising your dish of the day by social media has moved into a real phenomenon of society. As a result of the infinite flow of information, traceability, seasonality of food and the working conditions of those who participate in the food chain are now criteria of choice, making food a social, political and economic standard. A vital act, feeding oneself is at the crossroads of cultural and medical practices, while referring to religious and ethical choices.
