Dishes prepared by chefs with over 40 Gault Millau points between them

The fourth Genuss Film Festival (GFF) (Genuss meaning enjoyment (of good food and wine in this case)) drew to a close last Thursday with a “soirée evening” at which Robert Bösch, the Zug Photographer of The Year and mountain guide, was very much the star of the occasion. The Oberägeri resident and geographer has documented many of his tours spent with fellow mountaineer Ueli Steck; indeed, his collections of photographs and reports enjoy a cult status world-wide.

It was on the night before that chefs from Gstaad in the canton of Bern were the stars of the evening with Robert Speth of the Chesery and his colleagues Urs Gschwend of the Hotel Le Grand Bellevue and Franz Faeh from the Gstaad Palace, who, between them, have been awarded more than 40 Gault Millau points and a number of Michelin stars, as the chief organiser of the event Matthias Luchsinger (on the right in the photograph) pointed out. They were joined by Count Stephan von Neipperg, who brought along some of his excellent wines.

Along with many of the guests, Luchsinger was very pleased with how the event went this year, with Ulrich Straub (in the centre in the photograph), the chairman of the board of the GFF company, full of praise for it, too. “Our head of matters culinary, Stefan Meier (on the left in the photograph), was again able to lure some top chefs to Zug and thanks to the glass pavilion set up this year, it was as if Zug had its own lakeside Palace of Culture,” he said, not least in reference to the beautiful way it was lit up and the elegant  furniture.

All three initiators of the event said how important the supporting programmes had been, not least the cooking demonstrations for schoolchildren in addition to the awards for actors, film producers and photographers. “We feel it is very important to support Zug artists in this way,” said Straub.

Among the visitors to the event was Inge Schütz from Belpberg in the canton of Bern, who was spending a few days with her brother Paul Schütz in Cham. “The festival was a real highlight,” she said. “I enjoyed it very much.”

Indeed, it appears the GFF has become a real fixture on Zug’s calendar of events. “I shall definitely be coming next year,” said Hedy Mössl of Zug, who herself once worked in the catering industry.