Food for Thought – Swiss Culinary Habits

What else but cheese and chocolate. Although they are both ardently (and sometimes ferociously) defended pillars of Switzerland’s culinary identity, there’s much more to eating and drinking in Switzerland than you might have guessed.

The famous French revolutionary, epicure and gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755–1826), exiled in Switzerland during the French Revolution, once said: “Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.”

Switzerland is, as a matter of fact, difficult to pin down in this respect. Of course, immigration has brought many influences to the table: you will find kebabs, pizzas or dals in walking distance of any university. In the same vein, you might think of fondue and chocolate as the main ingredients of a typically Swiss diet (indeed, putting bread on sticks into melted cheese has a quasi-religious status you will certainly experience).

Fortunately, gastronomy in Switzerland is a bit more diverse – in fact, it is mostly about regional delicacies. Every valley, and even the tiniest region, will boast a local specialty.

Link

• Switzerland Tourism on typical food