Great collaborative dinners are surprisingly difficult. Not because of technique or ingredients, but because two chefs can easily end up cooking next to each other rather than with each other. One dish feels like one restaurant and one continent, the next another. The best collaborations happen when the foundations are similar, but the inspiration slightly different.
At The Dolder Grand in Zurich, Heiko Nieder and two Michelin-starred chef Josiah Citrin from Mellisse got that balance exactly right.
The Restaurant at the Dolder Gran is used to hosting +10 World Class chefs as part of the week long Epicurus. So inviting Josiah to cook outside of that felt like excess for the sake of excess, but in the best possible way.
The evening started on the terrace with snacks and a glass of Krug 170ème Édition while overlooking Zurich in the evening sun. There are worse ways to begin a dinner.
Once inside, the menu immediately established the tone for the evening. A chawanmushi with a generous amount of caviar was followed by a croquette topped with Iberian ham and egg yolk. Rich flavors, great ingredients and a certain generosity that would stay with us throughout the evening.
As the menu progressed, what became increasingly interesting was seeing where the two chefs moved together and where they moved apart.
Josiah generally leaned slightly more classical while Heiko repeatedly introduced brighter and more vibrant influences, often with a clear Southeast Asian inspiration. But rather than creating contrast for the sake of contrast, they seemed to understand exactly how far they could push in each direction.
Heiko served a large lobster tail with bright citrus and ginger flavors bringing freshness and acidity to the richness of the dish. Later a pea soup followed where burrata added texture, coconut foam brought freshness and mint tea lifted the whole thing.
The luxury ingredients never really stopped arriving either. Hake with sauerkraut ice cream and a deep beurre blanc was one of the evening’s highlights and also brought us back to Krug again the 170ème Édition but served from à magnum which took it to the next level.
Josiah answered with turbot accompanied by artichoke and smoked pork bringing depth while hibiscus added sweetness. Elegant and delicate dishes and probably the most classic expressions of the evening.
Heiko then shifted the direction again. Kagoshima wagyu arrived with kimchi and sesame adding punch and intensity. The dish was accompanied by the second Krug of the evening a Rosé and if you have never had Krug Rosé before, you are in for a treat. Heiko would stay in the same region with has last dessert of cacao juice, yuzu kosho and shiso with refreshing tropical and acidic notes. A dish that was as beautiful as it was delicious.
Josiah stayed closer to the umami rich classical world with roasted pigeon accompanied by truffle, hazelnut and Comté. Rich, deeply savory flavors but still balanced and refined.
The last dessert also came from Josiah. Passion fruit sorbet with coconut and lemongrass tapioca brought some of the brighter tropical notes that had appeared several times earlier during the evening. Tapioca can often become too sweet for me, but here the balance felt just right.
The detail that impressed me most however never appeared on the menu itself.
The evening before I had eaten Heiko’s regular menu and recognized two dishes during the dinner. But they had not simply been repeated. Small adjustments had been made to both the chawanmushi and the hake so they would fit more naturally alongside Josiah’s dishes.
Most diners would never notice something like that and most diners probably should not have to. But details like that rarely happen by accident.
As mentioned in the beginning, great collaborations are not about finding chefs that cook the same food. They are about finding chefs with a similar foundation and slightly different inspiration. As a diner that keeps your palate moving. It creates curiosity. And throughout this dinner that curiosity never really disappeared.
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