Top chef from Aargau Sven Wassmer: "Aromatic? Not an option"
Star chef Sven Wassmer is a new member of the TV sizzle show "Masterchef Schweiz". The chef from Aargau talks about burnouts in top gastronomy, his four-day week and aromatics.
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- Sven Wassmer cooks in the signature restaurant "Memories" in Bad Ragaz SG. The 37-year-old prioritizes a good work-life balance to prevent stress. Also to spend time with his family.
- The top chef emphasizes his preference for regional and sustainable ingredients, especially in his modern Alpine cuisine.
- With his role in the "Masterchef Switzerland" team, he is looking forward to working with other top chefs. Another season would appeal to him.
- He asked himself the heretical question: aromatics, yes or no?
Sven Wassmer, what does a top chef eat for breakfast?
Sven Wassmer: Zmorgä? Mostly flat white, coffee with oat milk. Sometimes a banana or muesli with some yoghurt.
You are one of the best chefs in Switzerland. You have three Michelin stars and 18 Gault Millau points. What do you do better than the competition?
They cook differently, but I don't have the feeling that they are competitors. What's special about my signature restaurant Memories is that I've built everything open, the kitchen is in the middle of the restaurant, there's no barrier, we all come together: Service, hosts, chefs and guests. And the fact that we play with our culinary heritage of modern Alpine cuisine is very unique.
Modern Alpine cuisine, how can I imagine that? What's on the plate?
We use products from the Alpine region - from France to Liechtenstein, southern Germany, Austria, northern Italy, Switzerland and Slovenia. Over the years, I've realized that most of the produce is available on our doorstep. The modernity comes from the fact that we use cooking techniques from all over the world in our products. For example, we make all our own miso, whether it's hay almond or bee bread miso, that's modern Alpine cuisine in a nutshell. I don't want our culinary heritage to be forgotten, we are a farming country that has always been self-sufficient, with lots of great products and dishes that can be raised to a new level. Sometimes it's dumplings with roasted yeast butter and cheese water and truffles.
What do you never, ever put on the table?
Since I've been a chef myself, it's yellowfin tuna or foie gras. It's not a luxury, it's a no-go in my kitchens. For ethical reasons and it makes no sense to fly around the world like that. I can't arouse any emotions with it, this fish doesn't come from our latitudes. Foie gras for ethical reasons. I sometimes eat unstuffed foie gras of great quality, I have to be honest. But it doesn't belong in my kitchen.
We have one of the highest densities of Michelin-starred restaurants per capita in the world. Are we foodies?
We are lucky and privileged that we are doing extremely well, have very high quality and people like to eat out. The success of the restaurant is the satisfied regular customer. It's ingrained in our culture that people treat themselves and go out to eat well.
Since corona, you've only been open four days a week. Has that improved your work-life balance?
It was a brave decision. Offering high quality with this workload - working five days a week is not sustainable for my employees or for me as a father of two. We don't have enough energy to deliver the best performance to our guests. That's why we're now concentrating on four days, and I've tried it out. Also to get a better balance with the overtime. I am very happy with this decision, it works very well. It's important to me to have a balance so that I can spend enough time with my children.
It's no secret that chefs in top gastronomy struggle with addiction problems or burnout. Is the four-day week your anti-stress strategy?
That's not such a problem for me, I've reduced my alcohol consumption a lot over the last two years and I'm also very focused on my job in other ways. I've had a mental health coach for years, with whom I train my resilience so that I don't end up in a stress spiral. It's funny, top chefs are often compared to top athletes - and in top sport. There it is now normal to have a mental coach, but not among chefs. I have a wonderful job, but it's getting more and more complex. That's why I've been getting coaching for years; we train various breathing techniques, for example. This gives me better control of my head and mind and I don't slip into stressful situations so quickly. A very important topic that hasn't been talked about enough so far.
Top chefs sometimes use harsh tones in the kitchen. What kind of boss are you?
I used to be a real boss and didn't treat my employees very well. I swore to myself that I would never be like that. Eleven years ago, at 27, I was a young boss and didn't know how to manage people. Today, I invest time in further training, for example in the Positive Leadership segment, I regularly attend leadership boot camps and in November I will also be attending a boot camp run by Professor Dr. Wolfgang Jenewein. I continue to educate myself and read a lot of books on the subject. I have realized that I have to take a step back and allow my team to make mistakes in order to move forward and develop. I'm convinced that the guest won't notice these mistakes. I cushion that, as we are playing in the Champions League.
What do your three Michelin stars mean to you?
It's a great honor for me to be allowed to climb to this Olympus in 2020 - and a green star for sustainability. I still get goosebumps when I think about it. That was my goal. There are only 150 three-Michelin-star restaurants in the world, and there are four of us in Switzerland. I represent Switzerland to the outside world for its unique gastronomy, and I'm proud of that.
Isn't it mentally stressful to have to earn the awards every year?
I was allowed to rise to the top ranks in 2022 - and nobody can take that away from me. I want to convey this attitude to my team: We'll keep going, we'll stay curious, we want to continue to deepen our culinary heritage. That's the key: continuing to enjoy serving our guests goes hand in hand with success.
What do you cook for your family when you have time off?
Just yesterday I cooked a quinoa risotto. It's important to us to cook fresh, we cook with the same products as in the restaurant. I also order from my producers, I know where the products come from, always organic to Demeter, always using everything. It's very important to me not to eat convenience food.
In Switzerland, it's always a big point of contention: flavoring - yes or no?
No! For me, that's not an option. I dread it when I walk into a restaurant and see the flavoring box. I've never understood that - not even at Easter. I just use a good mayonnaise. There are great Swiss mayonnaises with Swiss rapeseed oil, I don't use flavor enhancers.
You are part of the "Masterchef Switzerland" team. What attracted you to it?
It was a fantastic experience and I was asked to be a guest judge. I know the jury, I've worked with all of them before and we've been friends for years. It's a kind of class reunion. I was curious to see how a show like this works. I'm not camera-shy either, I feel comfortable there. It was nice to be able to contribute my expertise. Hopefully there will be another season and I can get involved again, maybe even more. Who knows? That would make me very happy.
How about an "Al dente" 2025 with the best chefs in Switzerland? That was a cult show on SRF.
I've already spoken to Sven Epiney about it. Sven and Sven are a great match. Let's make an "Al dente 2.0".