Dominik Hartmann, Chef of the Year 2027

This is a first in the history of GaultMillau Switzerland: a chef dedicated entirely to vegetarian cuisine has been named “Chef of the Year.” For 2027, this honor goes to Dominik Hartmann, head chef at the Magdalena in Rickenbach, in the hills above Schwyz.

The venture was launched by Adriana Hartmann and Marco Appert, centered around a restaurant and a bakery under one roof. Named “Discovery of the Year” in 2021, the Magdalena restaurant took a decisive turn in early 2022, when the chef removed meat and fish from his menus. The restaurant now holds 18 points in the GaultMillau guide and two stars in the Michelin Guide.

The Sincerity of the Vegetable

During my visit a few years earlier, I made the trip from Geneva to discover this restaurant overlooking the Schwyz countryside. Dominik Hartmann welcomed me on his 30th birthday with a reserve and humility that contrasted with the confidence of his cuisine. A native of Rickenbach, he showed me the local school located below the restaurant and told me he had chosen to return to his village to bring his project to life.

As our conversation unfolded, he spoke of his early passion for pastry, then his years working with Andreas Caminada and Fabian Fuchs. Precision, respect for the ingredients, and the intensity of the work have shaped his career. His shift to vegetarian cuisine followed a personal intuition: to explore vegetables more freely—their textures and the various possibilities for cooking or preparing them that they offer. “I love the purity and sincerity of a vegetable,” he told me.

This conviction was thus expressed in a very concrete way on the plate. A carrot presented in various textures, cabbage served with a ceviche-style sauce and a dill sorbet, or a morel mushroom stuffed with braised walnuts and served with a mushroom beurre blanc, all revealed a precise and richly layered cuisine. Broths, sauces, and condiments added depth to the dishes without ever overshadowing the main ingredient around which they were built.

Collective Strength

I also remember a bright space with raw materials, where the chef sought an elegance rooted in simplicity. The chefs were happy to step away from their stoves to present their creations in the dining room, continuing the conversation that had begun at the table. This award today honors a journey whose sincerity and collective strength I was able to appreciate during that meeting.