The alchemist that reaches for the stars

The ultimate goal of alchemy was to find the philosopher’s stone that would turn all metals into gold. “Ikarus” guest chef Horst Petermann’s vision is similar, although his goal focuses on a star rather than a stone – a third Michelin star, the award that is only given to truly exceptional chefs.

“I don’t mind waiting until I’m in a nursing home”, Petermann has been heard to say – there can be little doubt that he means business, although, considering his impressive life’s work, it would be understandable if he wanted to take things more slowly. After all, he has been part of the exclusive squad of chefs who have been awarded 19 Gault-Millau points for no less than 18 years, and is proving his extraordinary skill year after year. However, culinary awards are like culinary ingredients: they are best enjoyed fresh. And for this reason, Petermann, who has made Switzerland his home, continues to search for culinary perfection.

Petermann is a master of innovative-classic cuisine with Mediterranean influences. He has never been content with just emulating the French maitres, although he has long been their equivalent – he and Philippe Rochat are the only Swiss chefs to have been awarded the title of “Membre de la Haute Cuisine de France”, which is usually reserved for French chefs.

Petermann’s creations have always reflected his own style and an admirable level of continuity – the ultimate prerequisite for substance and a name that becomes programmatic, like that of “Kunststuben”, the name of the restaurant that Petermann and his wife Iris opened on the shores of Lake Zürich almost 25 years ago and that has become one of the most exclusive addresses in Europe.

In the small “kitchen lab” in Küsnacht, the “royal art” of cooking is practised on a daily basis, with Petermann and his team experimenting, refining and improving. This creative bustle is the exact opposite of the gratifying clarity of the dishes themselves, whose ingredients are in perfect harmony.

Someone who gives so much pleasure to others must have an acute sense of pleasure himself. For Horst Petermann, this pleasure comes from the scent of the wild roses in his garden, relaxing in a boat on Lago Maggiore, reading Camus, Hesse and Cocteau and just taking it easy. In this way, he is able to recharge his batteries after large-scale events such as the Swiss Economic Forum (SEF), where he cooked for 1,200 guests in 2004, among them Al Gore. In the U.S., word has also got around that Horst Petermann is an exceptional chef. Zagat, one of the most important hotel guides in the U.S., even called him the “number one in Europe”.

In 1996, Monsieur Christian Millau personally presented him with the prestigious Clé d’Or Bricard in Küsnacht. This was followed by innumerable other awards, for instance from Germany’s “Schlemmer Atlas der Gastronomie”, which elected Horst Petermann as one of the top chefs of 2005 and 2006. It is only a question of time until the Michelin Guide awards him his third star, and Horst Petermann has the necessary patience as well as the necessary skill.