Kitchen Atelier at Hiltl Academy

Working as a graphic designer, I get many customer relation perks from companies I work with, but this one was special and spot-on for me – you guessed it, a cooking event. Nico Staeger, the representative of the paper company Antalis, invited my friend Rita Capiaghi and myself to the Restaurant Hiltl in Zurich – according to Guinness World Records, the oldest vegetarian restaurant in the world. It was founded in 1898 as «Vegetarierheim & Abstinenzcafé» – to attend an evening cooking workshop. It turned out to be a fun experience and very educational too.

A surprise was to meet my friend chef Wolfgang Potzman – he and his team were giving the workshop. After a few introductory words about vegetarian food, it was hands-on in the academy kitchen. The attendees got divided into smaller groups, and each given different recipes to prepare and cook.

Some of the dishes on the menu were classics like Ceasar's Salad or «Züri Geschnetzeltes» that generally contain meat. Of course, the meat was substituted with vegetarian alternatives. Instead of little pork cubes for the salad smoked tofu was used, and the veal was replaced with Seitan, wheat gluten made from the main protein of wheat.

Our group was given the task to prepare the Zurich classic «Züri Geschnetzeltes». We made the dish the same way as the classic except for the veal. The Seitan was pre-prepared like omelets, and I cut them into bite-size pieces – like sliced meat.

After all the dishes were cooked and prepared, we sat together and enjoyed the menu. Sure if you are used to the taste of meat and you like it – like me – then you do notice a difference in texture and flavor. Said that I think Seitan is an incredibly versatile product that when used creatively in its own right, has a lot to offer. The other dishes were excellent too. The cooking experience at the academy and the team atmosphere was good fun – I loved it.

Hiltl Academy, Zurich/Switzerland

Impressions from the cooking event at the Hiltl Academy. Fotos by Antalis AG, Switzerland