The Four Hour Lunch

fx

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 02:27:05 GMT

Gaetano, I was reading the comments on my cellphone this morning and nearly had a car accident. This is the best line I"ve had this year! But hey, sorry mate, but I have all the brothers I need right now. Hope you get to visit Rochat one day, they have lunch formulas that won"t require a second mortgage!

Gaetano

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 18:35:55 GMT

Fantastic.
I am available for adoption, please inform your father.

Standards and cooking there are magnificent!

fx

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 04:29:17 GMT

Donna, thanks a lot for your kind words, I"m really glad the article conveyed the experience of eating there. In the future I hope to make a video version, that ought to be way better!

Donna Young

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 07:29:26 GMT

Wow! I was right there at the table with you�your desriptions were were so vivid! Thanks for that very delicious review! If only I knew about this restaurant while I was living in Lausanne... Don"t know when I"ll be back again, but when I do, Rochat"s will be on the itinerary for sure!!!

AnaMaria D

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 04:27:22 GMT

I have to say something... your site is seriously interfering into my work.. :)) I have opened it in the morning for "only 2 seconds"... and it was 3 hours ago...

fx

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:13:58 GMT

Dueep, a meal at Rochat will set you back about 300 Swiss francs, that"s about 300 dollars and change at today"s unfavorable (for the American gourmet) exchange rates. I know several French restaurants of not quite at the same level who charge more. Clearly it"s a hefty price for a meal, but most clients go there for some birthday or other anniversaries, so in a way it boils down to 1 Swiss franc a day per person, not so expensive after all!

Dueep J. Singh

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 06:40:17 GMT

Apres avoir lu cette experience gastronomic et exotique , on doit vous implorer de nous faire expliquer, Alors, Monsieur combien ca coute? Being an aspiring gourmet with pockets permanently to let, I have to ask you this very practical question, because it is only then I can start saving up for an experience of a lifetime!

fx

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:56:53 GMT

Chiffonade, thanks for your visit and I hope you get to eat at Rochat"s one day, it"s worth every calorie!

chiffonade

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 08:38:22 GMT

Wow! What a spectacular inside peek at a wonderful experience. Thanks so much for sharing it.

fx

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 13:57:20 GMT

Elizabeth I think this must be my favorite restaurant in the world but since it"s local I usually don"t say this as people would assume it"s the only restaurant I know. But after this, who would need to look somewhere else?

fx

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 13:49:37 GMT

Gayle, Rochat"s has a huge kitchen on the ground floor that looks out on a private garden not accessible to the guests. I think any chef who could design his own kitchen would want the same, many of them never really see the light of day before they retire or go bankrupt. It"s really a privilege!

fx

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 13:48:27 GMT

Gina thanks for reading my article, I"ll have more about fancy truffle restaurants in Paris soon if you like this.

fx

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 13:38:20 GMT

Mascha thanks and I will try to post another Indian recipe soon. There is 4 feet high pile of Indian cooking books waiting teasing me right now!

fx

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 13:35:48 GMT

Ben, I"m sure you will find the courage and abnegation to make this sacrifice for your country - the cheese tray at Rochat"s is indeed delicious. And you can come as you are with no need for Sunday"s bests or fancy ties. A most lovable restaurant!

fx

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 13:29:34 GMT

Paul, I think duck breasts are best rosy, but personal tastes might differ. However this is the established credence in the French cooking world and they don"t ask you how you"d like your duck - it will be rare unless you ask different. I didn"t pay that bill.

Elizabeth

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:15:29 GMT

Amazing! Looked like the best four-hour lunch one can have. The Sicilian dessert was beautiful. Everything looked beautiful!

Luke

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:08:01 GMT

Great food, witty prose, stunning photos, *and* some amazing connections. Truly, you are the King of kings of food bloggers.

Gayle

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:52:53 GMT

Thanks for the panoramic view of the kitchen and the meal descriptions. I am impressed with the windows in the kitchen. Those probably help inspire great cooking.Gayle

Gina in California

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:42:52 GMT

�Close your eyes and think of Switzerland� Oh me too! Laughing so hard! You are too much, FX. Thank you for sharing your stellar experience with us.

Mascha

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 12:20:16 GMT

Hi FX,Thanks for your wonderful blog, it is my favourite! A lovely combination of good pictures and interesting, funny, useful information. Your kitchen looks fantastic, the equipment makes my mouth water almost as much as the food. Any chance you"ll treat us to another article about the Indian cuisine any time soon?

Ben

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 07:54:48 GMT

�Close your eyes and think of Switzerland� That made me laugh so loud at work my boss thinks I"m demented. I"m definitely going to try that in the next few months since its close to Geneva and I deserve a birthday treat! Thanks for the great photos and recommendation.

Paul Mckenna

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:19:40 GMT

Lovely article but the duck was only part cooked to my way of thinking.Semi cooked poultryonow way !Anyway I now know of the restaurant and will look out for it on my travels.Who paid the bill........?Paul

fx

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:43:07 GMT

David, I think you"ll be fed up if you go too often. Mathematically, you could go 8 times a year to try both menus on each of the 4 seasonal menus, but more would soon have you meet the law of diminishing returns!

fx

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:40:41 GMT

Susie, I"m sure they would treat you all right if you are vegetarian, but you"ll have to stick to the cheese and dessert!

fx

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:34:29 GMT

Barbara, thanks for visiting!

fx

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:33:48 GMT

Dave I was too lazy to write down the names of the cheeses and now don"t remember. Sorry! The top layer actually rests on the whole tangerine pods on the second layer. This one was really every bit as gorgeous as it looks.

fx

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:30:35 GMT

Joanna, chef Rochat does not invite many people in his kitchen, and I don"t know anybody who actually ate their whole meal in the kitchen, altough there are some. But kitchen people and restaurant clients are two very different worlds and the ambiance is not really mutually compatible. I think Mr Ramsay in England has a chef table that is enclosed in glass to insulate the guests from the foul language and flying pans!

fx

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:27:55 GMT

Claudia I"m glad you liked the article and will try to make one just about the cheese tray one of these days. A tall order but it could be very interesting!

fx

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:27:06 GMT

Thanks for visiting Parshu!

David

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:48:23 GMT

Reading this makes me want to live near there so I could go once a month:) The panorama was wonderful. And the cheese plate has my mouth watering for some roquefort!

Susie

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 07:16:40 GMT

"You can be a communist or a wickan, nobody will judge you as long as you"re not vegetarian."Oh dear, that rules me out then!Great story, and the 360 panorama is fantastic.

thuan

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 22:12:50 GMT

Love the 360. Neat guillotine!

barbara

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 15:55:30 GMT

Wow, that is a cheese tray I can only dream off. Great photos of the kitchens in action.

Dave P

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 15:11:20 GMT

What is going on in the custard/hazelnut cream dessert, is the top layer floating in the air, or is that an optical illusion?Enjoyed the story a great deal. What are the cheeses in the 6,3,12,9 o"clock positions on that cheese plate?

Joanna

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 14:11:00 GMT

You have to be a supremely confident chef to have a table IN your kitchen ... but it looks from your photographs as if he is right to be confident.The 360 panorama is wonderful - how do you do that?Joanna

Claudia (cook eat FRET)

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 13:43:57 GMT

What a lovely way to spend the afternoon with your dad...The cheese plate blew me away... but really, I wouldn"t throw even one of those dishes out of bed...

parshu.narayanan

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 13:38:10 GMT

Thank you, fx, for enriching a man from a faraway culture with an extraordinary insider"s glimpse of what must be one of the most special inner corners of European/Western culture.