JEDDAH, 25 November 2005 — Switzerland is known for its food as much as for its rich tourist places. Hearty dishes come from the country’s agricultural background, with many made from cheese.
A glimpse of this was available at Albilad Hotel Golden Tulip Jeddah on Wednesday night when a 10-day Swiss food festival opened, with Swiss Consul General Adrian Evequoz as the chief guest. The festival drew a large number of visitors.
Three Swiss chefs — Christian Moor, Frederick Jampen, and Peter Altenburger — have been flown in for the event that claims to offer the “choicest and most authentic” dishes to food lovers here. “The paragon dish of Swiss German-speaking Switzerland is the rosti, roasted potatoes with cheese or bacon on top, which also will be on offer,” one of the chefs told Arab News.
The consul general spoke about the close bilateral ties and referred to the increasing interest shown by Saudi vacationers to visit Switzerland. Young Saudis have especially been attending summer education camps in that country in increasing numbers. The last vacation season recorded a remarkable increase among Saudi visitors, a senior executive of Swiss International Air Lines said.
Steiger said John Rusterholz, corporate general manager for Swiss-based Sorell Hotels, was instrumental in enabling the visit of the chefs from Switzerland’s Michelin, Boutique, and Orelli hotels.
Young Saudis have also been taking courses in Switzerland that include basic and intensive English, French, German and other languages, as well as higher academic and professional skills and sport in the country.
In addition to seeking admissions in best-known institutions in the hospitality industry, students from the Kingdom and the rest of the region have been visiting the country for bachelor and master programs in business administration, and media and communication.
