CROSSROAD’S TAL RONNEN AT RIVE GAUCHE

Zurich’s fine eatery Rive Gauche of the Baur au Lac is about to blow your vegan mind! Not vegan? Well we aren’t either but keep reading, because eating vegetables has never sounded so good! During FOOD ZURICH the chic Rive Gauche is hosting celebrity chef Tal Ronnen and invites food lovers to taste his revolutionary plant-based cuisine. We got invited to a nice intimate pre tasting and oh boy it simply left us speechless. Reinventing plant-based eating is what Tal Ronnen is all about. He is the chef at Los Angeles’ popular Crossroads restaurant where the menu is entirely vegan, but there are no soybeans or bland seitan to be found. He is known for dishes that evoke the richness of fresh pasta and cream sauce or the smoky char of grilled steak through unique vegetable preparations. His sophisticated Mediterranean-inspired dishes are as flavorful as it gets. With his extraordinary recipes, Tal Ronnen proves that flavors we crave are easily replicated in dishes made without animal products. SO, HERE'S THE MENUE! (A little side note: If you’re still worried you won’t be satisfied by only eating a plant-based meal, Rive Gauche’s executive chef Olivier Rais is here for the rescue. He will leave you totally satisfied with culinary highlights like the restaurant’s signature dish tuna tartar.) So, first up Tal Ronnen served artichoysters (yeah we just totally made that up) but seriously, oysters made of artichokes with black caviar made of something amazing we can’t remember. The texture, the taste – so good! The beautifully arranged plate – every foodstylist’s dream! And of course there was seaweed (we love seaweed) to give you the extra feeling of whatdoyoumeanthere’snofishinthis? Thiscannotbevegan! Ok moving on, we’ve got a whole menu to cover here… So next up on the menu was pasta. We love love pasta. Tal Ronnen served Agnolotti filled with sundried tomatoes and almond-ricotta. Wait what almond ricotta? Yes you read right, but more mind blowing stuff to come so let us just say this: it was so rich and satisfying and just your perfect plate of comforting pasta. Case closed. The menu promised a cheese course. Being Swiss, obviously we’re cheese aficionados to the max (hey, it comes with the territory) we honestly were a little bit sceptical about a vegan cheese course. There were two different types of cream cheeses and one Camembert. We asked Tal how vegan cheese is made and he explained that it’s basically the same thing as with cow’s milk. You just use almond milk instead. But it’s very important to use almonds very high in protein. He tried over 30 different kinds of almonds until he found the perfect ones. When we tried the three cheeses we were amazed by how similar the taste was. Everyone at the table was surprised that you simply couldn’t tell the difference. Of course we couldn’t finish this amazing tasting without something sweet. Tal served his signature chocolate mousse. But we’re talking like rich, creamy, smooth and HEALTHY chocolate mousse. Healthy? A chocolate lover’s utopia but it’s true. The secret ingredient is avocado and you use coconut oil instead of butter. It’s like a dream come true. We highly recommend you to try Tal Ronnens delicious plant based 7 course meal at Rive Gauche. If you’re going with someone who’s not so brave as you, they can always go with the traditional 7 course meal by the restaurants executive chef Olivier Rais. Get a table now, because Tal is only here until September 17. Restaurant Rive Gauche Talstrasse 1 8001 Zürich Tel. +41 44 220 50 60 agauche.ch

Tal Ronnen's cookbook "Crossroads"

Tal Ronnen and Olivier Rais