Gault&Millau rates 880 restaurants

(7 October 2025) - A star from the Jura: Jérémy Desbraux, 39, from the "Maison Wenger" is GaultMillau's "Chef of the Year". Great cuisine in the small village of Le Noirmont. 13 chefs at the cooker, 18 points in the guide.

The small Jura municipality of Le Noirmont has 1957 inhabitants. 13 of them are chefs. They work for Jérémy Desbraux and Anaëlle Roze at the "Maison Wenger", right next to the railway station. Chef Jérémy (trademark: a high toque) does a great job. He trusts producers from the region. He has lovingly remodelled his restaurant and hotel this winter. He strives for perfection.

No coincidence: the chef worked for Franck Giovannini at the world-famous "Hôtel de Ville" in Crissier VD for many years. GaultMillau has already honoured a great chef as "Chef of the Year" in the small town of Le Noirmont: Georges Wenger, 1997!

19 points: The stars at the top

The "Club des 19" got bigger last year: Marco Campanella at the "Eden Roc" Ascona was the youngest chef to achieve the highest score. He is now also listed with 19 points at his winter residence "Tschuggen Grand Hotel" Arosa. The six other chefs have been at the top for some time: Tanja Grandits (Basel), Peter Knogl (Basel), Franck Giovannini (Crissier VD), Andreas Caminada (Fürstenau GR), Philippe Chevrier (Satigny GE) and Heiko Nieder (Zurich). GaultMillau chef Urs Heller: "I visited all the 19-point chefs again this year and was delighted. They are also excellent trainers, regularly flooding the country with new talent."

"Rising star of the year": Brändli, Koolen, Bedouet & Moresco

The "GaultMillau Guide 2026" is a good year. This also applies to our "climbers of the year". Three chefs can look forward to a dream score of 18: At "7132 Silver", Marcel Koolen steps out of the shadow of his famous predecessors. At the "Ecco" Ascona, Reto Brändli scores highly straight away after his return from Berlin. Armel Bedouet ("L'Aparté" Geneva) is the rising star in French-speaking Switzerland.

Dario Moresco is a high-flyer in Zurich; 17 points for his breathtaking, modern Italian cuisine!

Our "star abroad" is also a rising star in the industry: Cyril Bettschen from St. Gallen is operations manager at the "Bareiss" in Baiersbronn and cooks in the Black Forest together with his famous mentor Claus-Peter Lumpp.

"Discoveries of the year": Sträuli, Spring, Clément, Huber, Ghidoni

GaultMillau wants to be an explorer, searching for new talents in the country. Our newcomers this time: Valentin Sträuli from "Igniv" Andermatt. Sascha Spring from the "Seepark" Thun. Monika Huber from the "Schlössli" Bottighofen TG. Kira Ghidoni from the "Osteria Bisnona" Contone TI. PP Clément from "Au Chasseur" Fribourg. Five young chefs who inspire. The fact that two women made it onto this list is no coincidence: female chefs are making their mark, and a striking number of female chefs are listed in the 2026 Guide for the first time.

Female Power: Stephanie Mittler, Charline Pichon, Evelyn Igl

Three strong women also win three special prizes. Stephanie Mittler is sous chef at Silvio Germann's "Mammertsberg" in Freidorf TG and is responsible for inspiring desserts and friandises: "Patissier of the Year"! The young Frenchwoman Charline Pichon oversees one of the largest wine cellars in Switzerland (40,000 bottles!) in Crissier VD: "Sommelier of the Year". Evelyn Igl is Heiko Nieders' wife on the front line, is in charge of service at the "Dolder Grand" in Zurich and is GaultMillau's "Host of the Year". Her brigade: 100 per cent female!

"The Green Chef of the Year": Pascal Steffen

You won't find any green toques in GaultMillau. For one simple reason: almost all the chefs listed in the guide treat nature with care, fight for first-class products and know their suppliers very well. Green and sustainable has become a matter of course in the scene. So we limit ourselves to green lighthouses and search for the "Green Chef of the Year" together with Bio Suisse. Award winner 2026: Pascal Steffen, 18-point chef and "vegetable whisperer" at the new "Roots" in Basel.

Twelve new chefs in the 17-point league

Twelve chefs also particularly caught the eye of the testers and now have a 17-point rating: the three Zurich hotel chefs Dario Moresco at the "Orsini" ("Rising Star of the Year"), Marco Ortolani at "La Réserve" and the Japanese chef Atsushi Hiraoka at the "Dolder Grand". James Baron at the "Säumerei am Inn" in La Punt Chamues-ch GR. Flavio Fermi at the "Ackermannshof" in Basel. Marc-Joshua Engel at the "Aux Trois Amis" in Schernelz BE. Tino Zimmermann at the "Stiva Veglia" in Schnaus GR. André Kneubühler at "The Omnia" in Zermatt. The "Chedi Twins" Dominik Sato and Fabio Toffolon, who are expanding their "Japanese at Gütsch" branch on the mountain. The new 17-point addresses in French-speaking Switzerland: "La Micheline" in Geneva, "Hotel des Horlogers" in Le Brassus VD, "Gerber Wyss" in Yverdon-les-Bains VD.

GaultMillau already awarded two plaques a few weeks ago: "Badrutt's Palace" in St. Moritz is "Hotel of the Year" and "Olympia" in Bern is "Pop of the Year".

In total, 880 restaurants, 100 gourmet hotels and the 150 best Swiss winegrowers are included. 109 restaurants are included for the first time. 98 chefs gain one point, 32 chefs have to go over the books.