A gourmet week of fine dining awaits those who take part in Swiss Taste Week, with every year focusing on a different region's food and produce.

Swiss Taste Week (La Semaine du Goût)

The aim of Swiss Taste Week is to encourage foodies to slow down for a moment and really taste the food they are eating. It's about stepping back from the increasing industrialisation of food and enjoying the simple act of eating fresh, quality ingredients, cooked with care and creativity. 

While one region is selected to be the Region of Taste - with a focus on creating that area's traditional dishes and using the finest ingredients that can be sourced from there - the whole country takes part with restaurants in all the major Swiss cities having special offers and creations to taste.

Swiss Region of Taste: Valposchiavo 

In 2024, Valposchiavo in the Swiss canton of Grisons has been named Swiss Region of Taste for Swiss Taste Week. This long valley in southern Switzerland is already extremely proud of the food it creates and has two quality marks it labels local food with: "100% Valposchiavo", for items completely grown in the valley, or "Fait su Valposchiavo" for products made in the valley, usually with local ingredients.

The selected region always has an enormous amount of events planned for Taste Week. Here are just a few that Valposchiavo has lined up:

• Open houses at various farms
• Wine tasting
• A discussion on confectionery and emigration
• Cheese tasting
• A tour of a coffee roastery
• Cooking courses
• And much more!

Young people and fine dining

To try to introduce the next generation to the enjoyment of fine dining, the festival has the bons jeunes concept. These are vouchers that young people can buy that will get them a four-course gourmet meal and a glass of wine for just 60 Swiss francs. In French-speaking Switzerland, the vouchers are valid for those 16-25 years old, and in German-speaking Switzerland and Ticino they are for those 18-25 years old.

Vouchers have to be ordered online, and only a certain number can be used in each restaurant each day so be sure to book your table early. With dozens of restaurants signed up, this is a great way to try out food people might otherwise miss out on! Here are a few of the restaurants participating:

• Moments Restaurant, Cointrin
• La Cène, Fribourg
• Hôtel DuPeyrou, Neuchâtel
• Casy, Crans-Montana
• Le Rossignol, Lausanne
• Restaurant Safran Zunft, Basel
• Restaurant Steinhalle, Bern
• Rechberg 1837, Zürich

Taking part in Swiss Taste Week

There is always so much planned for Swiss Taste Week. You can check out the Swiss Taste Week website where a full programme of events is available.