In Dominik Hartmann's kitchen

When and how did you start your career? 

I started in 2008 in a small restaurant near Rickenbach. I was 16. I did my apprenticeship there for three years, then I worked in the pastry section of a restaurant at a ski resort. After that, I went to Schloss Schauenstein to work with Andreas Caminada. Then I was in Zurich with Fabian Fuchs, at EquiTable, a one-star Michelin restaurant with 17 Gault Millau points; there were just the two of us in the kitchen. And finally, in 2020, we opened Magdalena.

Which is in your hometown, Rickenbach: do you feel attached to the place where you grew up? 

Yes. It was really nice to come back home. Plus, we know a lot of people here, especially local suppliers.

When you had to choose a location for your restaurant, you took over an old tavern and completely rebuilt it. What did you have in mind when you started the reconstruction?  

I like the views of the lakes and mountains, so there are big windows. I also like Nordic design, which is very essential and focused on small details. I also like concrete, but in the end we decided to keep some wooden elements from the previous restaurant.

What kind of atmosphere do you want to create in your restaurant? 

I want the guests to feel at home. There are only a few tables and everything is curated. In the background, there is a playlist of soft techno-electronic music.

You work with your wife and your best friend from school. What is it like to work with family? 

It’s nice to work with people you like. We enjoy our time at work, help each other, and have fun. Even in the kitchen, I like it when there is a good atmosphere: ​​the staff is made up of young people, and even on our days off we do things together, so sometimes it doesn’t even feel like being at work.

How do you juggle work and your private life? 

I think we've found a good compromise: we work four days and have three days off. It’s vital to have enough time to be with the kids, meet up with friends, go out to discover new restaurants and bars. Also doing sports is essential: I go kite surfing on the lake and I’ve noticed it’s really good for my wellbeing to spend time in nature.

What do you cook when you are at home?  

Easy things, like pasta with a good tomato sauce, which is one of my favourite dishes. The kids love it as well.  

Why did you decide to change to vegetarian cuisine?  

We decided to focus on vegetarian cuisine when we started. In fact, we only had two non-vegetarian courses. After some time, we introduced a nice mushroom dish and then a parsnip mille-feuilles, and we all agreed they were much better than the non-vegetarian courses. And here we are! I think it’s much more interesting to work with vegetables and vegetarian produce. 

How did your clients react to it?  

Some guests are surprised when they realise that the main course only has vegetables in it. But I must admit they are very open minded and like our concept. 

You do a lot of research into fermented fruit and vegetables. What is it that you find interesting about that?  

I think they can bring more power and depth to a dish. We put a little bit of fermented vegetable juice in sauces or dishes to add saltiness or sourness, or just more complexity. I find it very interesting to bring these flavours into our kitchen. I learned how to manage fermentation while working in Zurich. Then I read the fermentation book by the Noma guys [The Noma Guide to Fermentation, by David Zilber and René Redzepi, 2018], but mostly it is just learning by doing: sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, but it’s always interesting.

What is the fermented product you are most proud of? 

A fermented tomato juice with a little bit of raspberry and basil in it. It’s really tasty. We created a summer dish based on it.  

You also do research into baking and pastry: when and why did you decide to open a bakery? 

Bread and pastry is where I started. In the restaurant, we always serve the Magdalena bread: we make it ourselves with sourdough and mountain potatoes from the Albula valley. The guests liked it so much that we decided to open a pop-up serving bread and croissants. I am very inspired by what I see on Instagram: I follow a lot of bakeries based in Copenhagen and the pastry chef Cédric Grolet in Paris.  

And what about the wine selection?  

My partner Marco and my wife Adriana take care of that. And the wait staff are very passionate about it, too. We are always on the lookout for new things. At the moment we’re interested in natural wine.  

​​​If you had to be famous for a single recipe, what would it be?  

Our bread: it’s really good – crunchy on the outside and very moist on the inside.

What is it like getting two Michelin stars by the age of 30?  

We were really surprised because we’d just opened eight months before. We were also proud and happy for the whole team: they put so much effort into what they do. When we reopened after receiving the stars, we felt a lot of pressure because we thought the guests might have higher expectations.  

V-ZUG is your partner in the kitchen: you share a strong commitment to passion and perfection. Which appliances do you have and how do they make your work easier?

We use the Combi-Steamer every day. It’s perfect. When you bake with this oven, the quality is always the same, always as good, and it’s nice to work with this kind of product.  

What’s on the menu today?  

A lot of vegetables! We have a dish with cabbage, egg yolk and black truffles. One I particularly like is just braised onion with onion broth, a touch of herb oil and onion puree: we don’t like having too many flavours in a dish, and this is so simple and tasty. The first course is very fresh, with Jerusalem artichokes, while the main course is beetroot based, which was our signature dish when we opened – it takes more than 24 hours of preparation. The dessert is made with blood oranges and Swiss chocolate.

CLASSIC KOMBUCHA 

A fizzy, sweet-and-sour drink made with tea, Kombucha is a contemporary classic. It is actually quite simple to make, trying different flavours and combinations to create a nice and refreshing drink. 

FERMENTED TOMATO JUICE WITH RASPBERRIES 

In this product, tomato juice and raspberries are simply fermented with salt. Through the fermentation, the juice becomes more intense and develops a nice fruity and sour note. 

SALTED LEMONS 

Lemons are fermented with spices and salt. After around two weeks in the kitchen or on the wood rack in the restaurant, they rest for a few months in the fridge. 

“MAGDI” (MAGDALENA) BREAD 

The sourdough for the iconic “Magdi bread” is fermented for 12 hours before making the dough. Then it rests for 24 hours in the fridge before being baked.