Let's Roock: Brunch With Swiss Prodigy At Kempinski

At 31 years old, Swiss chef Mattias Roock is one of the Kempinski group's rising stars. He's the group's youngest executive chef, with four restaurants under his command at the Kempinski Grand Hotel des Bains in St. Moritz, and he's in town to head up ten days of lunches, dinners and brunches at Kempinski Beijing.

Roock has done time with some of the restaurant industry's biggest names, including Gordon Ramsay and Alain Ducasse, and if the opening night dinner we attended was anything to go by he's certainly picked up a few tricks along the way. The highlights of the Italian-themed dinner were halibut with asparagus, brought to life with citrussy Prosecco jelly, with an incredible basil panna cotta and berries finishing the evening off.

Roock's Italian dishes are available a la carte at Trattoria La Gondola for lunch (11.30am-2.30pm) and dinner (5.30-11pm) daily until November 13, but he's also doing traditional Swiss dishes for brunch at Kranzler's for the next two Sundays (November 6 and November 13). If you were thinking of doing a hotel brunch this weekend, the Kempinski ought to be well worth a look. Call 6465 3288 ext 4215 for bookings.

Photos: Iain Shaw