Perfection on a plate

Six kitchens in the Jungfrau Region have been awarded 15 or more points in the Gault Millau gourmet guide. These include the kitchens at the Hotel and Nature Resort Handeck. Roman Crkon is mainly responsible for this. We visited the 37-year-old head chef.

We are sitting in the Handeck restaurant enjoying the starter from the four-course gourmet menu: ceviche made with Swiss salmon from the Grisons region, it says on the menu. And: Kalamansi tangerine sphere / apple rocket sorbet / coriander oil / pistachio couscous / shallot gel / herbs from the alpine garden. One thing in advance: it tastes good. The name pleasure menu is no coincidence. We are already looking forward to the next courses. But one thing at a time.

We drive from Meiringen towards the Grimselwelt. After Innertkirchen, the road gets twistier. It is overcast and foggy. We will soon reach Guttannen. The village at the foot of the Grimselpass has fewer than 300 inhabitants, but it boasts a top-class restaurant in the form of the Handeck. It is not located directly in the village, though. We drive on for another ten minutes. Here, in the immediate vicinity of the Gelmerbahn valley station, is the Hotel and Nature Resort Handeck.

The head chef is already expecting us. Roman Crkon comes from Povazska Bystrica in Slovakia. His love of cooking is no accident. «My father is also a trained chef, so I have had a connection to gastronomy since I was a child. I often spent time in restaurants and hotels – and I also always enjoyed looking over my grandmother's shoulder when she was cooking», he tells us. Another passion of Roman Crkon is travelling. And so, after his four-year apprenticeship as a chef and graduating from high school, he decided to gain experience in foreign kitchens. He ended up in Switzerland with his current wife Ivana. His first stops were Laax and Saas Fee, before he came to the Jungfrau region for the first time in 2010. He worked as Chef de Partie at the historic Alpinhotel Grimsel Hospiz for three summer seasons. In 2013, he accepted a year-round position at Grimselhotels. After two years, he became Sous-Chef at the Hotel and Nature Resort Handeck, and in 2017, Head Chef. During the winter, when the restaurant at Handeck is closed, he heads the kitchen team at Grimsel Hospiz.

«Actually, I only wanted to stay in Switzerland for one or two seasons, but now I'm still here», he says – and laughs. When asked where he sees himself in ten years, Roman Crkon says without a second's thought: “Right here, the restaurant is my baby.” He is also firmly rooted in the Haslital in his private life. Two years ago, the 37-year-old and his wife bought a house in Guttannen, and they have two children together. Ivana and Roman Crkon met... in the restaurant business. «We did our apprenticeships together in Slovakia. I was a chef and she was a restaurant manager.» Ivana Crkon also worked for the Grimselhotels as a restaurant manager until the birth of her first child.

When talking to Roman Crkon, it quickly becomes clear that a chef has to do a lot of administrative work and is more likely to be found outside the kitchen than in it. Although that's only partly true in Roman Crkon's case. His office is more or less in the kitchen. At least he can see the kitchen from his desk – and also the cold room and the pantry. He is usually not seen here until 8:30 a.m., when the ordered goods are delivered. After that, he has his first short meeting with the kitchen team. The schedule for the day is discussed. What still needs to be produced? Have groups registered? Do any allergies need to be taken into account? «Vegetarian, vegan, lactose-free, gluten-free – cooking has become more demanding», says Roman Crkon, «and as a chef, you have to adapt to that.»

From the head chef to the dishwashers – Roman Crkon's team consists of ten people. But he doesn't like to talk about the kitchen team. He prefers to talk about a big team. With his people, the service staff, the employees at the reception – and of course his bosses, Grimselhotels manager Markus Meier and his wife Marianne. It should not be a matter of competition, but of cooperation. That is important to Roman Crkon. «What use is a good kitchen if the waiting staff don't do a good job or the guests are greeted unfriendly?» When asked about his superior, he says: «Markus lets me do my thing. He gives me a lot of freedom and trusts me.» And what does Markus Meier say about his culinary flagship? «Roman knows his stuff and is an expert when it comes to meat preparation. He is a calm and level-headed department head who never loses sight of his goals. He is a passionate and accomplished chef, always coming up with new creative ideas and maintaining a high level of quality awareness.»
But back to the day's events: after the meeting, new orders have to be placed, invoices paid and duty rosters and hourly reports created. In the kitchen next door, food is already being prepared for the Handeck canteen at Grimselwelt, which Roman Krkon and his team also supply.

Last year was a record year for the restaurant at the Handeck Hotel and Nature Resort. The Gault Millau rating certainly contributed to this. The new ranking is published at the end of September each year. «I'm always pretty nervous then», admits Roman Crkon. His cuisine has once again been awarded 15 points in the current guide. «This is certainly good, positive publicity for tourism in general. People realise: something is happening here.» And his boss Markus Meier reveals: «The quality at the Alpinhotel Grimsel Hospiz in winter is now even higher than that at the Nature Resort Handeck in summer.»
Roman Crkon describes his cuisine as field, forest and meadow cuisine, which is strongly regionally oriented – and uses the synergies of nature. «We only use Swiss products, often from the Haslital.» And indeed: the Alpine pigs and the cheese come from the Handeck Alp, the lambs from the Wollreich Guttannen, and many other dairy products from the Meiringen dairy. «It is an honour to process products from our region», he says – and uses the word professional pride.

Before we go into the kitchen, Roman Crkon wants to show us his herb garden. He reorganised it when the restaurant remained closed during the coronavirus pandemic. From thyme to rosemary, verbena, curry – and many flowers. Roman Crkon always finds something suitable here to refine his dishes.
Speaking of the coronavirus pandemic: the Handeck Hotel and Nature Resort has weathered it relatively well. This is because 80 per cent of its guests are Swiss. They include many children, «because we used to be a family hotel – and still are a bit», says Roman Crkon. For example, the children's buffet has been retained to this day. Roman Crkon and his team also regularly cater for wedding and birthday parties. This gives them planning security, because à la carte guests tend to book at short notice and are very dependent on the weather.

The bad weather is also the reason why there isn't much going on today. Roman Crkon doesn't like this in the long run. «I like action, otherwise I get bored quickly», he says. «But no chaos», he adds. In the kitchen, it is immediately apparent that there is no shouting here. On the contrary: it is quiet, everyone knows what they have to do. «I don't like noise. My team has to work quickly but calmly.» He is a level-headed boss, he says. He also describes himself as fair and pleasant. You can tell he means it. In the kitchen, no one contradicts him. That's a good sign, at least. He put his team together himself. “I'm always on the lookout for young talent.” He often finds it in his old homeland. People talk in the kitchen, but whenever possible in German.

What does the chef love doing most? «I love working with fish», he says. And outside of the kitchen, he loves coming up with new menu suggestions. Yes, outside the kitchen. Roman Crkon draws his menus first before implementing them in the kitchen. He likes to play with colours – from the plate to every single flower on it. «I can let my imagination run wild, I like that.» He goes into raptures about his job. «I can make people happy, that's one of the best things about my work.»

The kitchen at Restaurant Handeck opens at 11:30 a.m. When we drop by, the lunch rush is long over and they are getting ready for the evening. The meat has to be prepared early. A pea and lentil soup and a meadow herb soup are simmering on the stove, and a truffle jus and raisin foam are being prepared next to them. Until five minutes ago, we didn't feel particularly hungry, but that has now changed dramatically. The heat is also noticeable, even though there are only four people in the kitchen at the moment. «Yes, when six or seven people are working and we're cooking around 80 à la carte meals, it can get very hot», says Roman Crkon.
Every plate that passes over the counter is checked. Either by the chef himself or, in his absence, by the sous-chef. Roman Crkon refines the plate a little, wipes away a little sauce here, decorates it there with a flower. «A perfectionist?» I ask. «Yes, almost too much», I hear in reply. Although a certain perfectionism is probably to be expected of a Gault Millau chef.

When we are eating, the other guests praise the food. When asked to do so, Roman Crkon shows himself in the dining room. Even though it's not one of his favourite tasks. «I'm rather shy, I don't like being the centre of attention, but I'm aware that the more successful I am as a chef, the more of an attraction I become. I still have to work on that.»
The restaurant takes the last orders at 8:30 pm. But even after these have been served, the work is far from over. The kitchen has to be cleaned and a temperature check is carried out. Then the next day is roughly discussed – and a to-do list is created. By this time, we are long on our way home. Full to bursting. The expression is allowed. After the ceviche to start, there was a Guttanner Jänzener Faceplant Gin (Jänzener foam / apricot and lemon thyme granite / Alpine flowers / Prosecco) as an intermediate course, followed by the main course of Brasato di Manzo (Haslital beef marinated in Blauburgunder from Spiez and braised / Seeland celery / lemongrass and vanilla / hazelnut / tomato falafel / preserved garlic / cardamom blackberry / spring leek relish / Sauce Périgueux / Aquarello risotto flavoured with Munder saffron and Handecker alp cheese). And finally, for dessert, a chocolate mousse (Felchlin «Arriba» dark chocolate / biscuit / ganache montée / chocolate crumble / kirsch sorbet). Feeling peckish? Then head to the Hotel and Nature Resort Handeck or one of the many other excellent restaurants in the Jungfrau Region. We already wish you «Ä Guete!»