Dominik Hartmann has been named Chef of the Year 2027 by GaultMillau Switzerland, marking a historic first for the culinary guide as the 34-year-old and his team at Restaurant Magdalena in Rickenbach, Schwyz, secure the top honor with a strictly 100 percent vegetarian menu.
Vegetarian Kitchen Wins Chef of the Year 2027
- Dominik Hartmann of Restaurant Magdalena in Rickenbach SZ takes GaultMillau’s Chef of the Year 2027 title, the first time the premier honor goes exclusively to a vegetarian kitchen (blick.ch).
- The guide for 2027 lists 870 restaurants, 100 gourmet-hotels, and 150 top winzers, featuring 84 new restaurant additions (blick.ch, 20min.ch).
- The elite group holding the maximum rating of 19 points remains unchanged at seven chefs, with no eighth artist added to the top tier (blick.ch).
A Historic Vegetarian Milestone at Restaurant Magdalena
Announced on Monday, October 5, 2026, the latest GaultMillau Switzerland gourmet guide changes how fine dining is rated in the country. For the first time in the history of the Swiss restaurant guide, the highest accolade goes to a chef running a strictly meatless kitchen (srf.ch). Operating at the foot of the Mythen in rural Rickenbach, Dominik Hartmann shares the venture with business partners Marco Appert and Adriana Hartmann (blick.ch). GaultMillau editor-in-chief Urs Heller praised the establishment, noting that Hartmann represents a modern “Vegi 2.0” approach that balances vegetable-forward cooking with unbridled creativity and technical precision (blick.ch, srf.ch).
Opening in March 2020 inside a former traditional venue, the trio combined a fine-dining room and a bakery under one roof (blick.ch, gaultmillau.ch). After initially claiming the “Discovery of the Year” title in 2021, the kitchen pivoted completely to a vegetarian format in 2022 (blick.ch). Diners quickly turned the remote location into a destination, driving the restaurant to 18 GaultMillau points and securing two Michelin stars alongside a green star for sustainability (srf.ch).
New Restaurants Enter the 2027 Guide
Beyond the top honor, the 2027 edition catalogs 870 restaurants, 100 gourmet-hotels, and 150 top Swiss winemakers, welcoming 84 newcomers to its pages (blick.ch). Canton Zurich leads the expansion with twelve fresh entries, followed by Vaud with ten, while Bern and Valais add seven each (20min.ch). In total, new addresses span 20 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, leaving Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Glarus, Schaffhausen, Uri, and Zug without new additions this year (20min.ch).
Seven chefs continue to hold the elite 19-point status: Tanja Grandits, Peter Knogl, Franck Giovannini, Andreas Caminada, Philippe Chevrier, Heiko Nieder, and Marco Campanella (blick.ch). Urs Heller confirmed that an eighth chef at that pinnacle level is not on the immediate horizon (blick.ch). Meanwhile, movement ripples through the lower tiers as 98 chefs pick up a new point, while 31 chefs experience downgrades (blick.ch).
| Award Category | Recipient | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Chef of the Year 2027 | Dominik Hartmann | Rickenbach SZ (blick.ch) |
| Aufsteiger des Jahres (Deutschschweiz) | Daniel Zeindlhofer | Zürich (blick.ch) |
| Aufsteiger des Jahres | Aurélien Mettler | Grindelwald BE (blick.ch) |
| Entdeckung des Jahres | Nicolas Schröder | Herrliberg ZH (blick.ch) |
| Green Chef of the Year | Stefan Beer | Interlaken BE (blick.ch) |
Several Chefs Increase Their Point Ratings
Daniel Zeindlhofer climbs to 18 points in Zurich, while Aurélien Mettler advances to 17 points in Grindelwald (blick.ch). In the French-speaking region, Gilles Varone in Savièse also rises to the 18-point threshold (20min.ch). Nicolas Schröder of Restaurant Buech in Herrliberg takes the “Discovery of the Year” title with an initial 15 points, coming out of Andreas Caminada’s training stable (blick.ch, srf.ch). Cyrill Baumann enters the guide with 14 points at “Ufer7” in Basel (blick.ch).
Stefan Beer of the “Radius” at the Hotel Victoria-Jungfrau in Interlaken claims the title of Green Chef of the Year (blick.ch). Pre-announced honors include the Appenzeller Huus in Gonten taking Hotel of the Year, and Zurich’s Bunzai securing the Pop of the Year designation (blick.ch).
