In search of Switzerland’s Michelin stars

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Just as Rick Steve's travel books are the bibles of the budget-minded, Michelin Guides are the end-all for those who want to savor a meal they'll remember for years to come.

While we did savor some fabulous meals in Italy, we couldn't resist jumping on a train and heading over the Alps to Switzerland, where we had heard of a chef who was drawing astonishingly rave reviews of the three-star Michelin kind.

The destination was the city of Lausanne and the restaurant was Anne-Sophie Pic, named after the chef. Food and Michelin stars are in her blood as she's the daughter of Chef Jacques Pic and the granddaughter of Andre Pic, founder of his famous eponymous three-star restaurant in Valence, France.

Wait a minute. A Michelin-starred female chef, you say? According to acclaimed food writer Andre Gayot, Anne-Sophie is only the fourth female chef ever to receive three stars. In addition, she's the first one in 50 years to do so. The good news, at least for us Americans, is that the Swiss Franc is in closer proximity to the U.S. dollar than the Euro.

So in other words, if you want to splurge on the meal of a lifetime (which I will describe in detail, below), it appears Switzerland is a better choice than Italy in the monetary sense.

In addition, with a total of 101 Michelin stars from border to border, Switzerland remains the European country with the most stars per capita. But all we cared about was the cuisine at Anne-Sophie Pic, and the food on the long, albeit scenic, train ride from Venice was making us hungrier by the hour.

After getting settled in, we found Anne-Sophie Pic situated on 10 acres of private gardens on the shores of Lake Geneva in the magnificent Beau Rivage Palace. The views extended across the lake to France and it was filled with well-heeled diners.

Anne-Sophie Pic had just opened earlier this year, but the Beau Rivage Palace has been Switzerland's finest hotel and the world's most attractive "palace resort" for nearly 150 years. So it's got the capacity to draw people in as much as the chef does.

When I told Mauian Heinz Gerner that I would dine there, his eyes glazed over from his own memories of Beau Rivage Palace. Chris Speere of Maui Culinary Academy once cooked there and he also had only great things to say.

Anne-Sophie is celebrated for her fish preparations, such as sea bass and turbot from coastal waters. But we went for the gusto with the seven-course Emotions menu that captured a host of tastes.

Her attention to detail was so obvious in every stage of the meal, from the presentation to the refined service.

Her amuse bouche was a scallop from Brittany cooked with lightly salted butter and Sudachi lemon, served with basmati rice emulsion, juniper berries, runny risotto and crisp black rice. Forget about pasta in Italy, this was over the top in taste. The best scallop on the planet, in fact.

The line-caught sea bass had a crispy skin with sweet onions from Cevennes, salty caramel and fresh walnuts with amber-yellow wine. I wouldn't have "thunk it" myself. But it was out of this world and the wine pairings were perfect in every sense. Roasted medallions of venison were presented with tender parsnips, fir buds from Valaise and olive tapenade. Fresh and mature cheeses were rolled out in a cart for us to choose and it all was topped off with numerous tastes of desserts, such as apple compote with tonka bean - like an iced Vacherin cake.