Jérémy Desbraux in Le Noirmont JU is GaultMillau's "Chef of the Year 2026"

The small Jura municipality of Le Noirmont has 1957 inhabitants. 13 of them are chefs. They work for Jérémy Desbraux and Anaëlle Roze at the "Maison Wenger", right next to the train station. Chef Jérémy (trademark: a high toque) does a great job. He trusts producers from the region. He has lovingly renovated his restaurant and hotel this winter. He strives for perfection. No coincidence: the chef worked for Franck Giovannini at the world-famous "Hôtel de Ville" in Crissier VD for many years. GaultMillau has already honored a great chef as "Chef of the Year" in the small town of Le Noirmont: Georges Wenger, 1997!

7 x 19 points: The stars at the top

The "Club des 19" got bigger last year: Marco Campanella was the youngest chef to achieve the highest score at the "Eden Roc" Ascona. He is now also listed with 19 points at his winter residence "Tschuggen Grand Hotel" Arosa. The six other chefs have been at the top for some time: Tanja Grandits (Basel), Peter Knogl (Basel), Franck Giovannini (Crissier VD), Andreas Caminada (Fürstenau GR), Philippe Chevrier (Satigny GE) and Heiko Nieder (Zurich). GaultMillau boss Urs Heller: "I visited all the 19-point chefs again this year and was impressed. They are also excellent trainers, regularly flooding the country with new talent."

"Rising star of the year": Brändli, Koolen, Bedouet & Moresco 

The "GaultMillau Guide 2026" is a good year. This also applies to our "climbers of the year". Three chefs can look forward to a dream score of 18: At "7132 Silver", Marcel Koolen steps out of the shadow of his famous predecessors. At the "Ecco" Ascona, Reto Brändli scores highly straight away after his return from Berlin. Armel Bedouet ("L'Aparté" Geneva) is the rising star in French-speaking Switzerland. The high-flyer in Zurich is Dario Moresco; 17 points for his breathtaking, modern Italian cuisine!

Our "star abroad" is also a rising star in the industry: Cyril Bettschen from St. Gallen is operations manager at the "Bareiss" in Baiersbronn and cooks in the Black Forest together with his famous mentor Claus-Peter Lumpp.

"Discoveries of the year": Sträuli, Spring, Clément, Huber, Ghidoni 

GaultMillau wants to be an explorer, searching for new talents in the country. Our newcomers this time: Valentin Sträuli from "Igniv" Andermatt. Sascha Spring from the "Seepark" Thun. Monika Huber from the "Schlössli" Bottighofen TG. Kira Ghidoni from the "Osteria Bisnona" Contone TI. PP Clément from "Au Chasseur" Fribourg. Five young chefs who inspire. The fact that two women make it onto this list is no coincidence: female chefs are making their mark, and a striking number of female chefs are listed in the 2026 Guide for the first time.

Female Power! Stephanie Mittler, Charline Pichon, Evelyn Igl 

Three strong women also win three special prizes. Stephanie Mittler is sous chef at Silvio Germann's "Mammertsberg" in Freidorf TG and is responsible for inspiring desserts and friandises: "Patissier of the Year"! The young Frenchwoman Charline Pichon oversees one of the largest wine cellars in Switzerland (40,000 bottles!) in Crissier VD: "Sommelier of the Year". Evelyn Igl is Heiko Nieders' wife on the front line, runs the service at the "Dolder Grand" in Zurich with aplomb and is GaultMillau's "Host of the Year". Her brigade: 100 percent female!

"The Green Chef of the Year": Pascal Steffen 

You will search in vain for green toques in GaultMillau. For one simple reason: almost all the chefs listed in the guide treat nature with care, fight for first-class products and know their suppliers very well. Green and sustainable has become a matter of course in the scene. So we limit ourselves to green lighthouses and search for the "Green Chef of the Year" together with Bio Suisse. Award winner 2026: Pascal Steffen, 18-point chef and "vegetable whisperer" at the new "Roots" in Basel

Twelve new bosses in the 17-point league 

Twelve chefs also particularly caught the eye of the testers and now have a 17-point rating: the three Zurich hotel chefs Dario Moresco at the "Orsini" ("Rising Star of the Year"), Marco Ortolani at "La Réserve" and the Japanese chef Atsushi Hiraoka at the "Dolder Grand". James Baron at the "Säumerei am Inn" in La Punt Chamues-ch GR. Flavio Fermi at the "Ackermannshof" in Basel. Marc-Joshua Engel at the "Aux Trois Amis" in Schernelz BE. Tino Zimmermann at the "Stiva Veglia" in Schnaus GR. André Kneubühler at "The Omnia" in Zermatt. The "Chedi Twins" Dominik Sato and Fabio Toffolon, who are expanding their "Japanese at Gütsch" branch on the mountain. The new 17-point addresses in French-speaking Switzerland: "La Micheline" in Geneva, "Hotel des Horlogers" in Le Brassus VD, "Gerber Wyss" in Yverdon-les-Bains VD.

GaultMillau already presented two award plaques a few weeks ago: The "Badrutt's Palace" in St. Moritz is "Hotel of the Year" and the "Olympia" in Bern is "Pop of the Year".