In Rickenbach, near Schwyz, a little miracle of haute cuisine has taken place virtually overnight. At the heart of it all is likeable 29-year-old Dominik Hartmann, who has caused quite a stir with his restaurant Magdalena.
Nothing short of a miracle has taken place in a modern housing development in Rickenbach, near Schwyz. Between the two lockdowns, Dominik Hartmann, who is just 29 years old, his wife Adriana and friend Marco Appert opened up the restaurant Magdalena, which has been causing quite a stir in gourmet circles ever since.
Hartmann was awarded 15 points by GaultMillau for Discovery of the Year, then the Michelin Guide awarded the restaurant two Michelin stars, which is a rare feat even on an international scale. But the Magdalena isn’t your typical gourmet restaurant. While guests are enjoying views of the Rigi, the town of Schwyz and Lake Lauerz through the floor-to-ceiling windows, they are served a predominantly vegetarian menu.
The fact that he shot up through the ranks so quickly came as quite a surprise for the reserved and amiable Dominik Hartmann: “To begin with, I just wanted to cook. When we started in 2020, we were fresh and motivated, but then we quickly realised what our goals and capabilities were”, he says. Hartmann, a trained pastry chef and confectioner, added a cooking apprenticeship to his first training course and then refined his technical skills under Andreas Caminada and Fabian Fuchs.