In search of the absolute best

Fabian Fuchs has been head chef at “EquiTable” in Zurich for eight years. With a small team, compromise is inevitable, but never when it comes to the quality of the organic vegetables he uses.

Excellence comes in many shapes and forms, but one thing is constant: the quest to achieve the best possible result – whatever the discipline and regardless of the starting point. For young Zurich chef Fabian Fuchs, for example, it means never compromising in his search for the best products.

In his restaurant “EquiTable” (17 GaultMillau points, 1 Michelin star) the 34-year-old focuses specifically on only serving vegetables that are grown organically. “I only want to use the best carrots and I can tell the difference now between vegetables that come from organic farms and those that I get from the supermarket if I ever pop in for ingredients to make a purée for my baby son,” says Fuchs.

For Fabian Fuchs, making the effort to source his raw materials from the fields and vegetable plots goes hand in hand with having well-structured processes in a restaurant kitchen where only two chefs work together in a very small space. “When that’s the situation, the team can’t avoid making some compromises. But if we start with uncompromisingly good basic products, then we’re heading in the right direction from the very start. If I have to, I can serve a fresh crisp radish raw and it will still taste great,” explains Fuchs.

In his puristic kitchen which is pared down to the very basics, excellent products save him lots of work because they don’t need any refining to look great. That’s why Fabian Fuchs has chosen to rely on partners and producers who share his views on excellence. It is these values that strike a common chord with V-ZUG ambassador Fuchs, the Swiss kitchen appliance manufacturer and with farmers from the region. “With one of my vegetable suppliers I’m never quite sure how much I’m going to be getting, and of which product. That does sometimes make things a bit chaotic, but I can always rely on the quality.”

Whatever happens, Fuchs is the kind of person who knows how to improvise. Anyone who uses seasonal produce in their cooking will know it’s not worth creating menus a long way in advance, as that won’t make any difference to when the region’s first asparagus will be ready. “I go on gut feeling when I’m cooking, which is why things don’t taste the same each day, and I’m always making little changes,” says Fabian Fuchs of how he works. He says he likes to allow himself freedom when he’s cooking and not just rigidly follow recipes, even though that would make life easier for him. But the talented chef is convinced that when you’re on a search for excellence, for the best possible result, the easiest route will never be the one that leads to your objective.

More impressions in the video