Chef
Sven Wassmer
Chef, Memories at Grand Resort Bad Ragaz
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- Vals, Switzerland
i. Biography
“The longer I cook, the more I leave out.” In Sven Wassmer’s work at Memories in Bad Ragaz, Switzerland, that sentence functions as a working rule for Contemporary Alpine cuisine: reduction before ornament, line before abundance, presence before accumulation. The register depends on placing less on the plate so that a potato, a fish, fir, preservation, or dairy carries more of the load. Contemporary Alpine minimalism, as practiced from Fricktal by Wassmer, is built on innovation, seasonality, and attention to the micro-seasons of the Alps. The cuisine tracks narrow mountain shifts: brief growth, preservation as necessity and technique, and ingredients shaped by altitude, weather, and time. The Alpine reference is not decorative; it is compressed into fewer, more exact gestures.
The Path
Training at Grand Resort Bad Ragaz gave Sven Wassmer a foundation in precision, timing, structure, and control. In this kind of cooking, early discipline matters: sparse plates leave little cover for loose technique. Refinement and regional identity were part of the working context when Wassmer worked under Andreas Caminada at Schloss Schauenstein. The later Head Chef role at 7132 Silver in Vals, Switzerland, sharpened a language that was Alpine in spirit, contemporary in form, and increasingly committed to subtraction as a means of expression. Sven Wassmer Memories, where Sven is Head Chef since 2019, carries a title that points to recollection rather than sentiment. Mountain references are not reproduced whole; they are edited into spare, clear forms.
The Practice Today
The restaurant’s language is bold but sparse: Swiss alpine references, seasonal produce, fermentation, preservation, dairy, mountain ingredients, and visual minimalism. The construction gives each element space, with attention directed toward texture, temperature, freshness, depth, and the way preserved notes sit against cleaner ones. Fermentation and preservation operate as part of the Alpine logic rather than as surface technique. They extend seasonality beyond the brief peak and return ingredients with altered character. Dairy supplies richness and familiarity; mountain ingredients bring aromatic lift; the minimal visual field keeps the work legible rather than spectacular. In Wassmer’s cooking, flavor can carry force while the plate remains controlled. The signatures put that method into concrete form. A refined take on raclette uses confit mountain potatoes in brown butter with Gruyère and truffle to concentrate warmth, fat, earth, and cheese. Pike perch with preserved lemon and fermented Jerusalem artichoke sets clean freshwater character against brightness and depth. Char with burnt crème and fir brings smoke, resin, and cream into a restrained mountain register.
Career - Head Chef — Sven Wassmer Memories, Bad Ragaz, Switzerland (2019–present) - Worked under Andreas Caminada — Schloss Schauenstein - Head Chef — 7132 Silver, Vals, Switzerland Education: Grand Resort Bad Ragaz
Signature
Signature dishes include Char with burnt crème and fir.
Honors
Sven Wassmer has received MICHELIN Guide Switzerland: Three MICHELIN stars for Memories (2022). Sven's honors include Three MICHELIN stars for Sven Wassmer Memories (2022) and Two MICHELIN stars for 7132 Silver under Sven Wassmer's tutelage (2017). The recognition sits with a body of work built on focus, restraint, and the disciplined use of absence.
FAQ What does Sven Wassmer currently do? Sven Wassmer is chef at Memories — Modern Swiss. Where did Sven Wassmer train or study? Sven Wassmer trained at Grand Resort Bad Ragaz. What recognition has Sven Wassmer received? Three MICHELIN stars for Sven Wassmer Memories (2022).
