Logistical Challenge. As if Rolf Fliegauf and his crew did­n’t have enough work alre­a­dy. The gastro­no­my sec­tor is boo­ming, and „Ecco“ at Giardino in Ascona is always ful­ly boo­ked. Then comes a deli­very from deli­ca­cy dea­ler Bianchi that is tru­ly some­thing spe­cial: a 90-kilo­gram hali­but! „That’s quite a pie­ce,“ says Fliegauf, groa­ning. Because even befo­re coo­king, logi­sti­cal chal­lenges ari­se: How does the thing even get into the kit­chen? „It won’t fit in any ele­va­tor.“ The enti­re crew has to pitch in.

Large image abo­ve: Marvin Sarb, Dimitriy Zabasin, Rolf Fliegauf, Dominik Falk, Lukas Bader and Simon Unterholzner from left.

From the North Sea to Ticino. The fish, which has both eyes on the same side of its body, comes from the North Sea and was caught off the south coast of Norway. A hali­but in its­elf is not unusu­al in kit­chens of this cali­ber. „But nor­mal­ly, the­se fish weigh around 14 kilo­grams,“ explains Fliegauf. Such a deep-sea mon­ster can­not be orde­red. The Bianchi com­pa­ny acqui­red the fish at an auc­tion in Hanstholm, Denmark. „In the sum­mer months, such giant spe­ci­mens of white hali­but appear occa­sio­nal­ly,“ explains Luca Bianchi, co-mana­ging direc­tor at the deli­ca­cy dea­ler. „But 90 kilo­grams is an abso­lu­te record. We had to sei­ze the opportunity.“

Fliegauf also had to sei­ze the oppor­tu­ni­ty: „I recei­ved the offer and a pho­to from Bianchi and did­n’t have to think long.“ Bianchi tur­ned to the 18-point chef and „Rising Star of the Year 2020,“ becau­se not ever­yo­ne can pro­cess such a fish. And for Fliegauf, it is also a chall­enge. „I’ve never done anything on this sca­le befo­re. It’s quite a feat of strength.“ Just one cheek of the fish is lar­ger than Fliegauf’s hand. But with a bit of team­work – Chef de Service Jenny Fliegauf cap­tures ever­ything with her came­ra – they mana­ge to dis­sect the animal.

Gentle coo­king. What comes next is rela­tively simp­le for the crew. „We cook the fish very gent­ly at a low tem­pe­ra­tu­re in the Holdomat and pan-fry it in brown but­ter. We want to high­light the fish’s natu­ral fla­vor.“ It is ser­ved with a sum­me­ry radish salad with smo­ked eel. However, only a few guests will enjoy this uni­que fish. It will last for a maxi­mum of three evenings; the hali­but can­not be kept lon­ger. And what is not con­su­med remains for the Giardino employees.

Giardino Ascona
Ecco Ascona
Via del Segnale 10
6612 Ascona