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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE22 July 2015LEGENDARY DINING INSTITUTION MARKS A MOMENTOUS MILESTONE Chesa, The Peninsula’s Iconic Swiss Restaurant, Celebrates its 50th AnniversaryOne of Hong Kong’s most cherished and long-standing dining institutions, Chesa at The Peninsula marks its 50th anniversary this August in classic Swiss style with a special menu and a traditional contest. The much-loved eatery – famed for its inviting alpine lodge décor and hearty yet refined cuisine – remains a firm favourite among locals and visitors alike since it opened in 1965.A venue rich in history and tradition, Chesa’s origins stretch back to 1963, when The Peninsula collaborated with Switzerland’s then national carrier Swissair on an extravagant food promotion that took up most of the first floor of the hotel and featured two female yodelers specially flown in for the occasion. Booked out days in advance, the runaway success of the promotion prompted The Peninsula’s General Manager at the time, Mr Peter Gautschi, who was himself from Switzerland, to propose opening a permanent Swiss restaurant in the space formerly occupied by the hotel’s Bamboo Bar. And thus, Chesa was born, opening on 27 August 1965.To celebrate the ensuing half-century of proud traditions and culinary excellence, The Peninsula’s Swiss-born Group Executive Chef Florian Trento has collaborated with Chef de Cuisine Lo Wing Keung to create a special menu that takes guests on a gastronomic trip down memory lane. Priced at HK$ 680* per person, with an optional wine-pairing menu available for an additional HK$ 400*, the 50th Anniversary Menu features creations that were inspired by dishes available at Chesa when the restaurant first opened its doors, and will be available from 27 August to 31 October 2015. A yodeler, who also plays the Swiss accordion, will be enriching the celebratory ambiance at Chesa with traditional tunes from 27 to 30 August.*subject to 10% service charge - more -LEGENDARY DINING INSTITUTION MARKS A MOMENTOUS MILESTONE – 2Chesa, The Peninsula’s Iconic Swiss Restaurant, Celebrates its 50th Anniversary The menu begins with a classic Swiss-style meat, duck liver and morel p?té with Waldorf salad and Cumberland sauce, followed by beef consommé with a hint of sherry and egg-custard diamonds. For the main course, guests then have a choice between poached pike perch fillet with herb sauce, buttered potatoes and a puff-pastry fish, or veal medallions with mushroom sauce on sp?tzli, gratinated with Emmental cheese. Dessert is the indulgent Ballon Chesa – schnapps-marinated fresh berries, raspberry yoghurt and sherbet – rounded off by a cup of Peninsula tea or mocha. To add an extra touch of Swiss hospitality, the serving staff at Chesa will be dressed in traditional edelweiss shirts.To further commemorate the occasion, Chesa is inviting guests to compete in a contest based on an old tradition from the Appenzell?region of northeast Switzerland. From 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm and from 9:00 pm to 10:00 pm every day from 28 August to 28 September, diners at the restaurant will be offered the chance to take the Talerschwingen Challenge, which involves spinning a coin in a distinctive Swiss bowl for as long as possible. Anyone who manages to start the coin whirling within eight attempts will win a special treat for their entire table, and the top five challengers who record the longest spins will be announced on The Peninsula’s Facebook page each week. At the end of the four weeks, the overall champion of the Talerschwingen Challenge will walk away with a pair of round-trip tickets to Switzerland on SWISS International Air Lines.Says Ms Rainy Chan, Regional Vice President, The Peninsula Hotels and General Manager, The Peninsula Hong Kong: “We are very lucky at The Peninsula to have so many wonderful time-honoured institutions, and Chesa is certainly one of our most treasured. In a city where restaurants often come and go in the blink of an eye, 50 years of continuous success is an incredible achievement, and it is a real pleasure to see so many loyal guests returning to the restaurant again and again. Here’s to the next 50 years!”- more -LEGENDARY DINING INSTITUTION MARKS A MOMENTOUS MILESTONE – 3Chesa, The Peninsula’s Iconic Swiss Restaurant, Celebrates its 50th Anniversary Group Executive Chef Florian Trento says: “Being from Switzerland, I am particularly proud that The Peninsula has such a renowned Swiss restaurant as Chesa. The fact that the restaurant has remained popular for 50 years is testament to not only the authenticity of the experience but also the tremendous care and attention to detail that goes into every dish. This is something we have tried to highlight with the 50th Anniversary Menu, which I am sure will delight regulars and newcomers in equal measure.”Meaning “house” or “inn” in Romansch – Switzerland’s fourth official language after German, French and Italian – ‘chesa’ is a common name for restaurants in Switzerland. And though this ‘chesa’ is a long way from its home country, it was a perfect fit for The Peninsula when it opened in August 1965 as the hotel’s staff at the time included as many as 17 Swiss managers and chefs. The Peninsula also played host to what was then the Swissair crew between 1958 and 1969, and the hotel’s kitchens handled their in-flight catering from 1958 to 1968. With such a strong national presence, nothing less than a wholly authentic Swiss dining experience would do, and the hotel’s management went to great lengths to ensure that Chesa was as Swiss as Swiss could be.The Food & Beverage Manager at the time, Mr Bruno Dedual, had been an apprentice at top Swiss hotel and restaurant Chesa Grischuna, in Klosters, and so a link was forged between the two hotels. Among other things, Chesa Grischuna’s manager gave The Peninsula permission to reproduce various items of furniture, including the heavy wooden door that offers guests their first sight of Chesa.- more -LEGENDARY DINING INSTITUTION MARKS A MOMENTOUS MILESTONE – 4Chesa, The Peninsula’s Iconic Swiss Restaurant, Celebrates its 50th Anniversary To create the restaurant’s authentic and enduring interior, Mr Peter Gautschi and designer Mr Dexter Yeh travelled to Switzerland to scour the country’s finest antique shops for traditional curios and unique items. These included a perpetual clock with one hand; a rustic implement for grinding poppy seeds that the Swiss used to extract oil for cooking; a painted wooden wedding chest that dates back to 1723 and is inscribed with the initials of the bride and groom; and a collection of pewter spoons and wooden wine-casks that Gautschi and Yeh stumbled upon in the basement of a restaurant in Zurich. Shipped back to Hong Kong and carefully installed in Chesa, these pieces supplied the perfect finishing touches to the restaurant’s décor of knotted pine beams, wood paneling and textured plaster – a style that is typical of the houses found in Grisons in eastern Switzerland. To preserve the rustic feel, the wooden ceiling was specially designed to disguise the air-conditioning vents, while the Canadian pine used in the wall panels was blackened with blowtorches to give them a vintage feel.Originally sporting a wooden floor, as was the tradition in Switzerland, Chesa soon switched to carpets to minimise noise. In true Peninsula style, the design was dreamed up by a 16-year old, talented pageboy from the F&B office called Ah Kong after he was given a book on Switzerland by Dedual for inspiration. Based on a traditional Swiss tile design and woven by Tai Ping Carpets, the design is retained to this day.Eagle-eyed guests may also have spotted two quotes displayed on the restaurant’s walls in Swiss German. The first, which is from Chesa Grischuna, reads: “A slice of air-dried beef drying in the Maloya wind has a taste like a kiss from a Bündner child.” The second, which is part of a poem, comes from the renowned Chesa Veglia restaurant in St Moritz and translates as: “A juicy sausage and a glass of Veltliner wine – not even a pretty girl can keep me from this.” - more –LEGENDARY DINING INSTITUTION MARKS A MOMENTOUS MILESTONE – 5Chesa, The Peninsula’s Iconic Swiss Restaurant, Celebrates its 50th Anniversary Thanks to its enduring popularity, and in keeping with the wishes of its loyal clientele, the restaurant has changed little since those early days, proudly retaining its rustic, cosy feel. Indeed, with the exception of the carpets, which are replaced periodically due to wear and tear, and the walls, which are repainted regularly, the décor has not changed in half a century, making Chesa both a time capsule from a beloved bygone age and a true Hong Kong classic.Chesa InteriorBeef consommé with a hint of sherry and egg-custard diamondsPoached pike perch fillet with a herb sauce, buttered potatoes and a puff-pastry fishSchnapps-marinated fresh berries, raspberry yoghurt and sherbet- more -LEGENDARY DINING INSTITUTION MARKS A MOMENTOUS MILESTONE – 6Chesa, The Peninsula’s Iconic Swiss Restaurant, Celebrates its 50th Anniversary * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *About The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited (HSH) Incorporated in 1866 and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (00045), The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited is the holding company of a Group which is engaged in the ownership, development, and management of prestigious hotels and commercial and residential properties in key locations in Asia, the United States and Europe, as well as the provision of tourism and leisure, club management and other services. The Peninsula Hotels portfolio comprises The Peninsula Hong Kong, The Peninsula Shanghai, The Peninsula Beijing, The Peninsula Tokyo, The Peninsula Bangkok, The Peninsula Manila, The Peninsula New York, The Peninsula Chicago, The Peninsula Beverly Hills, and The Peninsula Paris. Projects under development include The Peninsula London and The Peninsula Yangon. The property portfolio of the Group includes The Repulse Bay Complex, The Peak Tower and St. John’s Building in Hong Kong; The Landmark in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; 1-5 Grosvenor Place in London, UK, and 21 avenue Kléber in Paris, France. The clubs and services portfolio of the Group includes The Peak Tram in Hong Kong; Thai Country Club in Bangkok, Thailand; Quail Lodge & Golf Club in Carmel, California; Peninsula Clubs and Consultancy Services, Peninsula Merchandising, and Tai Pan Laundry in Hong Kong. ?For further information, please contact: Ms Winvy LungDirector of Public RelationsThe Peninsula Hong KongSalisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong KongTelephone: +852 2696 6608Fax: +852 2696 6633E-mail: winvylung@ Website: Visit The Peninsula Hotels’ new News Room at – press releases, images, broadcast-quality video, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and more. ................
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