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ased on the quaint, snow-dusted jungle of evergreens climbing the walls. It’s a façade, it’s almost impossible to multi-sensory Peruvian feast – and has been guess the dining experience that fully-booked since launch. awaits at Ultima Gstaad. Set in a The pop-up is a relatively new concept postcard-perfect town in the Swiss in luxury hotels, but limited edition dining Alps, the hotel looks more like a experiences have been taking place for decades. Here to Stay gingerbread house than a five-star retreat. With Some believe the movement emerged out of the Bits ornate balconies and backdrop of spruce- supper clubs of the 1960s, while others point lined mountains, the chalet blends in perfectly to pioneering chefs like Los Angeles-based with its surroundings. Its restaurant, on the Ludo Lefebvre as having kicked off a wave of Following a surge in the popularity of blink-and- other hand, does not. In fact, it’s about as far modern takes through the 2000s. It came about you’ll-miss-them pop-up concepts, hotels have been from traditional Swiss as you can get. when freelance chefs broke free of the confines welcoming a different kind of temporary resident. For one month only, Ultima Gstaad’s fine- of traditional restaurant environments, and, dining restaurant has been transformed into a whether it was to save money or test out a tropical paradise thanks to a collaboration with new concept, cooks were taking to the streets Peruvian restaurant Coya – a brand with outposts and starting new empires. Empty warehouses, Words: Lucy Lovell • Photography: Xavier Giammattei (unless otherwise stated) in Dubai, London and Paris. The hotel’s polished friend’s bars and even living rooms were turned white plates have been swapped for emerald into temporary culinary delights. Pop-ups were green sharing platters, subtle background music built on the foundations of an edgy, exciting replaced by a DJ playing South American beats, dining movement, and it is a reputation that and neat bouquets of flowers swamped by a continues to this day. DINING

Luxury swiss boutique Ultima Gstaad welcomed Peruvian restaurant Coya to offer guests a culture- clash F&B experience

It prompts the question: just how well can “One or two Michelin Now, guests staying at competing hotels are this radical format fit into a luxury hotel setting? making dinner reservations at Ultima Gstaad, The makeover involves hosting anything from stars, that’s amazing, and the hotel’s own guests are dining in-house an elite to an entire restaurant team, but you go there only for up to three nights in a row. “It creates a inviting them to take over the and buzz,” Le Cossec smiles. “That’s very important floor operations. According to Simon Le Cossec, once. When you have for us. We are small but we want to show that General Manager at Ultima Gstaad, it can be a we always keep moving forward.” great success – if you’re willing to take a risk. pop-ups like this you The key to running a successful pop-up is “To be honest, at the beginning, we didn’t know can grab your guest with finding the right fit. It’s something hotels whether we would have success with Coya,” he around the world are searching for, with some admits. “Because in Gstaad sometimes it’s very something new.” finding successful partnerships that recur year traditional, very classic, and we injected a new SIMON LE COSSEC after year. Beachcomber Resorts & Hotels in energy.” He needn’t have worried; the weekend Mauritius, for example, have been hosting after launch Coya was already in high demand. events with Michelin-starred chefs from France Perhaps the success is down to Ultima and Italy for over two years, while Japanese chef Gstaad’s commitment to recreating the Coya Nobuyuki Matsuhisa partakes in an anticipated experience in impeccable detail. They flew in annual residency at Zürich’s Baur au Lac. the DJ from Monaco, shipped from Other hotels book events more impulsively, London and rented crockery from Geneva. The scouting out the rising stars of their local London-based restaurant chain brought in 25 of scenes. In this case, the venue becomes a testing its best team members from Mayfair and Dubai. ground for gastronomical talent, where there’s It might sound extravagant, but their knowledge a huge benefit for the chefs as well as the hotel. helped put slightly bewildered diners at ease, Take St. Martins Lane London for example. Its encouraging them to explore Coya’s flavour- source, no matter how hard the team tried. latest project is a three-month pop-up by chef packed menu. Crisp corn tortillas served with a “Coya wanted us to create their dishes perfectly, Gizzi Erskine, who is turning St. Martins Lane spicy guacamole that waiters crush at the table; so we cancelled those that we couldn’t find the Kitchen into The Nitery – a playful take on 20th sea bass ceviche dressed with crunchy choclo right ingredients,” he adds. century Parisian nightclubs, serving sumptuous corn and a hefty squeeze of lime; and arroz Despite some challenging logistics, it’s worth fusion food. nikkei, a homage to the Japanese-Peruvian it overall, assures Le Cossec. Ultima Gstaad can For Erskine, the chef residency provides a , made with Chilean sea bass. now compete with established luxury hotels in supportive space for restaurateurs to hone their And if the dishes to the exacting the area which benefit from a higher footfall and craft and concepts. This, in turn, paves the way standards of Coya’s chefs wasn’t difficult Michelin-starred credentials, but pop-ups are for them to set up new ventures in the future. enough, sourcing the ingredients was another just one of the ways that it can offer something She explains: “It’s no secret what an insanely major challenge. The Chilean sea bass, for unique. “I think when you go to the hotel you difficult landscape it is out there for burgeoning example, proved slippery getting hold of. “It want more than fine dining,” Le Cossec says. businesses of any kind. A pop-up can provide was not easy,” Le Cossec concedes. “We don’t “One or two Michelin stars, that’s amazing, a safe incubator to explore an idea before you have this fish, so we had to buy it in France and but you go there only once. When you have take the plunge of opening a permanent site.” then declare to customs that we had something pop-ups like this you can grab your guest with Moreover, pop-ups are a way to tap into new.” Some ingredients proved impossible to something new.” trends without permanently changing a core

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“A pop-up can provide a offering. London’s Henrietta Hotel recently so much a pop-up, it’s an exchange,” he noticed a surge in demand for negronis. Bosses concludes. “You could call it pop-up or a safe incubator to explore worked quickly to satiate London’s thirst and takeover, but you have to be creative.” an idea before you take launched the Experimental Negroni Club last Cros’ struggle with the word is indicative September. For one-month the property’s of just how much the trend has changed. the plunge of opening a mezzanine space was transformed via an Its origins are in disused buildings, but permanent site.” immersive light installation and a Campari- these residencies have since evolved into sponsored bar serving twists on the classic. a collaboration between restaurant, venue GIZZI ERSKINE But for Pierre-Charles Cros, co-founder and guest. Whether it’s waiting staff imbued of Henrietta Hotel’s parent company with an incredible knowledge of Peruvian Experimental Group, it’s not enough to simply ingredients or bartenders who can whip up the replicate trends. Customers are incredibly perfect negroni, there is a lasting impression discerning, he warns. “We try to push a little... in terms of knowledge, skills and reputation. to bring something a bit different. Everyone In this light, the pop-up looks less like a knows what the negroni is and we wanted to fleeting experiment and more like a cultural present them with other things that they can exchange. Far from being transitory, pop-ups drink it with.” and chef residencies could become a permanent In Cros’ mind, the term pop-up can be fixture on many more hotel calendars. The month-long Experimental restrictive. For him it’s a time-consuming, Negroni Club at London’s Henrietta Hotel served modern twists on the artistic endeavour, and sometimes the word classic cocktail just doesn’t do the event justice. “It’s not © Aron Klein

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