Exotic recipes amidst the economic crisis of the late 2000s

• Book: The Chef
• Location: St Moritz, Zurich
• Author: Martin Suter

In many ways this is a very interesting and informative book. Maravan is a Sri Lankan who has teamed up with Andrea in Zurich and together they set up a company that specialises in catering for Ayurvedic Molecular Cuisine for couples who want revamp their lovemaking. There is a great deal of detail of the preparation of food, and I defy anyone not to salivate when reading this book. Zurich certainly features a little, though not hugely evocative and a short outing to St Moritz captures the feel and quiet of a winter wonderland.
Generally I felt this book was structured like a recipe, a whole load of components (that is to say, ingredients) thrown into a melting pot – the Sri Lankan situation, arms dealing, sex industry, cooking – do they create a dish to savour at the end? Mixed, I would say, though the concept of the whole storyline is really inspired and is set against real events, which makes it feel very real.
Now, whether it is the original writing in German or the translation I do not know but there are some bloomers that made me, as the reader think I was going dotty – for example this sentence made no sense to me, I think the wrong word was used: “In the bar of the Imperial Hotel four men were sitting having drinks. The pianist was playing golden oldies, discreetly, but loud enough to allow to allow private conversation to take place at the tables”… and the prose can at times feel quite wooden. However, if you like Switzerland and you are into cooking then this is definitely a novel for you.

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