On October 8th, the French restaurant guide GaultMillau announced Heiko Nieder as “Chef of the Year 2019” for his work at The Restaurant at Swiss hotel The Dolder Grand, where he has held the position of Chef of Fine Dining since the property reopened in 2008.
Heiko Nieder has garnered rave reviews from diners and critics alike for his menu, which serves fresh and innovative gourmet cuisine. Nieder’s menu also reflects his love for experimentation with unique dishes like Breton lobster with strawberries, beetroot, tarragon and mustard; and char with rape and chamomile.
Gault&Millau Editor-in-Chief Urs Heller praised Nieder’s culinary skills saying “Heiko Nieder has challenged, inspired, indulged and occasionally confused us diners at the Dolder for the past 10 years. With his meticulous, intelligent and harmonious cuisine, he has without a doubt earned our highest honour, which we are delighted to be able to present to him today.”
Heiko completed his chef’s training at the Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten in Hamburg, Germany. He then went on to work in restaurants such as Restaurant Le Canard in Hamburg, Hotel Zur Traube in Grevenbroich and Restaurant Vau in Berlin. He also ran L’Orquivit in Bonn for five years before joining the team at The Dolder Grand.
Throughout his career, Heiko has also received several awards including the title of “Discovery of the Year” by Gault&Millau in 2003 for his culinary creations, “Hotel Chef of the Year” by Bilanz and “Best German Chef Abroad” by Gault&Millau Germany. He was awarded his first Michelin star in 2004 and by 2006 had already received 17 Gault&Millau points. In 2008, he joined the team at The Dolder Grand to open The Restaurant, which was awarded 17 Gault&Millau points and one Michelin star that same year. Two years later it earned its second Michelin star and 18th Gault&Millau point under Heiko. In 2014, The Dolder Grand even launched The Epicure, a gourmet culinary festival inspired by Heiko Neider that is now held every fall.
