Martin Dalsass named Swiss cook of the year

ZURICH, Switzerland (Reuters) -- The prestigious GaultMillau Guide on Monday named Lugano's Martin Dalsass cook of the year for Switzerland, praising his virtuosity in the use of olive oil.

Dalsass, 44, works in Ristorante Santabbondio in Lugano-Sorengo and takes the title from Hans-Peter Hussong of Wirtschaft zum Wiesengrund in Uetikon am See near Zurich.

Dalsass, who hails from South Tirol in Austria, has been running Santabbondio with his wife Lorena for the past 15 years. Among his specialities are freshly caught trout, pasta and risotto as well as many poultry dishes.

The GaultMillau tasters gave Dalsass 18 out of 20 points. There are seven restaurants in Switzerland that obtained 19 points, five of them in the French-speaking west of the country.

A total of 747 restaurants were appraised in the guide.

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