National Heroes – Anton
No, NOT that one. This is a food column, remember?
I have to say that until I read an article in the most recent Noble Rot magazine, I had no idea that Anton Mosimann was still alive and chopping. Truth be told he had slipped out of my memory. Many of you may not even have heard of him. Nearly four decades have passed since he moved out of the public domain, leaving The Dorchester in 1988. But we're getting ahead of ourselves.
For Anton I have to set aside my natural antipathy for all things Swiss. Since I also admire Roger Federer, I'll justify this by iterating that Tom's Food! will always admire people of genius. Born in 1947 into a family of hoteliers and restaurateurs, he immediately embraced the business. Apprenticed at 15 he was soon working at hotels in Switzerland and beyond, including Rome and Montreal. I remember reading an interview with him in the 1970s after he had been part of the Swiss team at Expo '70 in Osaka. He described the impression which Japanese food had made on him. Being realistic, how many Europeans knew anything at all about Japanese food in that decade?
Like many fine chefs of that era he was much influenced by Michel Guérard's cuisine minceur. That and his Japanese influences lead him to develop his own style which he called Cuisine Naturelle, eschewing the use of oil, butter, cream or alcohol. In 1975 aged just 28 he became head chef at London's Dorchester Hotel. To consider how revolutionary his ideas were, estimates suggest that fierce rival Le Gavroche could be going through up to 25 litres of cream per day.
Mosimann earned two Michelin stars for the Dorchester. At a time when most grand kitchens were notorious for their boiling point atmospheres, his quiet, dignified efficiency seemed to rub off on those around him. Despite his long and illustrious list of clients (if you include royalty and film stars in that definition) he seemed to have retained a degree of humility unusual for chefs at that level. I recall a BBC Food and Drink programme where he set off on a train to Sheffield, accompanied only by his knives, to have lunch with lorry driver John Wilcock and family. Wilcock was then invited back to the Dorchester to cook one of Anton's signature dishes.
I ate at The Dorchester once in his day. Superb is almost the only memory. The other is his signature take on bread and butter pudding, transforming that stodgy staple into a thing of lightness and beauty. (How he did this without butter I know not.) In 1988 he left to establish Mosimann's, a private dining club in London now run by his sons. In her article, Marina O'Loughlin raved about the food, which still follows the founder's ethos.
NOT HIM
He has won over 50 gold medals at international competitions. In addition to the OBE and Depute Lieutenantship of Greater London, he has received awards in France, Belgium and Germany. In his native Switzerland they have even created a museum dedicated to him, The Mosimann Collection of Culinary Heritage.
Much as I respect them, I'm not sure that Messrs Robuchon, Roux or Ramsay will ever reach such exalted heights. And while we do love Mr Du Beke as well, for this column there's only one Anton.