Switzerland, 2 December 2016: The legendary Kulm Hotel St. Moritz (www.kulm.com) will launch the Kulm Country Club on 27 January 2017. The Country Club, which is the new incarnation of the hotel's historic ice pavilion following a £9 million refurbishment under the guidance of world-famous architect and St. Moritz resident Lord Foster, will feature an innovative restaurant concept with a stellar line-up of chefs from around the world taking up residence for up to four weeks on a constantly rotating basis – in other words, a permanent pop-up. 

In its first season, the Kulm Country Club will host Daniel Humm of New York's renowned Eleven Madison Square, GaultMillau Chef of the Year 2016 Nenad Mlinarevic of Park Hotel Vitznau and Argentine chef Mauro Colagreco of the two-Michelin star restaurant Mirazur in Menton. 

Swiss Daniel Humm, one of the most feted chefs in the world, will launch the Kulm Country Club in late January and remain in residence for a week as part of the St. Moritz Gourmet Festival (http://www.stmoritz-gourmetfestival.ch/en), which takes place from 30 January to 3 February. Since 2012, Eleven Madison Square has continuously held three Michelin stars and is currently ranked third in the “World's 50 Best Restaurants” list. His style of cooking reflects his Swiss origins, while also incorporating American influences: “Milk and honey”, “Humm dog with truffle mayonnaise and Gruyère cheese” and “Roast duck marinated in lavender and honey” are just a few of Humm's cult classics.

Nenad Mlinarevic will take over from Humm and be in situ for three weeks from 4 to 26 February. Mlinarevic and his team from Restaurant Focus (2 stars Michelin, 18 GaultMillau points) at Park Hotel Vitznau will showcase a completely different, bistro-inspired menu using exclusively Swiss products. Dishes will include braised meat and an Alpine version of steamed buns with a savoury filling. Rather than a gourmet menu, these dishes will be served as they are at home ready for sharing among family and friends. Explains Mlinarevic, “We will cook just the way I like eating at home –using accessible, tasty ingredients without any garnish but prepared with a great deal of love – a mix between street food and bistro classics.”  

Mauro Colagreco will complete the opening line-up at the Kulm Country Club, taking over the restaurant for the entire month of March. Colagreco, chef and owner at Mirazur, won his second Michelin star in 2012 and the restaurant is currently ranked number six in the San Pellegrino list of World's 50 Best Restaurants. His food philosophy is all about freshness, simplicity, balance of colour and bringing out the true flavour of the ingredients. His cuisine reflects his South American roots, but is also – with the Italian border just 30 metres from Mirazur's French front door - a marriage of the taste and flavours of the very best of these two Mediterranean countries. One of his star ingredients is lemon, which makes anchovy fillets set on fried anchovy skeletons pop and sing, while a dish Colagreco simply calls “Green” combines garden peas, fennel and even kiwi fruit in a tribute to freshness. His signature dish, however, is oyster with tapioca, shallot cream and pear – a modern classic in the making.

The Kulm Country Club restaurant will be open daily apart from Mondays, from 3.00 pm till midnight. Reservations can be made by calling +41 81 836 8260 or by emailing countryclub@kulm.com.

Continuing the pop-up theme, inside the Kulm Hotel St. Moritz itself, the Sunny Bar will play host to established Peruvian chef Claudia Canessa, who is best known for her work at Fallen Angel in Cusco and for being part of the Ceviche team that kickstarted the Peruvian food trend in the UK.  Canessa focuses on seafood and vegetables, producing Peruvian classics such as hot and cold ceviche bites, as well as the Jalea Bun (a street food comprising deep fried seafood with avocado puree in a bun). She also creates a wide range of dishes suitable for vegans and vegetarians, such as Esparrgos (a grill favourite with asparagus, miso citrus marinade and amarilo aioli) and Artichoke & Asparagus Quinotto (made from quinoa, artichoke and chia).

The Sunny Bar restaurant will be open for the entire winter season, every evening from 7pm to 11pm. Reservations can be made by calling +41 81 836 8206 or by emailing fb@kulm.com.

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NOTES FOR EDITORS

Kulm Hotel St. Moritz (www.kulm.com) was the first hotel to be built in St. Moritz. The Kulm Hotel opened its doors in 1856 and immediately became popular for summer spa and painting holidays, particularly among the British who comprised around 75% of the hotel guests. The owner of the Kulm Hotel, Johannes Badrutt, initiated winter holidays to St. Moritz from 1864 and, as a result, the hotel, resort and Switzerland itself celebrated 150 years of winter tourism in the 2014/15 season.

Since the 19th century, the Kulm Hotel has changed considerably through expansion and renovation, but the fabulous location at the heart of St. Moritz with views over the Lake remains the same. A member of The Leading Hotels of the World, Kulm Hotel St. Moritz has 172 rooms, five restaurants (offering formal dining, French fine dining – the Gourmet-Restaurant the K has 16 GaultMillau points, the Italian Pizzeria with 13 GaultMillau points, local Engadine specialities and Japanese), the extensive  Kulm Spa St. Moritz (with a 20 m indoor pool with underwater music, various saunas and steam room, a Jacuzzi, a fully-equipped gym and treatment rooms, all with stunning views over Lake St. Moritz) and six conference rooms, with capacities ranging from 50 to 500 people.

Entertainment and sports facilities include the 9-hole Kulm Golf Course St. Moritz (the oldest golf course in the country), three tennis courts, a natural ice rink, a curling field and the Marmotta Kids' Club. The Kulm Hotel St. Moritz is inextricably linked to the Cresta Run, which was built within the hotel's grounds in 1891. To this day, tobogganing pilots congregate in the Kulm's Sunny Bar, which is Switzerland's oldest sports bar; the walls of the bar are lined with trophies and images of famous people who have hurled themselves down the infamous ice track.

Recent awards for the Kulm Hotel St. Moritz include being named best mountain hotel in Switzerland at the Connoisseur Circle Awards, Switzerland's third Top Luxury Hotel in the 2016 TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice® awards, as well as fifth place in the hotels worldwide recognised for best service category. This year, the Kulm was also named sixth best hotel in Switzerland by HolidayCheck and one of the most popular hotels worldwide; Bilanz Hotel-Rating 2016 ranked it eighth out of the 50 best holiday hotels in Switzerland. In 2015, the Kulm secured a top ten place in the “Friendliest Luxury Hotel” category at the Switzerland Tourism PRIX BIENVENU awards, entered the TripAdvisor Hall of Fame for excellence in hospitality for consistently achieving great traveller reviews on TripAdvisor, was named 5th best hotel in Switzerland by SonntagsZeitung's hotel critic Karl Wild and was named the best five-star hotel in St. Moritz for wellness, active holidays and luxury travel by HolidayCheck; the hotel's Gourmet-Restaurant the K also won 16 GaultMillau points. In 2014, the Kulm Hotel St. Moritz was included in a list of the top ten best holiday hotels in Switzerland compiled by renowned Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung and the top ten most welcoming luxury hotels in the country list put together by Switzerland Tourism.

In May 2016, Jenny and Heinz E. Hunkeler of the Kulm Hotel St. Moritz were named “Hoteliers of the Year 2016” by leading Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung, which publishes annual Hotel Rating Awards, the only honours sanctioned by Switzerland Tourism, the national tourist office. In July 2016, Nadine Böning-Soares received the title of “Spa Manager of the year” from Bilanz Hotel-Rating 2016.

Both the Kulm Hotel St. Moritz and its sister property Grand Hotel Kronenhof are owned by the Niarchos family.

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