{"id":31189,"date":"2025-10-08T15:43:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T13:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/giardinohotels.ch\/press\/award-for-reto-braendli-18-gaultmillau-points-rising-star-of-the-year-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T15:26:42","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T14:26:42","slug":"award-for-reto-braendli-18-gaultmillau-points-rising-star-of-the-year-2026","status":"publish","type":"press","link":"https:\/\/giardinohotels.ch\/en\/press\/award-for-reto-braendli-18-gaultmillau-points-rising-star-of-the-year-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Award for Reto Br\u00e4ndli: 18 GaultMillau points & “Rising star of the year 2026”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ascona, October 8, 2025 <\/strong>– Great joy at the Hotel Giardino Ascona: Reto Br\u00e4ndli<\/strong>, head chef of the fine dining restaurant Ecco Ascona<\/strong>, has been awarded 18 points<\/strong> by the renowned restaurant guide GaultMillau<\/strong> and at the same time named “Rising Star of the Year 2026”<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

With this double accolade, Br\u00e4ndli is now one of the most exciting talents in top Swiss gastronomy. His cuisine stands for contemporary haute cuisine<\/strong>, characterized by precision<\/strong>, creativity<\/strong> and the uncompromising claim that product quality is paramount <\/strong>– only the best ingredients are used. <\/p>\n\n

“This award is great recognition for the work of our entire team,” says Reto Br\u00e4ndli<\/strong>. “We want to surprise our guests with pure, clear flavors and evoke emotions on the plate – that’s what drives us every day.” <\/p>\n\n

The Ecco concept<\/strong>, originally shaped by Michelin-starred chef Rolf Fliegauf<\/strong>, has stood for refined flavor cuisine at the highest level for years. Under Br\u00e4ndli’s management, Ecco Ascona has further developed its signature style – fresher, bolder and with a noticeable passion for perfection in every detail. <\/p>\n\n

Guests have the opportunity to experience Reto’s award-winning creations at the Ecco Ascona <\/strong>up to and including October 18, 2025<\/strong>. To celebrate this award, the Hotel Giardino Ascona<\/strong> is offering an exclusive special rate for overnight stays until October 19, 2025<\/strong>: Meet the Chef-Package<\/strong><\/a> <\/p>\n\n

From December 12, 2025<\/strong>, the Ecco team will move on to the wintry backdrop of St. Moritz<\/strong>:
At the Hotel Giardino Mountain<\/strong>, guests can enjoy Reto Br\u00e4ndli’s excellent cuisine until mid-March 2026<\/strong> – in a unique ambience of alpine elegance and culinary sophistication.<\/p>\n\n

About Reto Br\u00e4ndli<\/strong>
Born in Switzerland, Reto Br\u00e4ndli<\/strong> gained experience in some of the best kitchens in Europe before taking over the culinary management of Ecco Ascona in April 2025. His style combines technical skill with a fine sensory signature – inspired by nature, carried by lightness and elegance. <\/p>\n\n

About the Ecco Ascona and Ecco St. Moritz restaurants<\/strong>
The two Ecco restaurants<\/strong> in the Hotel Giardino Ascona<\/strong> and Hotel Giardino Mountain<\/strong> are among the leading fine dining addresses in Switzerland. The concept stands for creative aromatic cuisine, excellent service and incomparable moments of pleasure – in summer on Lake Maggiore, in winter in the Engadine mountains. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"categories":[1171,1168],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31189","press","type-press","status-publish","hentry","category-giardino-group","category-press"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"ase":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/giardinohotels.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press\/31189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/giardinohotels.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/giardinohotels.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giardinohotels.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/giardinohotels.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giardinohotels.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giardinohotels.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}