SV serves up a traditional centenary menu
Traditional Swiss delicacies and decorated tables: the SV Group is celebrating its 100th anniversary this week – and ETH Zurich is not missing out.
“Züri-Gschnätzlets” (Zurich-style sliced veal), “G’hackets und Hörnli” (minced beef with pasta) or “Älpler Maggronen” (Swiss Alpine macaroni): if you are a fan of good, hearty, traditional Swiss fare, a glance at this week’s menu for the Mensa Polyterrasse is sure to make your mouth water. The catering company, the SV Group, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a special Swiss week in the cafeteria. Whether diners choose the soup of the day, “Menu 1”, the vegetarian options, the special menu or the “Best of” selection, they will certainly be served some regional and national classics.
“The tables will be decorated with special anniversary tablecloths and confetti,” says Fabian Frei from the SV Group. “There will be a long table where everyone – students, members of ETH Zurich or SV staff – can sit and eat. We want to celebrate with our guests.” On Thursday guests will receive a little gift for dessert.
A special centenary menu will be served in the Dozentenfoyer restaurant, too. “All week we’ll be serving up the kind of food people enjoyed a hundred years ago,” reveals restaurant manager Oliver Hochstrasser. The plan for the week features dishes such as “Blätterteigpastetli” (vol-au-vents), Chinese cabbage roulade and stew – along with a few surprising sweet delicacies. On Tuesday, there will be an extra special menu.
Healthy food for soldiers
The SV Group was established in 1914 under the name “Schweizer Verband Soldatenwohl” (“Swiss soldiers’ welfare association”) and was originally managed by Else Züblin-Spiller. Her aim was to provide inexpensive and healthy food for soldiers at alcohol-free soldiers’ canteens.
From then on the business grew steadily and Switzerland’s first staff restaurant was opened at the Bühler engineering works in Uzwil in as early as 1918. This was the first factory canteen to be run by an independent service provider. Nowadays the SV Group operates 544 catering facilities in Switzerland, Germany and Austria and cooks 120 million dishes a year. It runs twelve food outlets at ETH Zurich.