This year, the Hotel Eden Roc Ascona was named Switzerland’s best holiday hotel for the second time in a row – congratulations from the bottom of our hearts! For this year’s edition of SUMMERTIMES Ascona Locarno, we focussed on the excellent cuisine at the Hotel Eden Roc Ascona and, in addition to an interview with Simon Spiller, also interviewed the two top chefs Marco Campanella and Salvatore Frequente, who take the Eden Roc to the highest culinary level.
Text: Malin Müller
Pictures: Eden Roc

The Hotel Eden Roc has a varied and extensive catering offer: Restaurant Eden Roc, La Brezza, Marina and La Casetta. Who has overall responsibility here? Or is each restaurant managed independently?
We have a Director of Food and Beverage, Peter Angst, who is responsible for everything to do with the cuisine at the Hotel Eden Roc. The menus and dishes are created by the respective head chef. However, as part of the Tschuggen Collection, we also have certain guidelines, for example regarding the Moving Mountains dishes. Due to the philosophy, we offer plant-based dishes in all restaurants. The Eden Roc restaurant has a complete Moving Mountains menu. This is an important development that is expected by the guests, as there are more and more people who eat vegan. At the Marina Restaurant & Lounge, we have also received instructions that it should move in the direction of a beach club. I don’t get too involved here, we have such good, creative people and they should be able to realise their ideas.
But as Hotel Director, you are also involved when it comes to catering at the Hotel Eden Roc?
Of course, when it comes to tasting the new dishes, I’m there in all the kitchens. I’m a trained chef, so it interests me a lot and it’s a great topic.
How do the four restaurants differ from each other?
The Eden Roc restaurant serves traditional French cuisine. In addition to the à la carte menu, we have the flambées, where beef stroganoff, crêpes suzette and other dishes are classically flambéed and prepared at the table. At the Seehaus La Casetta, fish takes centre stage. La Brezza, with its 2 Michelin stars and 18 GaultMillau points, is our gourmet restaurant and in the Marina Restaurant & Lounge you can enjoy the beach club feeling. Our restaurants are very different and offer something for every taste. What the four restaurants have in common is that they all have a fantastic location and a unique view of Lake Maggiore.


Which restaurant welcomes the most external guests?
The Marina Restaurant & Lounge is most frequented by external guests. This is also due to the fact that the Marina Restaurant is very close to the Piazza and its fantastic location right on the lake. It is important to us that guests from outside also visit us. We don’t want to run a hotel that is completely closed, so it is important to us that we are also close to locals and people who are not staying at the Eden Roc.
In a hotel with a large catering offer, there are also changes in the kitchen from time to time. What are the biggest challenges when a chef leaves the restaurant and how can the restaurant maintain the standard?
There are two aspects. Firstly, the person must be able to fulfil the culinary requirements and creativity is needed. Secondly, you also need someone who can lead well. Finding this balance is not always easy and can be a challenge. We are very lucky to have Salvatore Frequente, Marco Campanella and Marco Vastarella. The three chefs are not only excellent cooks, but also understand how to lead a team. These are two important points. The kitchen is a part of the hotel where things can get very stressful. It needs leaders who can deal with this stress and also integrate the employees well.

Do you offer apprenticeships at the Hotel Eden Roc? What are the advantages of training staff in-house?
Yes, we have 10 apprentices at the hotel every year. It is important to me to be able to show young people that we are an attractive industry and that it is fantastic to work in the hotel industry. It is therefore very important to me that we train good people and that we are able to keep some of them on as employees after their apprenticeship. Apprentices are very valuable employees because they know the culture, the whole hotel and the guests and are perfect colleagues for us afterwards. Being able to guarantee high-quality training is very important to me.

Chef at La Brezza Restaurant

Executive Chef at the Hotel Eden Roc
Interview with the two top chefs from the Hotel Eden Roc:
Marco Campanella and Salvatore Frequente
Marco, in 2019 you were named «Discovery of the Year in Ticino» by Gault Millau. In the meantime, you have cooked your way to 2 Michelin stars and 18 Gault Millau points and are one of the best Swiss chefs. How does that feel?
Marco Campanella: These awards are of course a great honour for me, but also for the team. Without a fantastic team behind you, you are only half as strong. A special thank you therefore goes to my chefs and my service team.
You learnt from one of the best Swiss chefs: Andreas Caminada. What is the most important thing that Andreas Caminada has given you along the way?
Marco Campanella: He told me at the time that you would achieve your goals with patience and time. Step by step. The most important thing is the team – that’s why my motto every day is: «one band one sound».
What goals are you pursuing? Could you imagine opening your own restaurant one day?
Marco Campanella: Back then, it was my dream to open my own restaurant with my brother. Now I have to say that each of us has gone our own way and that’s a good thing at the moment. Of course, we are still very close and help each other.
Salvatore, you were already part of the Tschuggen Collection from 2009 to 2019. You were responsible for the reopening of the Marina restaurant and were head chef at La Brezza. In 2020, you moved to the Giardino Group. Only a short time later, you took over the position of head chef at the Maiensäss Hotel Guarda Val. What prompted you to return to the Hotel Eden Roc in 2023 last summer?
Salvatore Frequente: The timing was just perfect when the management of the Tschuggen Collection approached me. The position as Executive Chef at the Hotel Eden Roc in Ascona in summer and at the Carlton Hotel St. Moritz in winter always appealed to me. It’s very varied and you can live out your creativity. Implementing the new concept at the Grand Restaurant in St. Moritz was also a great challenge.
When you were at the Hotel Eden Roc from 2009 to 2019, you cooked for La Brezza, among others. How do you see the difference now as head chef at the Eden Roc restaurant compared to your previous role at La Brezza?
Salvatore Frequente: I like to think back to those times, but the two positions and the responsibility are different. The gourmet restaurant La Brezza is a jewel and the expectations of the guests are rightly very high. As head chef of the Eden Roc restaurant, I have to serve many outlets with several different menus. The big events, such as the Safari del Gusto, are very exciting. Now I have a bigger team in the kitchen and it’s a lot of fun to work with them.
«Don’t rush things, take a few extra minutes, because in the end it’s the result that counts. I also take this to heart at La Brezza.»
– Marco Campanella
In which of the two restaurants do you think you need to be more creative as a chef and why?
Salvatore Frequente: As a chef, creativity is in demand everywhere these days, whether you’re cooking in a restaurant or at home.
How do you think the way of cooking in general has changed over the last few years?
Marco Campanella: I’ve been cooking for 14 years. In my opinion, the cuisine has become much more reduced, clearer in flavour. It is focussed on using local products from the respective region. And there has also been a huge increase in vegan dishes and alternatives.
Salvatore Frequente: A lot has changed, but we are slowly getting back to basics, which of course suits me. I like simple things that are regional, fresh, homemade and organic. In line with our Moving Mountains philosophy, in harmony with nature, we only use products of the highest quality and, if possible, mainly from the region.
Where does your passion for cooking come from?
Salvatore Frequente: Hmm … I was born in Sicily! As a young boy, I used to eat cavatelli with aubergines and tomatoes with my family – I can still remember it very well. Just thinking about it, I can immediately taste the flavours and spices on my tongue.
Marco Campanella: From my parents. My parents ran an Italian restaurant on Lake Constance for 30 years. I used to run to my dad in the kitchen after kindergarten, stand on an upturned beer crate and help make pizzas at the big marble table. That was such a great time! With my dad in the kitchen, but also with my mum, who worked behind the counter. I have a close relationship with my family, not least with my brother, who is nine years older than me and always supports me. He is my role model. We both learnt an enormous amount from our parents. For example, I remember how my father used to prepare the tomato sauce. He always said: «You need patience if you want it to turn out well – don’t rush it, take a few extra minutes, because in the end it’s the result that counts. I take this to heart at La Brezza too, and not just when cooking.
«I like simple things that are regional, fresh, homemade and organic.»
– Salvatore Frequente
What is the best compliment you have received from a guest?
Marco Campanella: The best compliment we have received so far was that two of our hotel guests came to our restaurant every week for a whole month. They were so fascinated by what we do with all the products – from the vegetables to the fish to the meat.
Salvatore Frequente: The best compliment is to listen to guests who have enjoyed their stay at the hotel and say that they had a good meal.

at La Brezza
What is your signature dish?
Marco Campanella: Tomato tartare with basil and pine nuts
Beef tartare, AAL, kohlrabi
Short rib, beech mushrooms, BBQ
Salvatore Frequente: Red prawn shabu shabo from Mazara del Vallo
Your favourite restaurant?
Salvatore Frequente: Noma Copenhagen
Marco Campanella: Osteria da Ketty e Tommy, Ascona
Your favourite dish?
Marco Campanella: Cavatelli mit Tomatensauce und Spareribs
Salvatore Frequente: Spaghetti, Aglio, Olio und Chili mit Bottarga di Muggine und frischer Petersilie
You are both top chefs, what is it like at home, do you still enjoy cooking there or do you spend less time at home in the kitchen?
Salvatore Frequente: When you’re passionate about cooking, you’re never finished. I love cooking for my children at home, but they are my most difficult and demanding guests.
Marco Campanella: Since my little daughter was born, I’ve been cooking a lot more at home.
How would you describe your cooking style in three words?
Salvatore Frequente: Simple, full of flavour and colourful
Marco Campanella: Cosmopolitan, light, familiar ingredients

Hotel Eden Roc
Via Albarelle 16
6612 Ascona
+41 91 785 71 71
info@edenroc.ch
www.edenroc.ch