Nature’s Premiere
Reto Braendli:
The Spring Collection 2026
Ecco Ascona ** · Ascona, Ticino, Switzerland
· 2 Michelin Stars · GaultMillau 18/20
Gault & Millau Rising Star of the Year 2026 · Swiss Star Abroad 2023
Reto Braendli:
About the Chef
Born in Schwyz, Reto Braendli discovered his vocation early and sharpened it through an apprenticeship at the Hotel Waldhaus in Sils Maria. From there, he moved through some of the most respected kitchens in the German-speaking fine dining world, including Cà d’Oro in St. Moritz and Lorenz Adlon Esszimmer in Berlin, where he cooked at two-Michelin-star level and refined the classical foundations that still underpin his work today.
His development was shaped by chefs such as Rolf Fliegauf, Andreas Caminada, and Benoît Violier, but Brändli’s signature is distinctly his own: modern, precise, strongly product-focused, with clear roots in French cuisine interpreted in a contemporary way. At Ecco, he places the main ingredient firmly at the center, reducing every plate until each element has a clear purpose.
His arrival at Giardino in April 2025 was also a return. He had already spent four formative years within the Giardino world before his Berlin chapter, and now leads Ecco Ascona with the confidence of a chef who knows both the house and his own voice. Official recognition has followed quickly: two Michelin stars for Ecco, 18 GaultMillau points, and GaultMillau’s Rising Star of the Year 2026.
SPRING QUOTE
“I don’t cook to impress —
I want to evoke emotions.”
RETO BRÄNDLI – ECCO ASCONA
About the Restaurant
Ecco Ascona is the fine dining restaurant of Giardino Ascona, one of Lake Maggiore’s leading luxury hotels, and one of the defining culinary addresses in Switzerland’s Italian-speaking south. Under Reto Brändli, the restaurant has entered a new chapter while preserving the standard that made Ecco a destination for serious European fine dining: precise cooking, exacting service, and a setting shaped as much by southern light as by Swiss discipline.
The mood at Ecco is elegant without stiffness. Giardino describes it as fine dining at the highest level, and the accolades support that claim: two Michelin stars, 18 GaultMillau points, and the 2026 Rising Star distinction for its chef. In Ascona, where Ticino’s Mediterranean ease meets the rigor of a top Swiss kitchen, Ecco offers a style of gastronomy that feels both polished and deeply alive.
Spring Inspiration
For Reto Braendli, spring begins with a memory that is almost universally recognizable: sitting on the terrace in beautiful weather while a neighbour mows the lawn for the first time, and the scent of freshly cut grass suddenly fills the air. That smell, he says, awakens emotions. It is exactly that sensation he wants to translate for his guests through the spring menus at Ecco — through freshness, lightness, and acidity.
This is why his spring cooking avoids heaviness and unnecessary complication. The season is expressed not through decorative gestures, but through clarity and tension: jalapeño, mango and avocado around edible crab; morel, peas and Vin Jaune with char; wild garlic and white asparagus alongside quail; rhubarb sharpened by brown butter, tonka bean and long pepper. The emotional register is bright, vivid, and clean.
That philosophy aligns with Brändli’s own description of how ideas emerge: from attention, from product, from nature, and from the discipline of asking whether a dish can become even clearer and more precise. Spring at Ecco is therefore designed to feel like the first real day of the season.
Chef Reto at Ecco Ascona at Giardino Ascona, Ticino
Experience Spring at Ecco Ascona
Giardino Ascona · Ascona, Ticino, Switzerland
Reserve your Table at Ecco Ascona
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Inside Ecco Ascona
View the Spring Menu 2026 — Fine Menu
Fine Menu · 5 Courses
Edible Crab
Jalapeño – mango – avocado
Brüggli Char
Morel – peas – Vin Jaune
Veal Sweetbreads
Lettuce – harissa – lemon
Alsatian Quail
Wild garlic – white asparagus – foie gras
Rhubarb
Brown butter – tonka bean – long pepper
View the Spring Menu 2026 — Reto’s Classics
Reto’s Classics · 4 Signatures
Pâté en Croûte
Mustard – cucumber – red currant
Breton Lobster
Carrot – jasmin – kaffir lime
Japanese Kagoshima Wagyu — Entrecôte A5+
Foie gras – Périgord truffle – spinach
Omelette Surprise
Pineapple – coconut – Ossetra caviar
Reto’s Classics can be added to the Fine Menu or exchanged individually at the corresponding price. Golden Ossetra Caviar by Kaviari Paris is offered as an optional pairing — notably alongside the Edible Crab and the Breton Lobster — in 10 g, 30 g and 50 g portions.
For Selective Partners
Nature’s Premiere remains open to a limited number of brands whose products genuinely belong inside Michelin-level spring storytelling — tableware, luxury ingredients, beverage houses, and hospitality suppliers positioned through editorial relevance rather than conventional advertising.