April 27, 2022 • 43 mins
In this episode we discover what's delicious in Switzerland by talking with Janene Liston, an American expat turned Swiss Miss. She shares foods, customs, and even food etiquette tips for travelers.
This is the sixth installment of Foodies Take Flight, a series where Jess talks with world travelers, expats and citizens of countries outside of the United States about their food experiences. Whether you have wanderlust and want inspiration for your next trip, or you're a homebody who just wants a mental vacation, Foodies Take Flight will take you up and away.
Janene Liston AKA The Pricing Lady
- Website: www.thepricinglady.com
- LinkedIn Personal & Business Pages
- YouTube Channel: www.thepricinglady.com/live
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepricinglady
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/thepricinglady
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- YouTube (Video Posted on 4/22/22): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4qHKumrGTuQzjKiaFYxXGw
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jess (00:15):
It's Jess and you're listening to another episode of
The Flaky Foodie podcast, theonly show where the discussion
is delicious and there's chatterto chew on. On today's episode,
we're going to take flightagain, this time to Switzerland.
And we're going to talk withJanene, she's from America, but
she's lived in Switzerland forseveral years. And she's gonna
(00:37):
talk a little bit more about thefood and the customs there. Now,
one thing I want you to look outfor listen to is how many times
I've messed up the Swiss phrasethat's kind of close to Bon
Appetit, which is en guete and,man, I tell you, I could not
catch this. But you'll see, tunein to the flaky foodie foodies
take flight, this time we'regoing Swiss.
(01:20):
Is all this talk of good foodmaking you hungry? Get fresh
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(01:42):
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(02:06):
Welcome back! Today we have onthe show Janene Liston. And
she's going to talk a little bitmore about where she currently
lives and her travels and thefood that she's enjoyed. So
welcome to the show to me.
Hi, Jess. I'm thrilled to behere.
Yeah. Sohow many countries haveyou visited or lived in?
Janene (02:23):
So I've lived in two?
Okay, well, three, technically.
I spent a month in a month inFrance over the border. So I
grew up in the US. I live inSwitzerland. And when I first
moved here, there was a periodwhere there was a fair so there
were no hotel rooms, in in Baselwhere I live. And so I lived
(02:43):
over the border in France for amonth.
Jess (02:46):
What was your biggest kind of culture shock food wise, when
coming to France and thenSwitzerland?
Janene (02:53):
Yeah. So for me, I am very, I've always been very
particular. My parents alwaysshare stories about how they've
wasted days over a lifetimewaiting for plain cheeseburgers
for me at McDonald's. But Ialways got fresh ones. That was
my thing. And when I first cameto Switzerland, like I didn't
(03:14):
even know how to order a plaincheeseburger I you know, I'm
like, I would just say justmeat, cheese and bread. And
they'd look at me like I wassomehow. And you was when I
first moved here, it was verydifficult. Like, I don't eat
salad dressing. So to get anaked salad, which is how they
(03:35):
literally how you wouldtranslate the way you put it
here, I'll have a naked salad.
You know, was very difficult,and sometimes even the waitstaff
they like, they didn't know whatto do when you asked for
something that wasn't on themenu. And I think for me, that
was one of the biggest shocksbecause I was used to the
American way where you can haveit whatever way you want. You
(03:56):
have to do that for it.
Jess (03:59):
So would you describe yourself as a picky eater? Or a
particular Eater?
Janene (04:03):
No, there's certain things there's certain things
that I'm very picky about. Andthen other things I love, I
guess what you'd call ethnicfoods very much, but I don't
like mayonnaise, mustard,ketchup, salad sauce, cream
sauces, you know? So it's, it'sjust very particular things. So
(04:25):
yes, most people will call thatpicky.
Jess (04:28):
What Swiss foods have kind of grown on you as time goes on.
How long have you been inSwitzerland?
Janene (04:35):
Yeah, so I moved here in on July 31 2001. So it's been 20
years.
Jess (04:41):
Oh, wow. Okay.
Janene (04:42):
Yeah, it's been a really long time. I came on a two year
contract and then stayed. Ithink my favorite, so hard to
save. It's my favorite. But whatprobably my favorite thing is
raclette. And raclette is areally something from the Alps
from the mountains, and it'sjust melted cheese. He's on
potato. That's really all it is.
Yeah, I'm so yummy.
Jess (05:05):
That was a huge TikTok thing when you have the piece of
cheese and it is melted andgooey and slathered on potatoes
Janene (05:13):
So in the mountains when you go they do this more for
show now but basically you gethalf a wheel of cheese.
Jess Hodge (05:19):
Yes!
Janene (05:20):
#at at all, but it's like on this contraption that's
over a burner. So you let thetop layer melt then you scrape
it off onto your potatoes. Andthen you let the cheese rest
while you're eating with meltedand then you turn it towards the
burner again and some some moremelts and you scrape that off
onto your, your the next roundof potato. It's always served
(05:43):
with gherkin, little mini sweetkind of pickles, and pickled
onions because the vinegar andit's believed the big vinegar
and those things helps you todigest the cheese and kind of
break it down in your stomach.
And then usually it's eitherfollowed by cash, which is a
liquor like a digestive liquor,liquor, or tea if you don't
(06:08):
drink liquor, the black tea
Jess (06:14):
Yeah, what maybe something else that you've tried. That may
not have been your favorite? maynot have been your favorite
dish?
Janene (06:21):
Yeah, it's called a Zurich. Schnitzel it is. So it
is very specific to the JuraZurich region. And I believe
it's calf. What do we call that?
in English? I can only think ofit in German in German. It's not
Oh my goodness. What do theycall baby calves? baby cows?
(06:44):
Veal, veal? Yes. So it's it'slittle pieces of veal and a
cream sauce. And I think it'susually served over something
called spaetzle which isactually I think it's a southern
German food, but this was havekind of adopted it. But because
(07:05):
of the cream sauce, I won'ttouch it with a 10 foot pole.
So it's not the veal or thespaetzle it's the cream sauce
Jess (07:16):
It's the cream sauce! Absolutely. So spaetzle is
basically it's a dough. It's aflour water. I don't even know
if there's egg in it or not. Butit's definitely flour and water.
And then they press it throughlike a colander. So it drops
into boiling water in clumps.
And then once it's set in theboiling water in these pieces,
they drain it and then they fryit in a pan and brown it up and
(07:39):
then put something on it sousually hear it's cheese, some
sort of cheese.
Do you often have friends andfamily visit? And if so, where
do you kind of recommend thatthey eat or what do you
recommend that they try? Yeah,I'm sure raclette is high on the
list.
Janene (07:57):
Raclette always high on the list. But you know in the in
summertime when it's hot, that'sthe last thing you want to be
eating because it's not youknow, it's not exactly like fair
weather that we do, you know wedo different things. So
typically when people come toSwitzerland, they have raclette
or fondue cheese fondue orfondue Shinhwa, which is a
(08:21):
French version, I guess Iactually think it originally
came from China. But if thereare any French people out there,
and I've got that wrong, Iapologize. But it's basically a
Boolean, and you put meat, youknow, just like you would
dipping bread and butter cheesefondue. This case, you usually
put meat in the in the bowl yawnand it cooks it. So those are
(08:42):
typical things. rishtey is oneof my favorite things. I
actually just had some for lunchtoday because I took a just got
back an hour ago I was in took atrain to trip with the with
friends to the mountains today.
And I had rosti which is kind oflike a hash brown. So it's
grated potatoes, and they fry iton both sides. So it's super
(09:03):
crispy on the outside and reallysoft and yummy on the inside.
Jess (09:11):
Is that spelled R O S TI?
Janene (09:13):
Yeah, oh, with two little dots over the top. We
should and you know a lot oftimes they'll serve it just
plain. But typically here inSwitzerland, you get it with a
little bit of cheese, or you getit with what they call a big
lie, which is a sunny side upegg on top. So it's very much I
(09:35):
would say a lot of the cuisinehere is very much what we call
bauern foods. So it's farmersyou know it's farmer's fair,
it's quite, quite heavy. Becausethat's that's what they have
they tend to eat. When it comesto meat. I would say lean more
towards pork and veal than likein the states where like people
weren't leaning more towardschicken and beef kind of thing.
Jess (09:56):
Is there anything if you were to like return to the US
Yes. And would there be anythingto where you would have to put
like a million of it in your, inyour bag to take back home with
you?
Janene (10:09):
That's so difficult. Um, I think probably the thing I
would miss would be the cheeses,because I really enjoy cheese. I
know nowadays you can get mostmost of the cheeses anywhere,
but it gets cost prohibitivewhen you're outside the country.
What's also I think, probablyinteresting is that there's I
(10:32):
believe that this is still true.
There's only one Swiss word inthe English language, which is
also a Swiss food. Any ideasthat that might be?
Jess (10:40):
Fondue?
Janene (10:42):
No.
Jess (10:43):
Oh...
Janene (10:44):
Fondue I think is actually French? Oh, really?
That's also interesting aboutSwitzerland. I'll move to that
in a moment. muesli
Jess (10:51):
Oh, yeah, the...it's like granola, but not.
Janene (10:56):
Eight, right. So the traditional muesli in
Switzerland is called beer heardmuesli. And it's it's got oats
that like fresh oats that aren'tcooked yet. I think they're just
dry, right. And then usuallythere's some kind of yogurt or
milk, and the nuts and andgraded apple in it. And it's
typically eaten for breakfast,The New Yorker muesli, I'm not a
(11:19):
big fan of it personally,myself. But I just thought it
was fun that it was the onlyword that was in the English
language. I guess what's alsointeresting about Swiss cuisine
is that because we have fournational languages here, so we
kind of have four cultures. Sothe very, about 65% is German.
(11:42):
So then, of course, the food isquite Germanic. And then you
have I think about 25% isFrench. So then you have a very
strong French influence,especially in some reason,
regions more than others. Andthen we have Italian, I think,
maybe 10%, or maybe 15% isItalian. And then we have a
(12:03):
rematch, which is like an oldLatin language, which is more
similar to the Italian I wouldsay culturally, I hope I don't
offend anyone by saying, butthat means that food wise we
have quite a say a mission. Amix of, of cuisines sometimes
(12:25):
coming together.
Jess (12:26):
So what are some items to where you might have
inadvertently I guess gross somelocals out or anything from the
US that's kind of like we don'teat that here
Janene (12:42):
well, you're I would say one of the things is the sheer
like we've you have a pizza likea slice of pizza in the US is
basically the size of a wholepizza here.
Jess (12:55):
Oh wow
Janene (13:01):
and here when you order pizza, maybe this is the
opposite of your question. Sosorry for that but it's what
came to mind here when you ordera pizza you each order your own
there's not like this familystyle sharing thing and the rest
of you don't order one pizza andeverybody just have a slice or
two so it's a it's a verydifferent affair. I would say
some people really think peanutbutter is is pretty nasty. It's
(13:25):
a you know, many people love it.
But there's so many people justthink it's it's really bad. I
think the hardest thing orprobably the most shocking thing
for people is the portion sizesin the US in terms of the actual
food. I'm trying to think ifI've shocked anyone desserts
here are very different and inthat like their cakes and
(13:49):
cookies, things like that arenot very sweet compared to the
US. So you know some people arelike oh to 18 That's why I can't
eat that because I like to bakevery much. And so that's that's
a little bit different. I can'tthink of anything in particular
Jess (14:11):
any desserts that you recommend people try if they
come over
Janene (14:15):
you well I mean of course you know Switzerland is
known for its cheese and for itschocolate. So I adapt to your
question, what would I stick inmy bag probably as much sweets
as I could, can manage. Sothere's I used to live in a
region called Zook in a towncalled Zook. And they have
(14:35):
something they're called asDugar Kia shorter and it's I
think I mentioned earlier theKia shit you drink after you
have raclette Well, this is awhole kit a whole cake soaked in
it. Which is not everybodyenjoys it. I like it. What other
desserts there's
Jess (14:56):
Kind of like a like a fruitcake or rum cake?
Janene (14:59):
It doesn't have fruit in it. You know, I'm not even sure
what it's made of. I think it'sprobably it's made with I would
guess it's made with nuts fromthe consistent nuts and flour.
Of course. What's funny is eachregion has different
specialties. So I'm trying tothink there's not Oh, I know in
Basel like, it's not reallydessert, but it's something kind
(15:24):
of sweet that you like have withcoffee. They have Basel luckily.
And it's like, it's kind of likea cookie. It's made with Anna so
it has like a black licorice Feflavor to it. It's not I
wouldn't say it's particularlysweet. It's relatively dry. But
some people love it. I'm not afan of black licorice. I can I
(15:47):
can eat it, but it's if I'mgonna waste, you know, invest
calories in something, itwouldn't be like that, and then
you have, you know, otherregions that are known for their
bratwurst. Or for one of myfavorite things, favorite
favorite things to do is you gointo the mountains, and you have
(16:10):
out cases. So cheese fromfarmers in the Alps, and you get
like, you just get dried meatsAlcacer and bread.
Jess (16:24):
Like a charcuterie board?
Janene (16:26):
Yeah, yeah, it's exactly what it is. And it's just it's I
don't know what it is about it,but it's just it seems so
indulgent and fun. It's evenbetter if you have a nice glass
of wine with it. And then Baselhere so I'm, like I said, I
think I said at the beginning Ilive in Basel, which is in the
northwest corner of Switzerland.
Right, they call it the threecorners area, because like
(16:48):
Germany and France are 10minutes away each and during
Carnival period, which is wejust had a couple of weeks ago.
Our specialty is model super,which is a basically we call it
gravy soup. The Americans wereso tactful our way we like soup,
(17:08):
because mouth mail is flour. Soit was really It's butter and
flour and kind of brown and thenyou make a soup with a Boolean
out of it. And they serve withit either a cheese or an onion
tart. But they only serve thetwo things basically during
fasting.
Jess (17:28):
So in the gravy soup, is there anything is it like a
smooth kind of like a butternutsquash, you know where it's
smooth and kind of uniform? Oris it like a vegetable soup
where there's veggies or
Janene (17:37):
No, no. No, it's like it's a well, it's not blended
because there's nothing toblend. It's literally like
gravy.
Jess (17:44):
Okay, this is literally a bowl of gravy.
Janene (17:49):
More or less, yeah.
Jess (17:50):
So you started with a tart and not like a crusty bread?
Janene (17:54):
Well, a tart is like, it's like a savory pie kind of.
And they either have a I don'tknow, sometimes if I said
something in German and didn'ttranslate it, let me know. But
either with a cheese fill tartor an onion tart. So that's why
they're savory. Their littlemini pies, I guess you could
call them.
Jess (18:13):
So do you dip the pies in the soup? Or you just you just
take a bite of each?
Janene (18:17):
I never have.
Jess (18:18):
Okay. That's very intriguing to me.
Janene (18:26):
Well, so the Basel Fasnacht place at the carnival
is a it's you know, it's like aMardi Gras kind of thing except
Swiss style. And even furtherthan that. It's Basel style. So
it's it's actually quite serioushere in Basel. It's not like a
party. It's a differentdifferent kind of celebration.
(18:47):
And it has a very strongmilitary aspect to it on the one
hand, and then a very strong,like satirical political aspect
to it. Oh, wow. Which is quitedifferent than most sort of
Carnival celebration.
Jess (19:05):
That is interesting. So does that get a lot of tourism
that comes in for that? Or is itmostly like a local thing?
Janene (19:12):
I would say it's mostly locals. I'm sure they do get
tourists from around the world,definitely from around the
Boston region. But so like inLucerne, which is about an hour
from here, a very well knownplace in Switzerland, they also
have a fastener celebration, butit's more like a Mardi Gras
party so everybody gets dressedin costume and goes there but
(19:33):
here in Basel if you're notmarching in the parade, you're
not welcome to have a costume.
Jess (19:39):
Oh so the one that is probably that you want to show
up all costume for is which WishList okay.
Janene (19:53):
But it it's it's it starts at 4am on a Monday
morning. Oh wow. The whole citylike ever Ready from Basel?
Well, not everyone, but I wouldsay probably 70% of people from
Basel, and the Basel LAN. Sothere's two counties here, Basel
city and model Basel lab. Youknow, I would say 65 70% of
(20:13):
people kind of migrate downtown,three o'clock, 330 in the
morning, at 4am, the light shutoff, they shut the power off in
the city. And then all you hearis this cacophony of military
drums and piccolos Oh, wow. Soit's really quite special. And
then it goes on for three daysstraight, and it finishes
(20:37):
Wednesday night at 4am.
So the lights stay off forthat.They turn them on,
eventually. And there's otherothers. Lanterns is very
politically, well, sometimespolitically incorrect, but very
politically esoterically drivenlanterns, and they have other
kinds of music, what's calledthe Google music. It's, it's a
(21:00):
marching band, but they play ina slightly off key. So it has a
really unique sound to it. Andthey have a couple of parades.
And it's it's good, fun,powerful style.
Jess (21:15):
So what are some like customs are that a Swiss people
may do when eating that anAmerican should maybe know when
visiting? or traveling? Arethere any like dining customs?
Janene (21:28):
Yes, this is this was the one that it now I now when I
go to the States, I'm alwayscompelled to say this, and have
to really check myself. But inSwitzerland, they always say to
each other even at home and enguete, which is enjoy your meal.
Jess (21:45):
Okay, you're going to have to say it slow. En Guerte?
En gueta.
En Guete,En Guete. Yes, enjoy your meal.
And, you know, in the States,you know, generally if you went
to a restaurant, the servermight say, but I never said that
to my parents at home. You know,or something like that. So, but
(22:10):
that is you, you really say youhave to say it. The other thing
that's kind of a golden rulehere is that when you're having
a toast, when you're toastingone another, you have to look
each so when you toast. So let'ssay there's five of you, if I
you and I go to clink glasses,we say oh nine, but now I can't
(22:33):
remember. Duvall. sinnvoll. Soit's kind of like to your health
a little bit. But you have tolook the person in the eye and
say their name. So it'd beinvolved. Yes. And so if you're
in a big group of people, youdon't know everyone's name. It's
(22:54):
a little tricky.
Yeah, I was just about to saythat I always hear tap dancing
when somebody tells me theirname. So that's an incentive
tomake sure you really remember.
Janene (23:06):
Yeah, it really is. It's considered that and whole flag.
Impolite. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Sothose those are two, two
customs. Oh, I know. What's alsoreally I thought was
interesting. Because, you know,in the States, or at least in my
family, I was, you know, I wastalking No elbows on the table.
(23:27):
And if you're not eating yourhands and your lap, yeah. And
then I got over a year and onetime I was at a business dinner
or something. And somebody saidto me, you know, Janine, if
you're not eating, you shouldleave your hands on the table.
Jess (23:40):
Oh, wow.
Janene (23:43):
Why? And they're like, well, otherwise, they think
you're messing around downthere.
Jess (23:48):
Oh, my gosh.
Janene (23:51):
Orup to no good or something. I was like, Oh, okay.
Okay. Okay, hands above thetable. I thought that was pretty
funny.
Jess (24:00):
Okay, so we have it we say, En Grate?
Janene (24:03):
En guete
Jess (24:04):
En Guete, sorry. When you're about to eat this, thank
you for your meal, where you'retoasting somebody, you say?
Tumble tumble, and you have tosay the name so it'd be some
food. Yes. And then you have tokeep your hands on the table. W
(24:26):
hen you're not eating,
Janene (24:28):
When you're not eating hands on the table. So those are
three rules
Jess (24:31):
to take with you to Switzerland, before you eat. Are
there any specific eateries orrestaurants that have like blown
you away? Or bakeries or coffeeshops, anything like that?
Janene (24:47):
I mean, I one thing I really enjoy and this is maybe
more European than just Swiss,but this whole concept of an APA
row. It's not it's kind ofdifficult to work. casual that a
happy hour. And but it's it'slike you just you sit on the
sidewalk, not on the sidewalk,but you sit at tables on the
(25:09):
sidewalk, you have a littlewhite wine or whatever you like
beer, whatever you like todrink, and you just kind of sit
there to chat and watch theworld go by. And I just, it's
like, There's no hurry. There'sno rush. That's Oh, that's one
of the big differences. Oh, I'mso glad you asked that question.
(25:30):
So here in Switzerland, and inmost of Europe, if you walk, go
and sit at a cafe or therestaurant, and you order a
coffee, you can sit there allday, and they will not bother
you. They will not bring you thecheck, they will not ask you.
Nothing like that. So it'sreally it's very leisurely in
(25:51):
that in that context. And veryrelaxing. Sometimes the hardest
thing is actually flagging downthe waitress to get the bill or
the server. But that's I wouldsay that's quite a different
experience than what I've had inthe US. Where, you know, not all
places, but many places. It'sall like, Okay, let's get more
(26:13):
people in. Let's get more peoplein. There's kind of this rush to
sit you feed you and get you outthe door.
Jess (26:19):
Yeah. So it wants you to kind of take your time. Enjoy
your meal. Yeah,
Janene (26:23):
Yeah. Which is, which is nice. Sorry, I now go back to
the original question.
Jess (26:31):
Are there any eateries, restaurants coffee shops that
have blown you away? And if so,what was the item that you
ordered? I added something tothe question. I'm sorry.
Janene (26:43):
No, no, no problem. So I mean, there are chain chains
here, but it's not quite thesame. My favorite, I think my
favorite cuisine of all times,sorry, to my Swiss Swiss friends
(27:03):
and whatever, is Lebanese food.
So when I think of where do Iwant to go to eat nine times out
of 10 it would be if there's aLebanese, Lebanese restaurant
around I will be banging on thedoor. Because I just love their
food. It is so fresh, and sosimple, and yet so delicious. So
that's, that's something that Ireally love. But if you're
(27:27):
coming to Switzerland, I guessto have the true Swiss
experience there's, there's oneor two things that I would
recommend one is just go intothe mountains, go up to Condor
stag or go to Grendel vault.
Interlocking is in the valley,but that's where a lot of people
(27:49):
go. So go up into the mountains,and have an experience, you
know, at a restaurant in themountains itself. And it's just
yeah, it's, it's, it's unique inits own way. And if you go
somewhere where they serve moretraditional food, then then
it's, you know, it's even moreof the Swiss experience. The
(28:11):
other thing is, you know, to goto Lucerne, or Geneva or
depending on where you are goto, you know, the traditional
more traditional tourist places,because even though they're
touristy, they are so beautiful.
And I earlier said this week,just by chance, I was in the
mountains. While we weren't inthe mountains today, we were in
(28:33):
the valley, but I went towardsthe Alps today. And on Monday, I
was at a place called Righi,which is up in the mountains,
and came back down on Monday andhad dinner in Lucerne. And it
was just you know, it's just abeautiful experience.
Jess (28:53):
So we kind of already mentioned that some things to
grab will be some swiss cheeseor some chocolate. Is there
anything else that you may findin a Swiss grocery store that
you can't get in the US?
Janene (29:08):
Good to Frog a good question. That's what that
means. Trying to think so one ofthe things that's like a
national treasure inSwitzerland, and you know, they
have different versions of iteverywhere. But is this Swiss
serve allow which is a sausageand the the Swiss version? I
(29:34):
don't think I've ever seen it inthe US. I'm sure you can find it
somewhere. But of course,because I've lived here for 20
years, I wouldn't know Iwouldn't really know where to go
start looking for it. So sothat's that's one thing and have
a grill party. Yeah, with someserve Allah. What else? I'm
(29:54):
trying to think it's hardbecause you know if I went to
the US and stayed there For along time, I'd be like, Oh, I
can't find this. But nothingparticularly comes to mind. I
mean, now, you know they havewhen I first moved over a year,
(30:16):
you know, there were certainthings that were very hard to
find. But now, you can prettymuch get anything from anywhere
here. And I would imagine in theother direction, it would be
similar.
Jess (30:29):
Have you ever had someone who's a vegetarian or a vegan
visit? And how was finding food?
Janene (30:36):
Yeah, so that's changed a lot. In the last, say, five
years, I would say five yearsago, it was almost impossible to
find, especially if you're veganto find something but that's
changed a lot you have a lot ofrestaurants now that cater to
that, you know, even on a normalmenu old will have at least
(30:58):
vegetarian options and oftenvegan options as well. And then
the grocery stores you findespecially vegan options
everywhere. Now. Switzerland, Iwould say is generally a little
bit slower on the uptake forthese things than other parts of
the world. But they've they'vereally embraced it. And there's
(31:19):
a big push here and the Swiss ingeneral are very environmentally
liberal. Yeah, so they're veryconcerned about the environment
and it's, you know, one of theplaces where we have lots of
green space and they really takecare and that includes with how
they eat. They do love theirmeat don't get me wrong, but
(31:40):
just see a lot more peopleinterested in in alternatives.
And so I think that they're verymuch headed in the right
direction on that
Jess (31:51):
Since you're a big cheese and chocolate fan much like
myself. Are there any varietiesof cheese that you should look
for?
Janene (32:02):
Say I usually when I you know, here at home, you know, I
buy a lot of the standard stuff.
What I like is when I go to themountains whenever I go to the
mountains, I hope I pray that wecome across a birdcage, and I
help Qasr I like a cheeseproducer. And then we can bring
(32:22):
something back because they tendto do more hard cheeses, which I
really like. I don't mind softcheese, but I really like hard
cheese. And they're very sharpcheeses so typical for
Switzerland is your Emmentalercheese, which is what I grew up
in the US knowing is sleaze withholes in it. I know we didn't
(32:45):
even call it Swiss. We just callit cheese with holes in it and
then cheddar wasn't cheddar. Itwas the orange one because that
was the only one my brotherwould eat. I also really like
some of the some of the Frenchcheeses. What's the soft 103?
(33:05):
Yeah, yeah, no, it's not Bri.
That's one of them. That's notthe one I prefer. I'm just
drawing a complete blank oncheese's right now. My apologies
for that. I mean, they have theyhave hundreds of of kinds of
(33:28):
cheese, I'm sure of it. Butthose are the ones that they're
most known for. And I rememberwhen I first moved to
Switzerland, after about a yearand a half, I hadn't met a small
group of American ladies who arehere. We called ourselves the
PALS the professional Americanladies society. And we just made
the acronym up to so that wecould call each other pals
(33:49):
right. And one of the firstevents we did was we went to m
and tall and we made a 10 kiloor a nine kilo Willa cheese. Oh
wow. And then like three monthslater, you could go back and
pick it up and they cut it intoportions for this. I think it
was six of us and we each got abig a big ol wedge of cheese
Jess (34:13):
that was a cool thing.
Will they they ship it to youlike if you're visiting only for
maybea week or two?
I don't know i they might beable to... I guess it would
depend on on Yeah, the importduties and taxes and whatever.
But it was really good fun.
Yeah, I okay. If you'resqueamish at all then maybe you
might not enjoy you knowthrowing bacteria into milk and
(34:35):
reading she but it was it wasreally good fun. I was I was
trying to stall to see if I canremember any more cheese. Oh, I
know when that I really likeit's called Esperance sprints a
sprint SB R I N Zed and it is ahard cheese Oftentimes is used
(34:58):
as a less expensive option toParmesan, because Parmesan real
Parmesan from Italy can be quitepricey. So you can grade it and
it has a similar flavor andtexture to Perpich on but I like
to eat it. Yeah on the car toCherry platter as it's nice and
(35:21):
salty and it has a really lovelyfavorite flavor to it.
Appenzeller that was the one Iwas trying to remember earlier
had been stellar is I believe aslightly softer than an M and
tall doesn't have holes in itusually. And it's not bad
melted. And then of coursethere's the lovely green there
(35:44):
we are might be one of myfavorites. Beautiful cheese.
Nice sharp one.
Very nutty. So are there anychocolates? hate to put you on
the spot again, but any anyparticular chocolate brands or
(36:06):
types that you should look
Janene (36:07):
for? Yeah, so I really depends on what you like. I
mean, the Lindt chocolate, whichyou get all over the US and
actually in the US, they havemore flavors of Lindt chocolate
than they sell here. Really?
Yeah. Oh, yeah, because theykind of they're a little bit
more traditionalists here. Sothey've kind of you know that
Lynne has taken the chocolate tothe US. And then, you know,
(36:30):
created versions of the littleballs, the linen balls that they
have, you know, to the Americanpalate. So like, you would never
find peanut butter in a lintball in Switzerland. That would
be a little bit sacrilegious. Atleast not yet. Who knows what
the future will bring. But whenit comes to chocolate, there's
(36:50):
this specialty chocolatechocolate trees here. I don't
believe she really has gone tothe US or even outside of
Switzerland. So that's a verytraditional, they make prey
liens. There's another one, hisname is not in a letter later.
That's the one I think it'sstill called later. And they
(37:14):
make kind of like a a lot ofbarks. Folks, for lack of a
better word, you know, likechocolate with different nuts,
or cereals or whatever in it.
And you go in, and it's justlike, bark everywhere. They
have, you know, 20 differentkinds. And so those are a little
(37:36):
bit different at sparingly. WhatI really like it sparingly, is
they have a hot chocolate thatyou can buy in a big metal
container. And it's actuallyflakes of chocolate. So it's not
a powder, it's really thinflakes. And each Flake is maybe
the size of a nickel orsomething like that. But what I
(37:58):
like is not just to make hotchocolate with it, but it's
great. You just sprinkle alittle bit on ice cream, or
let's say you've made a dessertand you've kind of messed it up
and it doesn't look reallypretty, then you can top it with
with a little of these chocolateflakes.
Jess (38:14):
Definitely great baking hack
Janene (38:15):
That's what I would do.
I would great a chocolate barover the top to kind of hide any
messiness. So this way, I don'thave to dirty a grater. Sprinkle
a little chocolate on top. Andthat makes a really nice gift.
So for a while they're like ohfor Christmas or birthdays,
whatever. A lot of people when Iwould go to the States would get
one of these cans of of hotchocolate flakes, if you will,
(38:41):
for lack of a better word. Thatis really Yeah, it's just me and
later rock or two places I wouldrecommend
Jess (38:49):
that is really interesting. And now I want a
canister tomorrow.
Janene (38:55):
Where are you located?
Jess (38:57):
I'm in Florida Tallahassee.
Janene (39:01):
Let's see it probably would melt before it ever got.
Jess (39:05):
It will be a can of just the chocolate lump
Janene (39:10):
When I was first it's a funny it's funny story when I
first moved to Switzerland onSwiss airlines, whenever you
flew just before you landed,they handed out these big gold
coins that were chocolate. Andalmost everybody I ever met has
a sob story about how they putit in their pocket before they
got off the plane. Oh, somepoint in the day because Swiss
(39:33):
chocolate melts. Now Americanchocolate doesn't melt quite as
fast. But this stuff it just Idon't think they put the
paraffin wax in it or certainlynot to the same degree so it
meant like body heat melted.
Jess (39:49):
My gosh.
Janene (39:51):
Everybody has a story of you know, chocolate soup on the
tips of their fingers.
Jess (40:04):
That's how you spot a tourist.
Janene (40:07):
Yeah, yeah. I mean, if you don't know that it melts
like that, then you wouldn'teven think twice. You know, if
it was a little Hershey bar, Ireally wouldn't think twice
about putting it in my pocketand saving it for later. But
when it comes to Swisschocolate, you do have to be
more careful. And like when I goto the states, if I'm visiting
in summer, I don't bringchocolate because, you know, if
(40:29):
my luggage gets stuck on thetarmac, waiting for, you know,
the baggage team to come andtake it off the plane and
whatever. Or if I have myluggage in the back of the car,
and I get stuck in traffic, orif I stopped somewhere, it will
be soup. And it's just not worththe risk.
Jess (40:51):
Yes. Well, thank you so much Janene for coming and being
a part of the show today. Ireally appreciate it. Can you
just tell us a little bit aboutyour business? You're also known
as the pricing lady? Yes,
Janene (41:03):
I am. So I'm an expert in the topic of PRICING and
VALUE. I work with smallbusinesses to help them
understand how they can pricemore effectively and build more
sustainably proper, profitablebusinesses.
Jess (41:18):
Awesome. And so if people want to find out a little bit
more about you or a little bitmore about your business, where
would they go?
Janene (41:24):
They can head on over to thepricinglady.com and check me
out there or look for thepricing lady on LinkedIn.
Jess (41:31):
Okay, thank you again, so much for being here. This has
been the flaky foodie podcastand today we took a little trip
to Switzerland to talk about thefood there. Thank you so much
for listening. I want everyoneto have a great week, and Guete?
Janene (41:46):
En Guete.
Jess (41:47):
En Guete, I'm sorry, I'm gonna get it before this
week..En Guete and and eatsomething delicious. Thank you,
everyone. Bye. So I hope youenjoyed this week's flight. If
you did treat it like gossip orthe gospel and tell someone
about it. Now what does thatlook like? That means giving us
a five star rating, sharing uswith your friends, and also just
(42:10):
listening again come back nextweek. I'll be here and make sure
you eat something delicious thisweek. Make sure you say en guete
correctly. And just enjoy. Havea great week everybody.
It's Jess and you're listening to another episode of
The Flaky Foodie podcast, theonly show where the discussion
is delicious and there's chatterto chew on. On today's episode,
we're going to take flightagain, this time to Switzerland.
And we're going to talk withJanene, she's from America, but
she's lived in Switzerland forseveral years. And she's gonna
(00:37):
talk a little bit more about thefood and the customs there. Now,
one thing I want you to look outfor listen to is how many times
I've messed up the Swiss phrasethat's kind of close to Bon
Appetit, which is en guete and,man, I tell you, I could not
catch this. But you'll see, tunein to the flaky foodie foodies
take flight, this time we'regoing Swiss.
(01:20):
Is all this talk of good foodmaking you hungry? Get fresh
meals delivered via Instacart.
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(01:42):
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(02:06):
Welcome back! Today we have onthe show Janene Liston. And
she's going to talk a little bitmore about where she currently
lives and her travels and thefood that she's enjoyed. So
welcome to the show to me.
Hi, Jess. I'm thrilled to behere.
Yeah. Sohow many countries haveyou visited or lived in?
Janene (02:23):
So I've lived in two?
Okay, well, three, technically.
I spent a month in a month inFrance over the border. So I
grew up in the US. I live inSwitzerland. And when I first
moved here, there was a periodwhere there was a fair so there
were no hotel rooms, in in Baselwhere I live. And so I lived
(02:43):
over the border in France for amonth.
Jess (02:46):
What was your biggest kind of culture shock food wise, when
coming to France and thenSwitzerland?
Janene (02:53):
Yeah. So for me, I am very, I've always been very
particular. My parents alwaysshare stories about how they've
wasted days over a lifetimewaiting for plain cheeseburgers
for me at McDonald's. But Ialways got fresh ones. That was
my thing. And when I first cameto Switzerland, like I didn't
(03:14):
even know how to order a plaincheeseburger I you know, I'm
like, I would just say justmeat, cheese and bread. And
they'd look at me like I wassomehow. And you was when I
first moved here, it was verydifficult. Like, I don't eat
salad dressing. So to get anaked salad, which is how they
(03:35):
literally how you wouldtranslate the way you put it
here, I'll have a naked salad.
You know, was very difficult,and sometimes even the waitstaff
they like, they didn't know whatto do when you asked for
something that wasn't on themenu. And I think for me, that
was one of the biggest shocksbecause I was used to the
American way where you can haveit whatever way you want. You
(03:56):
have to do that for it.
Jess (03:59):
So would you describe yourself as a picky eater? Or a
particular Eater?
Janene (04:03):
No, there's certain things there's certain things
that I'm very picky about. Andthen other things I love, I
guess what you'd call ethnicfoods very much, but I don't
like mayonnaise, mustard,ketchup, salad sauce, cream
sauces, you know? So it's, it'sjust very particular things. So
(04:25):
yes, most people will call thatpicky.
Jess (04:28):
What Swiss foods have kind of grown on you as time goes on.
How long have you been inSwitzerland?
Janene (04:35):
Yeah, so I moved here in on July 31 2001. So it's been 20
years.
Jess (04:41):
Oh, wow. Okay.
Janene (04:42):
Yeah, it's been a really long time. I came on a two year
contract and then stayed. Ithink my favorite, so hard to
save. It's my favorite. But whatprobably my favorite thing is
raclette. And raclette is areally something from the Alps
from the mountains, and it'sjust melted cheese. He's on
potato. That's really all it is.
Yeah, I'm so yummy.
Jess (05:05):
That was a huge TikTok thing when you have the piece of
cheese and it is melted andgooey and slathered on potatoes
Janene (05:13):
So in the mountains when you go they do this more for
show now but basically you gethalf a wheel of cheese.
Jess Hodge (05:19):
Yes!
Janene (05:20):
#at at all, but it's like on this contraption that's
over a burner. So you let thetop layer melt then you scrape
it off onto your potatoes. Andthen you let the cheese rest
while you're eating with meltedand then you turn it towards the
burner again and some some moremelts and you scrape that off
onto your, your the next roundof potato. It's always served
(05:43):
with gherkin, little mini sweetkind of pickles, and pickled
onions because the vinegar andit's believed the big vinegar
and those things helps you todigest the cheese and kind of
break it down in your stomach.
And then usually it's eitherfollowed by cash, which is a
liquor like a digestive liquor,liquor, or tea if you don't
(06:08):
drink liquor, the black tea
Jess (06:14):
Yeah, what maybe something else that you've tried. That may
not have been your favorite? maynot have been your favorite
dish?
Janene (06:21):
Yeah, it's called a Zurich. Schnitzel it is. So it
is very specific to the JuraZurich region. And I believe
it's calf. What do we call that?
in English? I can only think ofit in German in German. It's not
Oh my goodness. What do theycall baby calves? baby cows?
(06:44):
Veal, veal? Yes. So it's it'slittle pieces of veal and a
cream sauce. And I think it'susually served over something
called spaetzle which isactually I think it's a southern
German food, but this was havekind of adopted it. But because
(07:05):
of the cream sauce, I won'ttouch it with a 10 foot pole.
So it's not the veal or thespaetzle it's the cream sauce
Jess (07:16):
It's the cream sauce! Absolutely. So spaetzle is
basically it's a dough. It's aflour water. I don't even know
if there's egg in it or not. Butit's definitely flour and water.
And then they press it throughlike a colander. So it drops
into boiling water in clumps.
And then once it's set in theboiling water in these pieces,
they drain it and then they fryit in a pan and brown it up and
(07:39):
then put something on it sousually hear it's cheese, some
sort of cheese.
Do you often have friends andfamily visit? And if so, where
do you kind of recommend thatthey eat or what do you
recommend that they try? Yeah,I'm sure raclette is high on the
list.
Janene (07:57):
Raclette always high on the list. But you know in the in
summertime when it's hot, that'sthe last thing you want to be
eating because it's not youknow, it's not exactly like fair
weather that we do, you know wedo different things. So
typically when people come toSwitzerland, they have raclette
or fondue cheese fondue orfondue Shinhwa, which is a
(08:21):
French version, I guess Iactually think it originally
came from China. But if thereare any French people out there,
and I've got that wrong, Iapologize. But it's basically a
Boolean, and you put meat, youknow, just like you would
dipping bread and butter cheesefondue. This case, you usually
put meat in the in the bowl yawnand it cooks it. So those are
(08:42):
typical things. rishtey is oneof my favorite things. I
actually just had some for lunchtoday because I took a just got
back an hour ago I was in took atrain to trip with the with
friends to the mountains today.
And I had rosti which is kind oflike a hash brown. So it's
grated potatoes, and they fry iton both sides. So it's super
(09:03):
crispy on the outside and reallysoft and yummy on the inside.
Jess (09:11):
Is that spelled R O S TI?
Janene (09:13):
Yeah, oh, with two little dots over the top. We
should and you know a lot oftimes they'll serve it just
plain. But typically here inSwitzerland, you get it with a
little bit of cheese, or you getit with what they call a big
lie, which is a sunny side upegg on top. So it's very much I
(09:35):
would say a lot of the cuisinehere is very much what we call
bauern foods. So it's farmersyou know it's farmer's fair,
it's quite, quite heavy. Becausethat's that's what they have
they tend to eat. When it comesto meat. I would say lean more
towards pork and veal than likein the states where like people
weren't leaning more towardschicken and beef kind of thing.
Jess (09:56):
Is there anything if you were to like return to the US
Yes. And would there be anythingto where you would have to put
like a million of it in your, inyour bag to take back home with
you?
Janene (10:09):
That's so difficult. Um, I think probably the thing I
would miss would be the cheeses,because I really enjoy cheese. I
know nowadays you can get mostmost of the cheeses anywhere,
but it gets cost prohibitivewhen you're outside the country.
What's also I think, probablyinteresting is that there's I
(10:32):
believe that this is still true.
There's only one Swiss word inthe English language, which is
also a Swiss food. Any ideasthat that might be?
Jess (10:40):
Fondue?
Janene (10:42):
No.
Jess (10:43):
Oh...
Janene (10:44):
Fondue I think is actually French? Oh, really?
That's also interesting aboutSwitzerland. I'll move to that
in a moment. muesli
Jess (10:51):
Oh, yeah, the...it's like granola, but not.
Janene (10:56):
Eight, right. So the traditional muesli in
Switzerland is called beer heardmuesli. And it's it's got oats
that like fresh oats that aren'tcooked yet. I think they're just
dry, right. And then usuallythere's some kind of yogurt or
milk, and the nuts and andgraded apple in it. And it's
typically eaten for breakfast,The New Yorker muesli, I'm not a
(11:19):
big fan of it personally,myself. But I just thought it
was fun that it was the onlyword that was in the English
language. I guess what's alsointeresting about Swiss cuisine
is that because we have fournational languages here, so we
kind of have four cultures. Sothe very, about 65% is German.
(11:42):
So then, of course, the food isquite Germanic. And then you
have I think about 25% isFrench. So then you have a very
strong French influence,especially in some reason,
regions more than others. Andthen we have Italian, I think,
maybe 10%, or maybe 15% isItalian. And then we have a
(12:03):
rematch, which is like an oldLatin language, which is more
similar to the Italian I wouldsay culturally, I hope I don't
offend anyone by saying, butthat means that food wise we
have quite a say a mission. Amix of, of cuisines sometimes
(12:25):
coming together.
Jess (12:26):
So what are some items to where you might have
inadvertently I guess gross somelocals out or anything from the
US that's kind of like we don'teat that here
Janene (12:42):
well, you're I would say one of the things is the sheer
like we've you have a pizza likea slice of pizza in the US is
basically the size of a wholepizza here.
Jess (12:55):
Oh wow
Janene (13:01):
and here when you order pizza, maybe this is the
opposite of your question. Sosorry for that but it's what
came to mind here when you ordera pizza you each order your own
there's not like this familystyle sharing thing and the rest
of you don't order one pizza andeverybody just have a slice or
two so it's a it's a verydifferent affair. I would say
some people really think peanutbutter is is pretty nasty. It's
(13:25):
a you know, many people love it.
But there's so many people justthink it's it's really bad. I
think the hardest thing orprobably the most shocking thing
for people is the portion sizesin the US in terms of the actual
food. I'm trying to think ifI've shocked anyone desserts
here are very different and inthat like their cakes and
(13:49):
cookies, things like that arenot very sweet compared to the
US. So you know some people arelike oh to 18 That's why I can't
eat that because I like to bakevery much. And so that's that's
a little bit different. I can'tthink of anything in particular
Jess (14:11):
any desserts that you recommend people try if they
come over
Janene (14:15):
you well I mean of course you know Switzerland is
known for its cheese and for itschocolate. So I adapt to your
question, what would I stick inmy bag probably as much sweets
as I could, can manage. Sothere's I used to live in a
region called Zook in a towncalled Zook. And they have
(14:35):
something they're called asDugar Kia shorter and it's I
think I mentioned earlier theKia shit you drink after you
have raclette Well, this is awhole kit a whole cake soaked in
it. Which is not everybodyenjoys it. I like it. What other
desserts there's
Jess (14:56):
Kind of like a like a fruitcake or rum cake?
Janene (14:59):
It doesn't have fruit in it. You know, I'm not even sure
what it's made of. I think it'sprobably it's made with I would
guess it's made with nuts fromthe consistent nuts and flour.
Of course. What's funny is eachregion has different
specialties. So I'm trying tothink there's not Oh, I know in
Basel like, it's not reallydessert, but it's something kind
(15:24):
of sweet that you like have withcoffee. They have Basel luckily.
And it's like, it's kind of likea cookie. It's made with Anna so
it has like a black licorice Feflavor to it. It's not I
wouldn't say it's particularlysweet. It's relatively dry. But
some people love it. I'm not afan of black licorice. I can I
(15:47):
can eat it, but it's if I'mgonna waste, you know, invest
calories in something, itwouldn't be like that, and then
you have, you know, otherregions that are known for their
bratwurst. Or for one of myfavorite things, favorite
favorite things to do is you gointo the mountains, and you have
(16:10):
out cases. So cheese fromfarmers in the Alps, and you get
like, you just get dried meatsAlcacer and bread.
Jess (16:24):
Like a charcuterie board?
Janene (16:26):
Yeah, yeah, it's exactly what it is. And it's just it's I
don't know what it is about it,but it's just it seems so
indulgent and fun. It's evenbetter if you have a nice glass
of wine with it. And then Baselhere so I'm, like I said, I
think I said at the beginning Ilive in Basel, which is in the
northwest corner of Switzerland.
Right, they call it the threecorners area, because like
(16:48):
Germany and France are 10minutes away each and during
Carnival period, which is wejust had a couple of weeks ago.
Our specialty is model super,which is a basically we call it
gravy soup. The Americans wereso tactful our way we like soup,
(17:08):
because mouth mail is flour. Soit was really It's butter and
flour and kind of brown and thenyou make a soup with a Boolean
out of it. And they serve withit either a cheese or an onion
tart. But they only serve thetwo things basically during
fasting.
Jess (17:28):
So in the gravy soup, is there anything is it like a
smooth kind of like a butternutsquash, you know where it's
smooth and kind of uniform? Oris it like a vegetable soup
where there's veggies or
Janene (17:37):
No, no. No, it's like it's a well, it's not blended
because there's nothing toblend. It's literally like
gravy.
Jess (17:44):
Okay, this is literally a bowl of gravy.
Janene (17:49):
More or less, yeah.
Jess (17:50):
So you started with a tart and not like a crusty bread?
Janene (17:54):
Well, a tart is like, it's like a savory pie kind of.
And they either have a I don'tknow, sometimes if I said
something in German and didn'ttranslate it, let me know. But
either with a cheese fill tartor an onion tart. So that's why
they're savory. Their littlemini pies, I guess you could
call them.
Jess (18:13):
So do you dip the pies in the soup? Or you just you just
take a bite of each?
Janene (18:17):
I never have.
Jess (18:18):
Okay. That's very intriguing to me.
Janene (18:26):
Well, so the Basel Fasnacht place at the carnival
is a it's you know, it's like aMardi Gras kind of thing except
Swiss style. And even furtherthan that. It's Basel style. So
it's it's actually quite serioushere in Basel. It's not like a
party. It's a differentdifferent kind of celebration.
(18:47):
And it has a very strongmilitary aspect to it on the one
hand, and then a very strong,like satirical political aspect
to it. Oh, wow. Which is quitedifferent than most sort of
Carnival celebration.
Jess (19:05):
That is interesting. So does that get a lot of tourism
that comes in for that? Or is itmostly like a local thing?
Janene (19:12):
I would say it's mostly locals. I'm sure they do get
tourists from around the world,definitely from around the
Boston region. But so like inLucerne, which is about an hour
from here, a very well knownplace in Switzerland, they also
have a fastener celebration, butit's more like a Mardi Gras
party so everybody gets dressedin costume and goes there but
(19:33):
here in Basel if you're notmarching in the parade, you're
not welcome to have a costume.
Jess (19:39):
Oh so the one that is probably that you want to show
up all costume for is which WishList okay.
Janene (19:53):
But it it's it's it starts at 4am on a Monday
morning. Oh wow. The whole citylike ever Ready from Basel?
Well, not everyone, but I wouldsay probably 70% of people from
Basel, and the Basel LAN. Sothere's two counties here, Basel
city and model Basel lab. Youknow, I would say 65 70% of
(20:13):
people kind of migrate downtown,three o'clock, 330 in the
morning, at 4am, the light shutoff, they shut the power off in
the city. And then all you hearis this cacophony of military
drums and piccolos Oh, wow. Soit's really quite special. And
then it goes on for three daysstraight, and it finishes
(20:37):
Wednesday night at 4am.
So the lights stay off forthat.They turn them on,
eventually. And there's otherothers. Lanterns is very
politically, well, sometimespolitically incorrect, but very
politically esoterically drivenlanterns, and they have other
kinds of music, what's calledthe Google music. It's, it's a
(21:00):
marching band, but they play ina slightly off key. So it has a
really unique sound to it. Andthey have a couple of parades.
And it's it's good, fun,powerful style.
Jess (21:15):
So what are some like customs are that a Swiss people
may do when eating that anAmerican should maybe know when
visiting? or traveling? Arethere any like dining customs?
Janene (21:28):
Yes, this is this was the one that it now I now when I
go to the States, I'm alwayscompelled to say this, and have
to really check myself. But inSwitzerland, they always say to
each other even at home and enguete, which is enjoy your meal.
Jess (21:45):
Okay, you're going to have to say it slow. En Guerte?
En gueta.
En Guete,En Guete. Yes, enjoy your meal.
And, you know, in the States,you know, generally if you went
to a restaurant, the servermight say, but I never said that
to my parents at home. You know,or something like that. So, but
(22:10):
that is you, you really say youhave to say it. The other thing
that's kind of a golden rulehere is that when you're having
a toast, when you're toastingone another, you have to look
each so when you toast. So let'ssay there's five of you, if I
you and I go to clink glasses,we say oh nine, but now I can't
(22:33):
remember. Duvall. sinnvoll. Soit's kind of like to your health
a little bit. But you have tolook the person in the eye and
say their name. So it'd beinvolved. Yes. And so if you're
in a big group of people, youdon't know everyone's name. It's
(22:54):
a little tricky.
Yeah, I was just about to saythat I always hear tap dancing
when somebody tells me theirname. So that's an incentive
tomake sure you really remember.
Janene (23:06):
Yeah, it really is. It's considered that and whole flag.
Impolite. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Sothose those are two, two
customs. Oh, I know. What's alsoreally I thought was
interesting. Because, you know,in the States, or at least in my
family, I was, you know, I wastalking No elbows on the table.
(23:27):
And if you're not eating yourhands and your lap, yeah. And
then I got over a year and onetime I was at a business dinner
or something. And somebody saidto me, you know, Janine, if
you're not eating, you shouldleave your hands on the table.
Jess (23:40):
Oh, wow.
Janene (23:43):
Why? And they're like, well, otherwise, they think
you're messing around downthere.
Jess (23:48):
Oh, my gosh.
Janene (23:51):
Orup to no good or something. I was like, Oh, okay.
Okay. Okay, hands above thetable. I thought that was pretty
funny.
Jess (24:00):
Okay, so we have it we say, En Grate?
Janene (24:03):
En guete
Jess (24:04):
En Guete, sorry. When you're about to eat this, thank
you for your meal, where you'retoasting somebody, you say?
Tumble tumble, and you have tosay the name so it'd be some
food. Yes. And then you have tokeep your hands on the table. W
(24:26):
hen you're not eating,
Janene (24:28):
When you're not eating hands on the table. So those are
three rules
Jess (24:31):
to take with you to Switzerland, before you eat. Are
there any specific eateries orrestaurants that have like blown
you away? Or bakeries or coffeeshops, anything like that?
Janene (24:47):
I mean, I one thing I really enjoy and this is maybe
more European than just Swiss,but this whole concept of an APA
row. It's not it's kind ofdifficult to work. casual that a
happy hour. And but it's it'slike you just you sit on the
sidewalk, not on the sidewalk,but you sit at tables on the
(25:09):
sidewalk, you have a littlewhite wine or whatever you like
beer, whatever you like todrink, and you just kind of sit
there to chat and watch theworld go by. And I just, it's
like, There's no hurry. There'sno rush. That's Oh, that's one
of the big differences. Oh, I'mso glad you asked that question.
(25:30):
So here in Switzerland, and inmost of Europe, if you walk, go
and sit at a cafe or therestaurant, and you order a
coffee, you can sit there allday, and they will not bother
you. They will not bring you thecheck, they will not ask you.
Nothing like that. So it'sreally it's very leisurely in
(25:51):
that in that context. And veryrelaxing. Sometimes the hardest
thing is actually flagging downthe waitress to get the bill or
the server. But that's I wouldsay that's quite a different
experience than what I've had inthe US. Where, you know, not all
places, but many places. It'sall like, Okay, let's get more
(26:13):
people in. Let's get more peoplein. There's kind of this rush to
sit you feed you and get you outthe door.
Jess (26:19):
Yeah. So it wants you to kind of take your time. Enjoy
your meal. Yeah,
Janene (26:23):
Yeah. Which is, which is nice. Sorry, I now go back to
the original question.
Jess (26:31):
Are there any eateries, restaurants coffee shops that
have blown you away? And if so,what was the item that you
ordered? I added something tothe question. I'm sorry.
Janene (26:43):
No, no, no problem. So I mean, there are chain chains
here, but it's not quite thesame. My favorite, I think my
favorite cuisine of all times,sorry, to my Swiss Swiss friends
(27:03):
and whatever, is Lebanese food.
So when I think of where do Iwant to go to eat nine times out
of 10 it would be if there's aLebanese, Lebanese restaurant
around I will be banging on thedoor. Because I just love their
food. It is so fresh, and sosimple, and yet so delicious. So
that's, that's something that Ireally love. But if you're
(27:27):
coming to Switzerland, I guessto have the true Swiss
experience there's, there's oneor two things that I would
recommend one is just go intothe mountains, go up to Condor
stag or go to Grendel vault.
Interlocking is in the valley,but that's where a lot of people
(27:49):
go. So go up into the mountains,and have an experience, you
know, at a restaurant in themountains itself. And it's just
yeah, it's, it's, it's unique inits own way. And if you go
somewhere where they serve moretraditional food, then then
it's, you know, it's even moreof the Swiss experience. The
(28:11):
other thing is, you know, to goto Lucerne, or Geneva or
depending on where you are goto, you know, the traditional
more traditional tourist places,because even though they're
touristy, they are so beautiful.
And I earlier said this week,just by chance, I was in the
mountains. While we weren't inthe mountains today, we were in
(28:33):
the valley, but I went towardsthe Alps today. And on Monday, I
was at a place called Righi,which is up in the mountains,
and came back down on Monday andhad dinner in Lucerne. And it
was just you know, it's just abeautiful experience.
Jess (28:53):
So we kind of already mentioned that some things to
grab will be some swiss cheeseor some chocolate. Is there
anything else that you may findin a Swiss grocery store that
you can't get in the US?
Janene (29:08):
Good to Frog a good question. That's what that
means. Trying to think so one ofthe things that's like a
national treasure inSwitzerland, and you know, they
have different versions of iteverywhere. But is this Swiss
serve allow which is a sausageand the the Swiss version? I
(29:34):
don't think I've ever seen it inthe US. I'm sure you can find it
somewhere. But of course,because I've lived here for 20
years, I wouldn't know Iwouldn't really know where to go
start looking for it. So sothat's that's one thing and have
a grill party. Yeah, with someserve Allah. What else? I'm
(29:54):
trying to think it's hardbecause you know if I went to
the US and stayed there For along time, I'd be like, Oh, I
can't find this. But nothingparticularly comes to mind. I
mean, now, you know they havewhen I first moved over a year,
(30:16):
you know, there were certainthings that were very hard to
find. But now, you can prettymuch get anything from anywhere
here. And I would imagine in theother direction, it would be
similar.
Jess (30:29):
Have you ever had someone who's a vegetarian or a vegan
visit? And how was finding food?
Janene (30:36):
Yeah, so that's changed a lot. In the last, say, five
years, I would say five yearsago, it was almost impossible to
find, especially if you're veganto find something but that's
changed a lot you have a lot ofrestaurants now that cater to
that, you know, even on a normalmenu old will have at least
(30:58):
vegetarian options and oftenvegan options as well. And then
the grocery stores you findespecially vegan options
everywhere. Now. Switzerland, Iwould say is generally a little
bit slower on the uptake forthese things than other parts of
the world. But they've they'vereally embraced it. And there's
(31:19):
a big push here and the Swiss ingeneral are very environmentally
liberal. Yeah, so they're veryconcerned about the environment
and it's, you know, one of theplaces where we have lots of
green space and they really takecare and that includes with how
they eat. They do love theirmeat don't get me wrong, but
(31:40):
just see a lot more peopleinterested in in alternatives.
And so I think that they're verymuch headed in the right
direction on that
Jess (31:51):
Since you're a big cheese and chocolate fan much like
myself. Are there any varietiesof cheese that you should look
for?
Janene (32:02):
Say I usually when I you know, here at home, you know, I
buy a lot of the standard stuff.
What I like is when I go to themountains whenever I go to the
mountains, I hope I pray that wecome across a birdcage, and I
help Qasr I like a cheeseproducer. And then we can bring
(32:22):
something back because they tendto do more hard cheeses, which I
really like. I don't mind softcheese, but I really like hard
cheese. And they're very sharpcheeses so typical for
Switzerland is your Emmentalercheese, which is what I grew up
in the US knowing is sleaze withholes in it. I know we didn't
(32:45):
even call it Swiss. We just callit cheese with holes in it and
then cheddar wasn't cheddar. Itwas the orange one because that
was the only one my brotherwould eat. I also really like
some of the some of the Frenchcheeses. What's the soft 103?
(33:05):
Yeah, yeah, no, it's not Bri.
That's one of them. That's notthe one I prefer. I'm just
drawing a complete blank oncheese's right now. My apologies
for that. I mean, they have theyhave hundreds of of kinds of
(33:28):
cheese, I'm sure of it. Butthose are the ones that they're
most known for. And I rememberwhen I first moved to
Switzerland, after about a yearand a half, I hadn't met a small
group of American ladies who arehere. We called ourselves the
PALS the professional Americanladies society. And we just made
the acronym up to so that wecould call each other pals
(33:49):
right. And one of the firstevents we did was we went to m
and tall and we made a 10 kiloor a nine kilo Willa cheese. Oh
wow. And then like three monthslater, you could go back and
pick it up and they cut it intoportions for this. I think it
was six of us and we each got abig a big ol wedge of cheese
Jess (34:13):
that was a cool thing.
Will they they ship it to youlike if you're visiting only for
maybea week or two?
I don't know i they might beable to... I guess it would
depend on on Yeah, the importduties and taxes and whatever.
But it was really good fun.
Yeah, I okay. If you'resqueamish at all then maybe you
might not enjoy you knowthrowing bacteria into milk and
(34:35):
reading she but it was it wasreally good fun. I was I was
trying to stall to see if I canremember any more cheese. Oh, I
know when that I really likeit's called Esperance sprints a
sprint SB R I N Zed and it is ahard cheese Oftentimes is used
(34:58):
as a less expensive option toParmesan, because Parmesan real
Parmesan from Italy can be quitepricey. So you can grade it and
it has a similar flavor andtexture to Perpich on but I like
to eat it. Yeah on the car toCherry platter as it's nice and
(35:21):
salty and it has a really lovelyfavorite flavor to it.
Appenzeller that was the one Iwas trying to remember earlier
had been stellar is I believe aslightly softer than an M and
tall doesn't have holes in itusually. And it's not bad
melted. And then of coursethere's the lovely green there
(35:44):
we are might be one of myfavorites. Beautiful cheese.
Nice sharp one.
Very nutty. So are there anychocolates? hate to put you on
the spot again, but any anyparticular chocolate brands or
(36:06):
types that you should look
Janene (36:07):
for? Yeah, so I really depends on what you like. I
mean, the Lindt chocolate, whichyou get all over the US and
actually in the US, they havemore flavors of Lindt chocolate
than they sell here. Really?
Yeah. Oh, yeah, because theykind of they're a little bit
more traditionalists here. Sothey've kind of you know that
Lynne has taken the chocolate tothe US. And then, you know,
(36:30):
created versions of the littleballs, the linen balls that they
have, you know, to the Americanpalate. So like, you would never
find peanut butter in a lintball in Switzerland. That would
be a little bit sacrilegious. Atleast not yet. Who knows what
the future will bring. But whenit comes to chocolate, there's
(36:50):
this specialty chocolatechocolate trees here. I don't
believe she really has gone tothe US or even outside of
Switzerland. So that's a verytraditional, they make prey
liens. There's another one, hisname is not in a letter later.
That's the one I think it'sstill called later. And they
(37:14):
make kind of like a a lot ofbarks. Folks, for lack of a
better word, you know, likechocolate with different nuts,
or cereals or whatever in it.
And you go in, and it's justlike, bark everywhere. They
have, you know, 20 differentkinds. And so those are a little
(37:36):
bit different at sparingly. WhatI really like it sparingly, is
they have a hot chocolate thatyou can buy in a big metal
container. And it's actuallyflakes of chocolate. So it's not
a powder, it's really thinflakes. And each Flake is maybe
the size of a nickel orsomething like that. But what I
(37:58):
like is not just to make hotchocolate with it, but it's
great. You just sprinkle alittle bit on ice cream, or
let's say you've made a dessertand you've kind of messed it up
and it doesn't look reallypretty, then you can top it with
with a little of these chocolateflakes.
Jess (38:14):
Definitely great baking hack
Janene (38:15):
That's what I would do.
I would great a chocolate barover the top to kind of hide any
messiness. So this way, I don'thave to dirty a grater. Sprinkle
a little chocolate on top. Andthat makes a really nice gift.
So for a while they're like ohfor Christmas or birthdays,
whatever. A lot of people when Iwould go to the States would get
one of these cans of of hotchocolate flakes, if you will,
(38:41):
for lack of a better word. Thatis really Yeah, it's just me and
later rock or two places I wouldrecommend
Jess (38:49):
that is really interesting. And now I want a
canister tomorrow.
Janene (38:55):
Where are you located?
Jess (38:57):
I'm in Florida Tallahassee.
Janene (39:01):
Let's see it probably would melt before it ever got.
Jess (39:05):
It will be a can of just the chocolate lump
Janene (39:10):
When I was first it's a funny it's funny story when I
first moved to Switzerland onSwiss airlines, whenever you
flew just before you landed,they handed out these big gold
coins that were chocolate. Andalmost everybody I ever met has
a sob story about how they putit in their pocket before they
got off the plane. Oh, somepoint in the day because Swiss
(39:33):
chocolate melts. Now Americanchocolate doesn't melt quite as
fast. But this stuff it just Idon't think they put the
paraffin wax in it or certainlynot to the same degree so it
meant like body heat melted.
Jess (39:49):
My gosh.
Janene (39:51):
Everybody has a story of you know, chocolate soup on the
tips of their fingers.
Jess (40:04):
That's how you spot a tourist.
Janene (40:07):
Yeah, yeah. I mean, if you don't know that it melts
like that, then you wouldn'teven think twice. You know, if
it was a little Hershey bar, Ireally wouldn't think twice
about putting it in my pocketand saving it for later. But
when it comes to Swisschocolate, you do have to be
more careful. And like when I goto the states, if I'm visiting
in summer, I don't bringchocolate because, you know, if
(40:29):
my luggage gets stuck on thetarmac, waiting for, you know,
the baggage team to come andtake it off the plane and
whatever. Or if I have myluggage in the back of the car,
and I get stuck in traffic, orif I stopped somewhere, it will
be soup. And it's just not worththe risk.
Jess (40:51):
Yes. Well, thank you so much Janene for coming and being
a part of the show today. Ireally appreciate it. Can you
just tell us a little bit aboutyour business? You're also known
as the pricing lady? Yes,
Janene (41:03):
I am. So I'm an expert in the topic of PRICING and
VALUE. I work with smallbusinesses to help them
understand how they can pricemore effectively and build more
sustainably proper, profitablebusinesses.
Jess (41:18):
Awesome. And so if people want to find out a little bit
more about you or a little bitmore about your business, where
would they go?
Janene (41:24):
They can head on over to thepricinglady.com and check me
out there or look for thepricing lady on LinkedIn.
Jess (41:31):
Okay, thank you again, so much for being here. This has
been the flaky foodie podcastand today we took a little trip
to Switzerland to talk about thefood there. Thank you so much
for listening. I want everyoneto have a great week, and Guete?
Janene (41:46):
En Guete.
Jess (41:47):
En Guete, I'm sorry, I'm gonna get it before this
week..En Guete and and eatsomething delicious. Thank you,
everyone. Bye. So I hope youenjoyed this week's flight. If
you did treat it like gossip orthe gospel and tell someone
about it. Now what does thatlook like? That means giving us
a five star rating, sharing uswith your friends, and also just
(42:10):
listening again come back nextweek. I'll be here and make sure
you eat something delicious thisweek. Make sure you say en guete
correctly. And just enjoy. Havea great week everybody.
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