Escaping the ordinary in the Alps with Zermatt Kollektiv

The Zermatt Kollektiv is a creative space built on the idea that experiences should be shared. Housing a lodge, luxury restaruant and Bib Gourmand-rated Aroleid, Zermatt Rösterei which is the highest coffee roastery in the area, and a ceramic school and studio, Marián Podola has created his own little ecosystem where experiences reign supreme.

CULINARY KNOW-HOW in ZERMATT

Czech-born Marián Podola left his home at 17 to see the world and travel around Europe. Hopping from Spain to Greece, he discovered his passion in the kitchen when he found his pockets empty while on holiday. Unbeknownst to him, this would pave the way to him working as senior sous chef to Gordon Ramsay, with Jason Atherton, at Heston Blumenthal’s lab kitchen, and even being head chef of McLaren for F1, doing events for Land Rover, Bombardier, Le Mans, and many more.

Through the years of hopping through different kitchens and honing his craft, he eventually realised he wanted to return to the mountains and bring his concept, that is now the Aroleid Kollektiv, to life. At Aroleid Kollektiv you can eat excellently crafted food, learn to create your own ceramics or even roast and brew your own cup of coffee.

While each space has its own unique experiences, the restaurant is where the whole concept of sharing comes to life. Here, you can spend time with the chefs in the open concept kitchen to see the fresh ingredients transformed before your very eyes into works of art onto your plate while maybe even having the plate be one you created in the Keramik Studio yourself.

THE HIGHEST ROASTERY IN ZERMATT

In a district of the Alps where local craft, artisans, and traditions are believed to be the best of the best, the Zermatt Kollektiv is the first and only fully-internationally run business in Zermatt. Pioneering the coffee industry in Zermatt, they are the only roastery present in the district, and the highest one at that. When asked why he decided to develop his own coffee, he laughs and says that as a chef you drink tons of coffee and so it's only natural that you drink the ‘good stuff’. So naturally, he wanted to have a place where he could have control of his own coffee at a higher level and attract coffee geeks like himself.

AROLEID KOLLEKTIV

The restaurant even offers coffee tastings in degustation fashion, with a coffee tasting that can be just as long as any other gourmet dinner. Marián laughingly recalls times when he would be running around the city begging people to try and buy his coffee, but locals in the area would much prefer to buy from their friends or family.

At the ceramic studio, all pieces are designed together with the culinary team, almost always around the dishes served in the restaurant. When asked what some of his favourite moments are, it’s the shock when a client comments on how beautiful the plate is and where they can get it, only to be told that if they want it they can purchase it right off the table or even go downstairs to create their own versions. It’s a novelty and a unique experience that they have created in knowing that everything that you’re surrounded with is created by the Kollektiv. Whether you want to learn about pottery in an intensive one-week course, or have your kids do a course to keep them busy.

With every team member being a foreigner, and Kollektiv itself trying to bring something new to the table of a quite-traditional area, it was a long and hard road to finding their footing. Nowadays, the group of pioneers have undeniably successfully established themselves, even earning their Bib Gourmand rating from the Michelin Guide within less than a month of opening their doors, and continuously bringing exceptional experiences to all those who wish to partake in their philosophy.