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In January 1975, The Peninsula's first CEO Peter Gautschi  interviewed Max Liechti  in St Moritz, Switzerland. Six weeks later, the larger-than-life Swiss chef was on a plane to Hong Kong. He was sous chef at the group's Hong Kong hotel, then executive chef in 1981 and took the helm at Chalet,  the Royal Pacific's  Swiss restaurant, in 1988. When the Asian financial crisis hit, the place closed, leaving Liechti out of a job and penniless. A friend offered a lifeline. 
'I had not a penny to my name,' says Liechti. 'He said: 'You go look for a place. See how much it costs and if I can, I will help you'.' Liechti found a premises, bought and scavenged furniture from the closed-down Royal Pacific and opened Swiss Chalet 14 years ago. 
 Some reviewers have likened Swiss Chalet to Chesa, at The Peninsula... 
 It's a problem.
 Why is it a problem?
 I keep the quality, but my prices are not as expensive as the hotels. If I had prices like the Sheraton or Peninsula, then I think the place might be empty.
 You use speciality ingredients from Switzerland and have a cheese counter. Are quality ingredients important?
 The essential ingredients all come from Switzerland. The cheese, the dried meats, the schnapps and some wine. I don't want to cut my quality; it's against my principles. 
 What exactly is Swiss cuisine?
 It's a little bit of home cooking. Swiss cooking is hearty food. Cheese is my daily bread. If you don't like cheese, we'll have a problem (chuckles).
 Cheese is in vogue these days, but it hasn't always been so ...
 In the early days, it was really not. It was a tough sell. Even now during a year, two or three customers may walk out because of the smell. 
 The smell comes largely from cheese fondue. What goes into the dish?
 A little bit of emmental, gruyere, vacherin and landenberger, mixed with wine. They are the traditional cheeses, and that's our mixture. In some places, even in Europe, you might eat a fondue that sticks to your gums. This is because they put too much emmental inside. Emmental makes it gluey, but it's added because it's cheap. 
 Is there an art to eating fondue?
 You have to stick the bread on properly, go into the fondue and  stir for two or three rounds. If you don't stir, the cheese and the oil separate. Blow it and eat from the stick. People don't do that. They dunk it and then cut it with a knife and fork. It should have a slight crust. Out of 30, maybe two customers eat it in a nice way. 
 You offer deer carpaccio, medallions and goulash. Is deer popular in Switzerland?
 Deer? That's very typically  Swiss. Oven-baked rhubarb is another. In the old days, everyone grew rhubarb in the garden. At the Royal Pacific, I could never sell it, now I have people calling and saying that if we don't have it,  they won't come. 
 One of your famous dishes is the Toblerone fondue, made from the Swiss chocolate bars. Who came up with that idea?
 We started it at the Royal Pacific. One manager came and asked to  put chocolate fondue on the menu.  I said no. He came back with a recipe, cooking chocolate melted  in water. I said: 'Sorry, no way.' I came up with the Toblerone fondue. I had to get consent from Toblerone to call it that. It has 80 per cent Toblerone, the rest is cream and custard. 
 Are there any regular customers who have been eating your food since the beginning?
 There's one, an American. He used to come to the old places. His son was here last night. 
 What advice would you have for a chef looking to start his own restaurant in Hong Kong?
 To be honest and to do what he knows best. So many times we have a 'French' restaurant here, an 'Italian' restaurant there, but   they are all cooking the same  things. It's like they are trying to  copy each other. Why does no  one copy the Swiss?



If you want to eat well in my restaurant, say 'cheese'