Monday, 05 May 2025
2:30 PM to 5:00 PM including aperitif
SHL Swiss Hotel Management School Lucerne
Adligenswilerstrasse 22, 6006 Lucerne
Chef seeks farmer, farmer seeks chef
Soil to Soul Producers Arena
Who produces food, who has demand? Soil to Soul brings you together.
Food producers often don't have the time to focus on sales. On the other hand, food processors are always happy to discover new and exciting sources of local products. This applies equally to the hospitality and commercial sectors.
With the Producers Arena, a platform for exchange between producers and gastronomers is created. Here, the farmer is not looking for a spouse but for a chef; the gardener is seeking someone with ideas to turn fresh produce into durable, high-quality products. Moreover, together we explore ideas to achieve our common goals with less effort and thus strengthen production in the region.
The next Arena in Lucerne:
The Produzenten-Arena is organized by Soil to Soul and the Zurich office Public History Food of Dominik Flammer. The well-known food scout and author also serves as the moderator of the Arena. At the 2nd Lucerne Soil-to-Soul Produzenten-Arena at the SHL Swiss Hotel Management School Lucerne, three innovative and exemplary actors will be introduced in a short panel discussion, highlighting what successful collaborations between different groups should look like. Of course, culinary, logistical, and cultural questions will also be discussed. Afterward, a casual speed-dating session will take place between producers, chefs, farmers, and restaurateurs.
Recap of the last Producers' Arena in Lucerne
Panel Participants: Producers in Conversation
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Martin Schmitz
Biometzgerei Uelihof, Ebikon (LU)
Martin Schmitz is the managing director of Ueli-Hof Organic Butchery in Ebikon, LU. Ueli-Hof takes care of everything in-house: from ethical animal husbandry to their own slaughtering, refinement, and sale of meat products through their own stores, restaurants, and retail partners.
By exclusively processing their own livestock, they ensure a respectful approach to animals even in their final moments while guaranteeing full traceability. Their commitment to nose-to-tail butchery and artisanal craftsmanship results in high-quality, innovative creations. -
Axel Dippold
Molki Stans (NW) and Show Dairy Engelberg (OW)
Axel Dippold is one of the two minds behind Molki Stans. Five years ago, he relocated his life from Basel to Stans and traded the corporate world for the dairy. Molki Stans is one of the few remaining small dairies resisting the ongoing industrialization of the dairy industry, a process that has been advancing for the past 70 years.
In the heart of the historic village of Stans, they produce a variety of dairy products in small batches using milk from carefully selected farmers. These include pasteurized milk, cream, yogurt, coffee milk, quark, and even the famous Stanser Fladä.
For nearly ten years, Axel and his partner Christian have been delivering cheese from mountain, farm, and alpine dairies—producers they personally know and appreciate—directly to customers’ homes in Basel and Lucerne via bicycle every two weeks.
Just before Christmas 2024, the two cheese experts opened their new show dairy at Engelberg Monastery. For Axel, this is a playground where he can fully pursue his passion for locally produced, authentic, and high-quality sensory products. -
Nora Breitschmid
Bioweingut Sitenrain
Organic winemaker Nora Breitschmid runs the family winery Sitenrain in Meggen, near Lake Lucerne, alongside her three sisters. She is also on the board of the Swiss Association for the Promotion of New Grape Varieties (Piwi Switzerland)—where “Piwi” stands for fungus-resistant grape varieties.
In addition to winemaking, she co-organizes the NON music festival, which takes place annually on their vineyard. Nora exclusively cultivates robust grape varieties, producing high-quality wines that reflect their terroir.
Her family also operates a second organic winery in Sicily, where they combine oenotourism and agriculture.
Panel Participants: Hosts in Conversation
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Sebastian Rensing
Ox’n, Schenkon (LU)
Sebastian, 34, comes from Mauensee in the canton of Lucerne. After working in Lucerne, Zermatt, and London, he has been running OX’n Schenkon together with his wife Katharina since September 2017. Over the past few years, they have developed their establishment into a fine dining restaurant, embracing this concept with great passion.
To become more sustainable, they have been using only Swiss meat and fish for the past four years and continuously seek regional suppliers for all other product categories. -
Nadine Stadelmann
Villa Honegg, Ennetbürgen (NW)
Lucerne native Nadine Stadelmann joined Villa Honegg in Ennetbürgen two years ago as sous-chef and recently took over as head chef. Previously, she worked at the renowned Roots restaurant in Basel before going on a culinary journey.
Her cooking style is deeply rooted in local, regional, and seasonal cuisine. -
Thomas Pollet
Magdi Beiz, Lucerne
Thomas Pollet has been a chef and co-owner of Magdi Beiz in Lucerne for four years. The restaurant focuses on cooking with regional ingredients, with spices being the only exception. Everything served at Magdi is homemade, from bread and jus to ice cream.
Pollet completed his culinary training in Aargau and later worked in Kastanienbaum (LU) and Weggis before spending a year in Canada, where he immersed himself in classic French cuisine, old-school style. Upon returning to Switzerland, he worked at Tropenhaus in Wolhusen, co-initiated Millefeuille in Lucerne, and cooked at Drei Könige in Lucerne.
Our partner in Lucerne
Past Producers' Arenas
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Zurich
SOIL TO SOUL PRODUCERS' ARENA
On 04 November 2024, the Producers' Arena took place for the third time in Zurich, at Karl der Grosse.
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Bern
SOIL TO SOUL PRODUCERS' ARENA
At the first Producers' Arena in Bern, business cards were exchanged, and connections for the future were made once again.
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Zurich
SOIL TO SOUL PRODUCERS' ARENA
As part of FOOD ZURICH, the second Zurich Producers' Arena took place at the Rüsterei.
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Lucerne
SOIL TO SOUL PRODUCERS' ARENA
At the first Lucerne Soil-to-Soul Producers' Arena at the SHL Swiss Hotel Management School Lucerne, new connections were made, and…
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Zurich
SOIL TO SOUL PRODUCERS' ARENA
The first Soil to Soul Producers' Arena took place on 4th September 2023 at Karl der Grosse in Zurich.
