Story: Art at table

A lakeside cuisine

Overlooking Lake Lugano, the Galleria Arté al Lago restaurant turns cuisine into a form of creative expression, giving life to true works of art in gourmet style.

Born in Germany, he moved to Ticino in 1993. His career began here at the Hotel Giardino in Ascona, before he moved to Lugano in 1999, where he worked as sous-chef alongside head chef René Nagy at Le Relais in Villa Castagnola. Since 2001, Frank Oerthle led the kitchen of the Galleria Arté al Lago restaurant for over twenty years, creating signature dishes together with his young and talented team and playing a key role in shaping its culinary identity.

THE CHARACTER

Frank Oerthle, a creative and precise chef, with a focus on flavour and sustainability

Nothing is thrown away in my kitchen, not even the stock!

16 Gault&Millau points and a special location just a short distance from the Grand Hotel Villa Castagnola in Lugano. An art gallery transformed into the Galleria Arté al Lago restaurant, the pride and joy of Villa Castagnola. An exclusive venue decorated with real artworks by international artists, featuring themed exhibitions accompanied by delicious, creative and subtle dishes, primarily using fresh and saltwater fish.

An artist in the kitchen for over 25 years, Frank Oerthle, who learned Italian in just 2 years, welcomed us into the kitchen that had been his kingdom for many years, where the aromas of his creations began to fill the air.

From an art gallery to the walls of a UNESCO World Heritage castle: today, the chef brings his creations to the table of Ristorante Castelgrande.

Organisation and preparation are two key factors in his work, but cleanliness is also extremely important in a professional environment. According to Oerthle, experience also helps and teaches him to reduce waste in the kitchen. In fact, nothing is thrown away here: the stock can be reused, pasta dough left over from making ravioli can be transformed into tagliolini, while meat and fish are both cooked to order.

Although there’s no shortage of practicality, the most important thing is that the aromas of his ingredients can be perceived in the dish. Because of this, the cooking process sometimes takes several hours.

Dishes selected and prepared with care and precision, sometimes featuring flavours from Ticino, but primarily international in tasted.

We need to be patient if we want a tasty dish. Good food takes time!

The products are always fresh and the pasta is so fine it dissolves in the mouth.
These are some of the secrets of the chef’s cuisine, who enhances every ingredient with creativity and a focus on local products, crafting menus with contrasting flavours.
From the simplest to the most difficult and complex recipes, for dishes that could withstand an art critic,
such as the "Bottoni" of peas cream and lobster morsels.

But where does the great chef get his inspiration? Depending on the products in season, taking a little look at what colleagues are doing, “sometimes ideas come to me when cycling around Ticino, and other times as soon as I wake in the morning.” In short, it’s a bit of a mix. However, the most important phase is sharing everything with the team. “The imagination is huge and this is where the best creations come from.” And even if times are hard and restaurants are closed, Oerthle doesn’t lose heart.

“During lockdown I spent a couple of days helping some farmers harvest their vegetables on the Magadino Plain.”

Pro tip

The traditional Ticinese markets offer a wide variety of local and seasonal products displayed on colourful stalls. They’re not just a place to shop, but also a way to immerse yourself in Ticino’s culture.

Local Ticinese products can be found in one of the many restaurants participating in the “Ticino a Tavola” initiative, created to promote seasonal and regional ingredients, following the motto “homemade”.

For those who love to discover authentic flavours and real stories rooted in the land, the Agriesperienze offer activities such as vegetable harvesting, farm visits, and tastings led by expert local producers.