Whenever there is a large trade fair in Basel, all the hotel rooms are booked. Whoever does not book on time must divert – sometimes as far as Zurich, but otherwise the city on the Rhine is very popular with the numerous companies who operate internationally with business travelers. This has induced the French Accor Group to build three new hotels in Basel. One of these is the 4 star "Novotel Basel City" with 145 rooms, comprising furthermore the "Gourmet Bar" designed by the Swiss top architect Bruno Huber , the "Oval Bar", seven modulated seminar and conference rooms for up to 150 people as well as a spa. The Business & Lifestyle Hotel was opened in September 2014 and is headed by Director Robin Deb. Head chef since March 2015, Alexander Herr can rely on the current kitchen technology of Salvis AG, who designed and built the complete kitchen installations.
Regionality is emphasized in the comfortable atmosphere of Basel Novotel since its inauguration the kitchen inspires with the best ingredients both visually and for their taste, as they are fragrant, light and earthy at the same time. Alexander Herr has been in charge of the kitchen since March 2015. The forty year old completed his training in the Holiday Inn "Crowne Plaza" in Cologne. He was also employed in the Maritim Hotel Cologne, the Lanxess Arena (Cologne Arena) and the Achat Euro Park Hotel in Hennef. Alexander Herr is a free spirit who, with his classic cuisine, creativity and technically perfect implementation, particularly as chef of the Hotel Mondial am Dom in Cologne was able to convince. A perfectionist, who continually strives to evolve, driven by the desire for the new and the ambition to provide his guest with a wonderful experience of the palate: "My range of dishes in the Novotel Basel City will be focused on regional, international and seasonal cuisine as well as on the bordering countries such as Italy, France and Germany." An example of this is the three country burger which is served in the Gourmet Bar: 200 gr of Swiss Prime Beef, bacon, onions, Brie cheese from France and tomatoes, gherkins with herbal focaccia from Italy. His menu with for example French onion soup, red snapper fillet with red wine onion confit, barded pork loin, Swiss rösti stuffed with Tuscan vegetables or coq au vin, emphasizes the cuisine of the three bordering countries. For Herr it is simply mandatory here in Basel to "sell fresh" by using top quality products from the region. In order to keep it that way, the house has two objectives: firstly, to ensure the wellbeing of the guests and secondly, to guarantee the profitability of the operation. With the new inauguration further efforts are being made for a sustainable restaurant concept. In general the foodstuffs come from selected suppliers. Swiss products and certified foods are increasingly being taken into account," states Herr.

Individual solution

With Salvis, the traditional Swiss company for kitchen equipment, the Accor group has a contractual partner on hand who also optimally planned the kitchen of the Basel City hotel. From the delivery of goods to the separate cold storage facilities for fresh products with the main emphasis on technology, organization, ergonomics and – last but not least –space requirement, the entire kitchen installation was adjusted to the needs of the individual. Robin Deb: "With the new construction we bet on a high performing partner in order to obtain the best result. If we are going to invest so much money, then that money must also be correctly employed." In order to cook optimally for the guests, it is essentially important to keep pace with the technical innovations. "The kitchen was planned and laid out in such a way that all functional areas in a modern kitchen are also optimized towards hygiene in order that the practical orientation may also be purposefully conveyed," explains Sascha Hofer, Key Account Manager of Salvis AG and in charge of the kitchen of the Novotel Basel. A compact solution arose consisting of a combination of preparation, side posts and thermal stations with combi-steamers, salamanders, hold-o-mats, tilting frying pans, a cooking suite, a vertical deep fat fryer (with incorporated fat /oil filter system) as well as refrigeration appliances in stainless steel with continuous welded and slurred corners in Microlon polish – all equipped with many super and substructures for sufficient storage and refrigeration space. An ingenious lighting technology bathes the white tiled kitchen in a pleasant light creating optimal working conditions for the team of eight

Quality kitchen

The Salvis hob is run in complete hygiene. In the cooling tables – with different temperature areas and smell safe isolation - there are over 20 cooling drawers and two deep freezers. The heatable pass at the outlet has a stainless steel cover. The work procedures and the kitchen itself have been constructed correspondingly. It works according to the "flow principle". Many things run parallel and are strictly separated according to the post in which the principle of division of labor prevails, i.e. the production of a dish with meat or fish, sauces and side dishes is carried out by several cooks at different posts. What the brave and original chef Alexander Herr with his crew – at the top of which the Sous Chef Lerroy Willganis – develops and puts into practice here, can, with the help of Salvis kitchen technology be described as a successful start for Novotel Basel City in an era of fine gastronomic art and hospitality. "From the day of the opening the kitchen passed the test of fire with flying colors. Salvis technology is not only efficient and varied, but also contributes to the current problems of hygiene in the kitchen in every respect," rejoices Robin Deb, together with Alexander Herr over the result achieved.