Qual è il piatto preferito di uno studente di Aiglon? Fish and chips? Paella? Curry?

With more than 65 nationalities around the table, there is an incredible range of tastes to cater for, and the unenviable task of finding food that excites everyone falls to a team headed by Ms Sonia Bel-Hadj, Aiglon’s Restaurant Manager.

“It can be hard to predict which will be popular,” says Ms Bel-Hadj, who admits that one thing her team has learned over the years is to actually ease off a little on the variety. “We listen more and find compromises. We used to feel we needed to vary the menus all the time, but the students don’t mind repetition. Great ingredients, served in simple ways, are often the most popular.

“Filet mignon with morel sauce beat salmon bagel the other day, which was surprising. We like to try new things, and if it doesn’t work, we try something else.” Swiss favourite papet Vaudois (leek, potato, and sausages) was not a hit, for example. “Students told us they wanted more say in what they ate,” says Student Council member Kabir (Alpina, 2025). “So we collected a list of 25 of the favourite dishes, and now, once a week, students can vote on which one is served. Number one is chicken katsu. Then there’s roast chicken, fish and chips, pizza, hamburger, chicken or cheese bites, and bao buns. The food has always been good, but there’s a lot more excitement around it now.”

As well as being a large operation, it’s a delicate one, which must balance young palates with nutrition and health, as well as considerations like time pressure and sustainability. Delivering to these hungry mouths – 1,000 meals a day, seven days a week – is a 17-strong specialist team, running an operation with flair, soul, and military precision. “But it’s about much more than feeding the students,” says Ms Bel-Hadj. “This is their home, so we want them to enjoy it.”

FIVE-STAR OPERATION

As is the Swiss way, lunch is the main meal of the day, with students starting to pour in by year group at 12.25 pm for the first sitting, and a second around half an hour later. “It’s communal and it’s dynamic,” says Mr Andy Croft, Aiglon’s Director of Operations. “There’s a real buzz, and I’m sure that will only get better in the new Moghadam Campus Hub that opens in 2025. There are rules, though: no hats, no phones, no laptops, no shorts. Of course, it’d be easier to prep sandwiches, but we think it’s important in such a busy day to stop, sit down and eat properly.”

Before they sit, students choose one of three stations, to be served either traditional, world, or vegetarian food from a menu they have seen on an app earlier that day. The staff know which students have allergies, and they keep an eye out to help students make healthy choices. “There’s a pastoral function to mealtimes,” says Mr Croft. “Food and welfare are linked. The trick is to balance out the three menu options, so each is equally appealing.”

There are, of course, unpredictable challenges, such as the sudden arrival of 50 unexpected guests, as happened recently. “But it’s not a problem: we’re running a five-star operation here.”

The kitchen team gets menu inspiration from its diverse staff. “Sous-chef Mr Benji Rocha is into new Asian trends, and our kids love anything Asian. Chicken karaage, beef bulgogi, dim sum, and bao buns. Mr German Velandia Clavijo is South American and he makes arepa – a corn dough with different toppings. I’m French, so I like French food.”

“We also have a pâtissier, who is amazing,” says Ms Bel-Hadj. “Mr Lilian Menoret makes mille-feuille, chocolate éclairs, crème brûlée, and crumble – all the favourites. But also ginger sorbet with coconut ice cream for Lunar New Year. And of course, he makes his own ice cream.”

Since 2015, SV Group has been responsible for providing Aiglon’s meals, under the watchful eye of Mr Rodrigue Benoit. “Our founder, Else Züblin-Spiller, thought a healthy mind went together with a healthy body, and so she provided nutritious meals to soldiers in Swiss barracks,” says Mr Benoit. “SV was born from there, and it seemed very natural for us to work with Aiglon.

“We prioritise fresh local vegetables and meat. Ninety per cent of what we provide is grown in Switzerland – except the vast quantities of bananas! Fresh food actually produces more food waste, if you think about peelings or bones. So we serve a plate size that is optimum for nutrition, and then people can come back for a second plate if they’re still hungry. We want to see clean plates! That’s the ultimate satisfaction.” Mr Benoit also brings in specialist training  – in Pakistani food, for example – and provides a list of seasonal ingredients each month, from which they build their menus.

ALL ABOUT THE FOOD

Dinner time in the evening is a more laidback affair, with two choices of comfort food such as cottage pie or pizza, and students eating in house groups. “Dinner is much more relaxed,” agrees Mr Croft. “Le Cerf girls might come in at 6 pm, then 20 minutes later another house wanders in.”

“Dinner is more like a family time,” says Kabir. “You eat with your houseparents and tutors, so you might catch up about how things are going, or talk to a tutor about something you have in common, like music. Because it’s your house, it’s mixed ages, so you can ask a Year 12 for help about something you don’t want to talk to a teacher about. We call Alpina ‘the Brotherhood’.”

Then there’s breakfast, Kabir’s favourite meal – or rather it would be, if he could find time to eat it! “We lay on as much variety as we can – scrambled eggs, bacon, beans, waffles, pancakes – but we also recognise that some students need a lie-in every now and again,” says Ms Bel-Hadj. “The school also allows houses to miss meditation every two weeks to sit down for a proper cooked breakfast, and that always goes down well.”

Ms Bel-Hadj and her team also cater for the school’s special events. “Graduation is my favourite,” she says. “We do it all ourselves. We try to come up with a fun menu and plan it for weeks in advance. Everybody is dressed up and the whole place is decorated. It’s a fantastic atmosphere.”

Ultimately, though, it’s all about the food, and the kitchen team are rightly proud of what they achieve. “My favourite thing,” says Mr Croft, “is getting an email that just says: ‘Thank you. The salmon was amazing.”

Originally published in the Aiglon Magazine, Issue 22.
Words by Megan Welford
Photography by Joe McGorty
Edited for the web from the print edition.