For the fourth time, Vermicelles fans will get their money’s worth at a unique pop-up store in Zurich this fall. From November 4 to 27, only chestnut puree desserts will be on Vermicelleria’s menu. This means: blows with characteristic piles of worms.
Visitors to the restaurant in the 4th district can choose between noodles made from Ticino or Bergell chestnuts. The mug contains a meringue with either a baked, Gruyere double cream meringue from Emmental, or a meringue with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. There is also – optionally – compote made from warm cherries, gourmet coffee, fruit brandy and cider with quince schnapps. All products come from Switzerland.
Nicole Heim, 34, interior designer and co-founder of Vermicelleria, says what makes a Vermicelles dessert so special is the combination of different consistencies. “Creamy little worms, brittle meringue and moist cream – this results in a unique interaction.”
1.5 tons of chestnuts were used
He came up with the idea of serving the typical Swiss autumn dessert seasonally in a shop with friends from the creative space he shared a joint studio. Heim says they eat a lot of noodles at work and eventually realize that most of them are made from Italian or Portuguese chestnuts. “There are places in Switzerland where they grow relatively wild.”
Half of the approximately 1.5 tons of chestnuts used for the upcoming Vermicelleria were collected by Heim with his friends and about 15 colleagues in Ticino over the course of a week. He got the other half from the chestnut association in Bergell. It’s a tough job, he says. If Selven doesn’t care, as the trees are called, you’ll have to bend over and look for the so-called hedgehog in the leaves. Each contains three chestnuts that must be peeled. “Even an experienced collector can lift only six pounds an hour.”
“Vermi Paradise” including fan shop
Then the chestnuts should be sorted and placed in water. If there is a worm, it will come to the surface. The harvest was processed by Rudolf Moser AG, the Vermicelles factory in Siselen, Bernese Seeland. “Our puree has a natural flavor because it contains no preservatives and little sugar,” says Heim.
When the first Vermicelleria opened in 2019, it had to close early as customers bought the entire range. Meanwhile, the space in the Gelateria Tellhof, where the pop-up bar was previously, was dwindling. That’s why Vermicelleria is opening its doors this year in a larger location on Bäckerstrasse 26.
A “Vermi Paradise,” as Heim calls it, is built on 240 square feet in a three-metre-high room with an industrial look, including a fan shop selling items like posters and t-shirts. You can also buy ceramic pots made specifically for Vermicelleria.
Vermicelleria, 4 – 27 November, Bäckerstrasse 26 (inner courtyard), 8004 Zurich