“A Careful Selection by Martin G?schel” | Let's meet Stefan Neuhaus, Beekeeper

“A Careful Selection by Martin G?schel”: A New Serie of Portraits

We are delighted to release our new serie of articles called “A Careful Selection by Martin G?schel”. In the next few weeks, we'll be sharing portraits of producers with who we're collaborating closely to honour the ”savoir-faire” of these men and women who make the richness of our region. With the great diversity of products used in our kitchen, we will of course go beyond the borders of Saanenland to celebrate more widely the greatness of the Swiss terroir.

Let's meet Stefan Neuhaus, The Alpina Gstaad' beekeeper

Today, we are presenting the first producer we wish to highlight: our beloved beekeeper Stefan Neuhaus.

Without him, our Alpina Garden would certainly not be so lush. If the great variety of flowers are developing with incredible speed, it is undoubtedly thanks to Stefan's 450,000 bees that have taken up residence in our land.

A passion shared by his family, he decided to follow the path & become a professional beekeeper. After several years of training and travelling to meet beekeepers in the four corners of Switzerland, Stefan settled down in the Saanenland to develop his business.

In addition to his local origins, he decided to settle in the region because the nature is conducive to beekeeping: wild and free of large cereal farms using pesticides. An ideal playground for bees.

Today, there are 50 hives that he looks after daily, divided between l'Etivaz, Gsteig, Chateau d'oex & Gstaad, including 9 on the grounds of The Alpina Gstaad.

The Bee Whisperer

He likes to say that he has learned to communicate with his bees. With observation, time, and his “savoir-faire”, he knows how to recognize an unfamiliar buzzing sound, unusual wanderings that may indicate a problem in one of his colonies.

The Alpina Honey: a reasoned production

For our hotel, it is annually 10 to 30 kg of honey per colony that he allows himself to collect. Not more, leaving the bees enough of their own honey to keep warm during the winter months.

Obviously, by moving his hives 3 times a year to different altitudes keeping them at mild temperatures, he could easily triple his honey production. But he wants to remain away from these unnatural practices. For him, the equation is & should stay simple: one hive, one location, one colony, one harvest per year.

Martin G?schel' work around bee products

Every season, our executive chef Martin G?schel is looking for new innovative ways to use our honey, pollen or beeswax directly sourced in our 9 beehives located in our grounds.

In our new summer tasting menu at Sommet Restaurant, you will discover the surprising dish "The Alpina Bees' Garden".

A dish honouring the fabulous bees products: a sole fillet delicately cooked in beeswax & served with a sweet honey glaze.

Bee Workshops all summer at The Alpina Gstaad

If you’d like to meet him, during the whole summer season he shares his passion for beekeeping by organising weekly workshops at The Alpina Gstaad for hotel guests exclusively. The hotel provides all the necessary gears for this experience.

Find out more about our workshops by clicking this link: Bee Workshops | The Alpina Gstaad.