In 1957, Margrith Hiltl traveled to Delhi as the official delegate of Switzerland to the World Vegetarian Congress.

Inspired, full of enthusiasm and with countless spices and recipes, she came back to Zurich. From the first moment on it was clear to Margrith Hiltl, that Indian dishes would be an expansion to the kitchen and she decided, you should also be able to order Indian dishes at Hiltl. However, curry, coriander, turmeric, jeera and cardamom were not so easy to find in the cosmopolitan Zurich of the 1950s.

Luckily, her Indian friends brought the exotic spices and ingredients with them on their travels to Switzerland. However, Margrith’s Indian dishes did not go down well with the kitchen staff. They refused to cook the dishes. This did not stop Margrith: She prepared all the Indian specialties in her private kitchen on the 2nd floor of Haus Hiltl until one of her cooks took over the preparation. More Indian guests started visiting Haus Hiltl and SWISS Airlines started offering the Indian dishes on their flights, which intrigued all the other guests to expand their taste buds.

Ever since the 1950s Margrith has established Indian cuisine at the Hiltl and thus throughout Switzerland. Up until this day you can taste our hommage to Margrith and her love for Indian cuisine in our dishes on the Hiltl Buffet, in the À la Carte restaurant of Haus Hiltl and now even in your very own kitchen.