The local menu is cordon bleu and potatoes, the cheap, filling plates workers come in for, whilst the harvest ships out.

So when a local paper from Graubünden asked for something on my work as a recipe editor, I went to the farmers instead of giving an interview, and saw how they work, what they grow, what they'll tell you about the place. The outcome were two recipes from what the valley actually produces. The chicory, but also the milk, butter and cheese from their own cows, the cherries they preserve, the liquor they make from them. Familiar the way a Wähe is to every Swiss child and a Röteli to every adult.

• Chicory Tart
  

• Cherry Panna Cotta