Jaeger-LeCoultre Adds Michelin-Starred Chef Gilles Varone To Its Made Of Makers Series

The words “Swiss” and “cheese” are often synonymous. But for one Swiss chef, the two Michelin-starred Gilles Varone of the Savièse Restaurants, there is more to cheese than one might initially expect. With this in mind, Varone prepared a platter of four cheese dishes designed to challenge and disrupt the idea of cheese. These delicious bites were served to invited guests at Jaeger-LeCoultre’s cafe at its booth at Watches and Wonders 2026.

Varone is the latest in an exclusive curation who are part of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Made of Makers programme—a collection of world-class artists and artisans outside of watchmaking, who share the same values and visions of creativity. Previous Made of Makers include chocolatier Mathieu Davoine, gastronomist Himanshu Saini and street-light painter Roy Wong.

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While cheese is a cornerstone of culinary heritage and one of the symbols of Swiss excellence—along with chocolates and watchmaking—it sometimes has an elitist reputation, or may be seen as too overpowering or intimidating in some culinary cultures.

Working off Jaeger-LeCoultre’s ‘Valley of Inventions’ themes, Varone’s four creations were sourced only from artisanal producers, and in keeping with his values as a chef, complemented by local and seasonal ingredients that he forages himself. Under his masterful hand, cheese becomes a symbol of creative expression and pure culinary delight. Read our interview below.

When did you first start pursuing cooking?

I started cooking at 14 years old. I started because of my grandfather. He used to love to gather people around the table to have a family meal. It was very important for him to sit down and appreciate what he was doing.

Why did you want to work with cheese for this collaboration with Jaeger-LeCoultre?

Because cheese is everywhere. Cheese is in our blood and in our veins. The idea was to try to “break” this concept that cheese is too smelly or that cheese is not good enough. We created four beautiful and amazing bites with different varieties of cheese, to break these preconceived ideas.

Related article: Watches And Wonders 2026: Jaeger-LeCoultre Debuts A New Triple-Axis Tourbillon And Reversos That Capture The World’s Natural Wonders

This year, Jaeger-LeCoultre celebrates its origins in the Vallée de Joux. How are you influenced by your “terroir” in your cooking?

Where I am from has a big influence and impact on my cooking, because we were going into nature to pick the herbs and so on. So I am very, very close to and proud of my terroir. And it’s the same with Jaeger-LeCoultre—their manufacture in the heart of the Vallée de Joux is really beautiful, peaceful and quiet, which I think is the key to being a successful watchmaking force.

How does picking your ingredients change the way you think of and prepare your creations?

It has a lot of impact, because when we create a dish, we always start from one ingredient. So we go out into nature and see what’s available, or what’s not. We speak to the farmers. We speak to the producer. And once we have the first ingredient, we will start from there and then move on. So we have to adapt with nature.

With climate change, that’s very difficult to do. But once the ingredient is there and is at its peak and has the best flavour, we use it. When it’s no longer available, we change the ingredient. It seems very simple, but it’s not because you need to be always on the move and on track.

How did it feel to be approached to be part of Made of Makers with Jaeger-LeCoultre?

When they approached me, they were very humble and welcoming into their family. And this is what made a difference for me, because I have had many different collaborations with other brands, but have never felt this level of welcome, plus the freedom to do what I wanted. They left a lot of room for creativity, and I could really express myself, which for me was very important.

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Tell us about your four cheese creations for Watches and Wonders. Which is your favourite?

I wanted to start with the soft cheese, and the idea is to have something very easy. For Perle D’Hiver there is a pear compote, a little bit of honey from the Vallée de Joux that makes it sweet and sour, and a bit of acidity as well, from the verjuice. Verjuice is unripe grape juice, so it’s very acidic. It’s like vinegar, basically, but with great flavors. So you have a very soft entrance.

Then you move on to the Macaron Forestier. It’s a macaron as everyone knows it, but we made it cheesy with a Maréchal cheese. There’s a little bit of cheese miso as well along with some herbs from the Vallée de Joux. So it’s a very nice combination of herbs, cheese and miso... there’s a lot of flavors in one with a bit of sherry vinegar as well.

Then you move to the quiche, which we called the Quiche du Chalet. Everybody knows quiche as well, but we decided to do a glaze of turmeric and pear, so it’s quite punchy. Then we also used hazelnut oil from Switzerland, and hazelnuts as well.

And then we finished with the masterpiece, the Coeur du Neige, which is a cheese fondue. Everybody knows the [classical] cheese fondue, so we had to completely reinvent it with a little bit of bread crumbs on the bottom, cheese foam—so it’s aerated inside the foam—and wild garlic capers that we picked ourselves, as well as some pickles. When you eat the four bites in that order, the flavours go from mild to strong.

What are your plans for the year ahead?

Every day is a challenge, because you know you need to be ready for the service ahead. It’s like playing a football game. But when we have two services, we are playing two football games in one! We need to always be at that level as guests have waited about three months (for their reservation) so we cannot disappoint. Every day is the start again. Every day is back down to zero. So we really need to be focused on keeping that level and that standard every day. This is what I’m focused on.