Jan & Andrea Schmidlin | Schaffhausen

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Economic Promotion Canton of Schaffhausen

A restaurant with five tables? That’s never going to work! When Jan and Andrea Schmidlin took over Restaurant D’Chuchi, tucked away in a narrow street in the old-town of Schaffhausen in 2016, many were concerned about the prospects of success. Those doubts have been banished – it has all worked out beautifully. The couple explains «One sign of what we have managed is the fact we now get bookings from all over Switzerland». And whilst Jan conjures his culinary magic in the kitchen, Andrea takes care of business behind the scenes, alongside working the equivalent of around 4 days a week for another business in Schaffhausen. She lends a hand in the restaurant when needed but mainly deals with the admin and management side. «We have a fantastic team of staff here, but without Andrea’s help, I wouldn’t be able to make this work.» Jan recognises.

Young, successful and confident Schaffhausen is the right place to be? «Absolutely», the couple, now parents of a baby daughter, confirm. «If we were in Zurich, we could flip each table three times per evening. But that’s not what we want to do. Both of us hail from this area. I grew up in the Breite district of the city, Andrea is from a wine-growing village in the nearby Klettgau region. Schaffhausen is our home, we have family and friends here. This is where our roots are and we couldn’t imagine moving anywhere else.»

Jan Schmidlin completed his apprenticeship as a chef at Restaurant Park, close to the landmark Rhine Falls in the city. That was a real «tourist hot spot», he explains with a smile. He then decided to pick up further experience by moving to the Toggenburg region in Switzerland for a year, but, as he admits, his heart was always in Schaffhausen. Having returned to his home town of Schaffhausen, he then spent time in two local restaurants renowned for the quality of their food - Restaurant Sommerlust on the banks of the River Rhine and Restaurant Frieden on one of the city’s main squares.

He met Andrea whilst on a professional development course. At the time, Andrea was spending a lot of time in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, due to her work, and had also spent a year in Australia. The two quickly developed plans to go abroad. Then, out of the blue, everything changed: «In 2016 we were offered the opportunity to take over this unique restaurant.», Andrea looks back, «At that point, it was immediately clear to both of us that this was a project we simply had to take on.»

Both of them love the fact that everything in Schaffhausen is close to hand – suppliers, ease of access to the authorities, and, of course, family and friends. «If there’s ever a problem with the electricity, we’ve got the electrician’s mobile number and it gets sorted in no time», Andrea laughs and offers another example: «We got married last year and were able to organise and source everything within a 200 metre radius. Jeweller, shoes, tailor and flowers. I love having everything so close to hand and knowing people instead of just picking up the phone to a stranger.» Jan also values the compact nature of the city. «I can deal with 80% of my errands on the way to work, without needing to go out of my way. I can pick up the cheese we serve from Chäs Marili, pop into our butcher and call in at the market to select fresh fruit and veg from local producers.

As a young family, juggling work and family commitments is anything but easy, but here, too, they’ve come up with a plan. Jan looks after their daughter in the mornings and Andrea takes over in the afternoons. They also get help from their families.. «We couldn’t do it without them», Andrea concedes.» And because free time is so rare and prized, they enjoy those moments of time-out all the more – getting on their bikes and following a local cycle-route or walking one of the many signposted trails in the locality.

Their special places? Lots to choose from, they say. Top of the list is the River Rhine, with its promenade through the city and walking and cycle paths along the banks both up- and downstream. They also love walking and cycling in the nearby forest, with Guntmadingen a particular favourite and a great place to bbq or picnic. Another top-pick for the couple is the KSS leisure park with its outdoor pools in the summer and ice-rink in winter. They also love the picturesque hamlet of Stein am Rhein, located on the banks of the River Rhine, where they tend to stop at the outdoor pool for a drink or head for Restaurant Uferlos for something special to eat. Eating out is actually an important consideration when planning local trips and also holidays. «We sometimes pick the places we want to eat at and then work the rest of our travel plans around those. », Jan Schmidlin confesses, with a smile.

Jan and Andrea Schmidlin are happy. They took the brave decision to start a business, invested blood sweat and tears and are now enjoying the success they have worked for. Their wishes for the future include seeing even more ‘makers’ who turn their visions into reality and move the dial even further when it comes to gastronomy within the region. And for themselves? «Schaffhausen offers lots of scope for new ideas. To be honest, our next objective is to consolidate and take it all in. We got married last year, have started a family, bought a house and achieved a ranking of 15 points from Gault Millau. It’s been full on, but in a good way. Now we’d like to enjoy the moment.»