COLLABORATION
AN EXPERIMENTAL CHEESE JOURNEY
Introducing Gilles Varone, a two Michelin-starred Swiss chef whose singular vision brings a contemporary perspective to Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Made of Makers programme. Known as the Cheese Composer, Gilles Varone approaches cheese as a demanding and expressive ingredient, challenging preconceptions through precision, restraint and transformation. Drawing on Vallée de Joux cheeses and locally foraged, seasonal ingredients, at Le Chalet, his creations will guide guests on a progressive sensory journey, where unexpected textures, evolving flavours and refined visual compositions reveal the true character of cheese.
CREATION
REINVENTING THE 12TH ART
Encapsulating Gilles Varone’s signature style, these cheese creations reinvent the 12th art by elevating a traditionally controversial ingredient into a refined culinary expression. Creamy, crisp, melted and aerated textures unfold through carefully orchestrated contrasts of temperature, form and intensity, creating surprising harmonies that evolve on the palate. Rooted in Swiss terroir and craftsmanship, each creation pays tribute to Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Valley of Inventions, where ingenuity, transformation and precision shape enduring creations.
PAYING HOMAGE TO THE VALLEY OF INVENTIONS
Revealing cheese’s true character, four creations conceived by Chef Gilles Varone for Jaeger-LeCoultre offer a contemporary interpretation of the classic cheese board. Structured as a progressive tasting, the experience unfolds from subtle to more intense expressions, combining refined textures and sculptural forms with Vallée de Joux cheeses and delicately selected ingredients such as pine, honey, and mountain herbs, allowing flavours to evolve with precision and balance.
I am grounded in my terroir and creating from the source. It makes me truly happy to go out into the mountains and forage for wild herbs, berries and other ingredients, create something beautiful with them and serve it to guests.
MAKERS
GILLES VARONE : THE CHEESE COMPOSER
Born and raised in Savièse in Switzerland’s Valais canton, Chef Gilles Varone lets his deep attachment to terroir guide every creation. After refining his craft in leading kitchens in London, including Trivet and Bibendum, he returned home in 2022 to open his own restaurant, earning rapid acclaim with Michelin and Gault & Millau distinctions. Rooted in foraging, strict seasonality, and local sourcing, his cuisine expresses precision, purity, and harmony of flavours, reflecting a philosophy where cooking becomes a way to tell the story of a place, an approach that resonates naturally with the spirit of innovation celebrated by Jaeger-LeCoultre.
PROGRAMME
MADE OF MAKERS: REIMAGINING CREATIVE EXPRESSION
Made of Makers encapsulates a series of collaborations with artists and with artisans from various disciplines outside watchmaking, building a community of creators with similar values and visions of creativity, and provoking new conversations. With intense respect for the person in the process – the creativity of the mind and the skill of the hand – the programme focuses on creative souls who share the Maison’s values and whose work explores new forms of expression.
What's next
The story continues
