Former owner of the Alphorn Swiss Restaurant in Angaston and home economics teacher at Xavier College Gawler, Mr Reto Gasser was remembered last night at an event held at the Artisans of the Barossa in Tanunda.
Mr Gasser, an internationally experienced chef and popular teacher, passed away on 20 January of this year after an ongoing battle with respiratory illness. He was 72.
Local Member of Parliament, Mr Tony Piccolo who attended the event said he was deeply saddened when he heard the news about Reto’s passing, whom he had known for about 10 years since they met when Reto was teaching the Certificate 3 program at Xavier College.
“I was reacquainted with Reto through his involvement in the Barossa German Language Association where he delighted in preparing food for their monthly coffee and cake events,” said Mr Piccolo.
“A number of loving tributes from former Xavier College students to former employees and friends were delivered at the event to celebrate his life.”
“Reto had a positive influence on the lives of people he came into contact with.”
“The tributes from former students clearly demonstrate he had a love of teaching.”
Reto was born in 1949 in the city of Chur, in the southern region of Switzerland where he developed a lifelong passion for food and cooking, receiving his professional cooking certificate in 1967.
Cooking gave Reto the opportunity to travel the world and he worked at several different 5-star hotels across Europe including the Hotel Storchen in Zurich.
Reto joined the Swiss Army, which was compulsory at the time and after the army Reto worked at many restaurants across Europe including the iconic Carlton Hotel in St. Moritz and Hotel Schweitzerhof in Bern prior to completing the last instalment of his military service in Friboug.
Reto left Switzerland in 1972 heading to Britain to learn English and he worked as a Chef in the south of England in Torquay, and then for a hotel restaurant in Leeds.
After a short stint back in Switzerland he took up an opportunity to work in Perth, where he worked at the Parmelia from April 1977 as a relief Chef.
He finally ended up in South Australia working at the Travelodge on South Terrace, after working his way across the Northern Territory, Queensland, and Victoria.
“He certainly loved to travel,” said Mr Piccolo.
His involvement in a cooking competition caught the attention of TAFE SA who in October 1982 asked him to become a teacher at the Regency TAFE and he began a Diploma of Teaching in 1983.
“Reto lived life to the fullest and food and people were his great passions,” said Mr Piccolo.