Naturelle'' and immediately their mouths begin to water and their palates fairly tingle with excitement.

The award-winning, internationally renowned Master Chef is in Bermuda to conduct classes at the Bermuda College and will also be cooking at the Coral Beach and Tennis Club regularly during the next two years.

Anton Mosimann was raised in his father's restaurant in the village of Nidau, in the Swiss canton of Berne. Both of his parents cooked, with his father preferring to make meat and sauce dishes. When little Anton had completed his homework, he was put to work in the kitchen, often chopping herbs, or washing the dishes.

"I always wanted to be a cook,'' Chef Mosimann says, "because I loved to handle food.'' This passion was inherited from his mother who would often take him on trips to area restaurants to taste various dishes. "You are never too young to learn how things taste'' was her motto.

The trips became a favourite pastime, but around the tender age of eight, Mosimann would find himself spending more time in the kitchen experimenting with dishes, and cooking for friends. His active imagination enabled him to enhance his mother's recipes to his satisfaction.

At the young age of 15, things began to move very quickly for Chef Mosimann.

He was invited to be an apprentice at the Hotel Bearen in Twann, Switzerland.

During this time, he also attended cookery college to work toward earning his Diplome de Cuisine. This apprenticeship lasted nearly three years, after which he passed his diploma exams, and was awarded the distinction of being the best in his class.

His next post was at the Cavalieri Hilton in Rome, where his fertile mind quickly absorbed the intricacies of Italian cookery.

In addition to his training in cooking, young Anton earned a degree in commerce, for, as he puts it: "I wanted to be sure that I gave myself as varied and as solid a grounding in my chosen career as it was possible to acquire.'' The summer of 1966 saw Chef Mosimann as the Chef Tournant at the prestigious Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Canada. And he was only 19 years old! But the thirst for knowledge did not go unquenched, for during this time he added another qualification to his impressive list -- a diploma in teaching.

After a return to his native Switzerland, the young chef began working toward the Chef de Cuisine Diplome -- the highest culinary award in Switzerland. He had hardly begun his studies before a letter arrived stating that he was appointed to serve as chef in the Swiss Pavilion at Expo '70 in Japan.

His personal philosophy that a chef should always be in touch with his growers and suppliers led him to explore the local food markets, where he discovered all kinds of Japanese delicacies. He also visited the world-famous kobe beef farms, where he discovered that the Japanese have a unique way of raising their animals. It seems that the cattle are massaged daily for 20 minutes with rice wine, and are given a daily drink of beer! After the Expo closed, rather than immediately returning to Switzerland, he stayed on in Tokyo for a while learning the arts of food presentation.

At 25, Anton won his head chef's diploma -- the youngest person to have ever done so. But soon the wanderlust took over again, and he found himself in Scandinavia, learning how to prepare food -- particularly herring dishes -- the Swedish way. Cooking is usually a male-dominated profession, but to Anton's surprise the reverse is true in Sweden. "It was the first time that I had worked with so many women,'' he says, "and I enjoyed myself thoroughly.'' To this day, Chef Mosimann makes a point of employing women in his kitchens.

At 29, Chef Mosimann became head chef at one of London's most prestigious hotels -- the Dorchester, where he managed to win a Michelin two-star rating for the hotel kitchens.

In 1988, Chef Mosimann decided to take on a new challenge. For his next professional move he decided to create his own restaurant. It would be more satisfying, he thought, to be able to cook for people he knew, to be able to give them their favourite dishes, and create surprises for special occasions.

The perfect site turned out to be the Old Belfry Club in London's Belgravia, and April 1, 1988, was the day that the club became Mosimann's.

"The club has been a wonderful place to host all kinds of events,''he says.

"Since opening our doors we have entertained royalty from over a dozen different countries, including Britain, and the list of celebrities from Joan Collins to Elizabeth Taylor to Jack Nicholson to Baroness Thatcher grows continually.'' And, since the club opened, Chef Mosimann has been hosting cooking shows for Yorkshire Television in England. The series has been filmed in such diverse places as Budapest, northern France, Switzerland, and of course, London.

For Chef Mosimann, the pace is hectic, but as he says: "It's all a part of the business that I love, and that is such an important element of my life.'' TOP CHEF -- The award-winning, internationally renowned Master Chef Anton Mosimann is in Bermuda to conduct classes at the Bermuda College.