There’s nothing like spending a bit of time on the shop floor to get a firmer grip on the finer details of running a business. I could argue that I’m ‘out on the floor’ in the widest possible sense most days of the year but manning our 10 sq m shop and café in St Moritz on Christmas Eve with my colleague Aude is another thing entirely. 

First, it’s huge fun being the business owner ringing up orders for hot chocolates and boiled wool vests. It’s better still when there’s a line out the door, only Aude running the La Marzocco and I doing my best tap dance routine to keep everyone happy while they wait for perfectly poured flat whites and matchas. It’s during these moments when people are browsing and scrolling that you can strike up conversations and get the clearest picture of Monocle’s very global community of readers, listeners and heavy coffee consumers.

I met the former CEO of a Turkish bank and we had a long discussion about the current state of Istanbul and London and the finer points about where the world is heading. Yesterday, a Korean mother and son came in looking for nothing in particular but were somehow focused on outerwear. The son was rather taken by our Arpenteur wool and angora coat and its volume but the mum was having none of it. After explaining all of our collaborations and own-brand products to her, I could sense that she was wondering where “Made in Korea” was amid all of the weaving and sewing in Portugal and Japan. I guided her toward some T-shirts and that caps we developed with the brand Kappy from Seoul and before I knew it she had a cap on her head and was ready to pay. Along the way I found out that they were on a European tour and would be heading back to their home in Honolulu. 

A bit later on, there was an invasion of handsome gentlemen from Abu Dhabi. First question I asked: “How long have you been in St Moritz?”. The second question I kept to myself. “How on earth do you all manage to keep your beards looking so sharp? Did you fly in with your barber? There is no such grooming service for Gulf men up here in the Engadine, so please tell me how you all look so trimmed and tweaked?” As Aude prepared Americanos and hot chocolates for the nine of them, the lead in the group asked a lot of questions about Monocle and what I thought of Abu Dhabi and if we would ever open there. “Perhaps,” I said. “But where?” Some 20 minutes later we were still weighing up the street versus mall and whether we should go to Dubai first before opening up in Abu Dhabi. “What do you think of a drive-thru Monocle,” I asked, somewhat cheekily. “Of course, do it. Yalla!”

While the Gulf is definitely on the cards, I can reveal that the next two Monocle cafés will be in North America and Asia and in cities beginning with T. Along the way we are likely to do pop-ups here and there but by this time next year we’d like to have added at least another three cafés to the existing lineup.

Should you find yourself up in St Moritz over the coming week, please pop in to say hello and if you happen to be in town on 30 December, please join us from 17.30 for a bit of holiday cheer at our shop and on the terrace of the Hotel Steffani. I’ll be happy to discuss café and retail expansion plans if you’ve got a location or two on offer and my colleagues Aude and Iulien will be around to ensure that you’re fully signed up as a paying subscriber for 2026. If I don’t see you in a few days, then all the best for the New Year and, as ever, thank you for your support.

Enjoying life in ‘The Faster Lane’? Click here to browse all of Tyler’s past columns. 

The Miramonti Boutique Hotel in Hafling, perched high above Merano, has long been renowned for its infinity pool with a remarkable South Tyrolean view (writes Ilona Marx). As for the interiors, alongside striking maisonette suites, three apartments were thoughtfully crafted by local designer Harry Thaler. But owners Carmen and Klaus Alber are not the type to settle.

Earlier this month, the pair opened the latest addition to the Miramonti family: the Rotwand Mountain Restaurant, set right in the middle of the Meran 2000 ski area at 1,818 metres. For the culinary direction, they brought in Südtirol chef Christoph Huber, whose interpretation of Alpine cuisine is well known from his restaurant Zur Blauen Traube in Algund, which opened in 2019.

His dishes are grounded in regional traditions: think Gerstsuppe (barley soup) with cured pork and root vegetables; tarte flambée with potatoes, bacon and sour cream; Fleischkrapfl (meat dumplings) and Serviettenknödel (bread dumplings) with braised red cabbage. And in the private Rotwandhütte cabin next door, 10 patrons can share the legendary Miramonti raclette.
hotel-miramonti.com

Sturla Sigurjónsson has been the ambassador of Iceland to the UK since 2020. Here he shares his tipple of choice, a book recommendation and the classic Icelandic garment for optimal warmth this winter. 

Where will we find you this weekend?
I’ll be relaxing at home in Kensington before going on a brisk walk.

What’s for breakfast?
A full English breakfast. And to drink, Lapsang Souchong (Chinese black tea) followed by strong coffee.

A Sunday soundtrack? 
I am a loyal listener of BBC Radio 3.

What’s on the menu?
Rock ptarmigan or other game along with a smoked leg of lamb.

Tipple of choice?
A glass of Icelandic Brennivín, a caraway-flavoured schnapps.

Which brands does your wardrobe currently consist of?
I got my first suit from Savile Row in 1992, which surprisingly fits my current measurements. However, in cold weather, the optimal garment is a hand-knitted Icelandic woollen cardigan known as the lopapeysa.

Which book are you currently reading?
I mostly read non-fiction. I just finished Henry V by Dan Jones and look forward to starting Guinness: A Family Succession by Arthur Edward Guinness.

Kaiserschmarren (or Kaiserschmarm) is a style of shredded and caramelised pancake that takes its name from the Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I. While the Austro-Hungarian Empire dissolved a century ago, this dessert remains popular across Austria, Germany, Hungary and Czechia. This version by our Swiss chef favours elegant rhombus-shaped pieces of pancakes as opposed to the roughly shredded variants.  

Serves four people

Ingredients
60g flour
200ml milk
1 tsp vanilla sugar
1 pinch of salt
Grated zest of one lemon
10ml rum
6 eggs
40g butter
60g icing sugar

To serve
Berries
Vanilla cream

Method

1.
Preheat the oven to 220C.

2.
Sift the flour into a bowl and whisk in the milk, vanilla sugar, salt, lemon zest and rum. 

3.
Gently fold in the eggs, one at a time.

4.
Grease a gratin dish with a small amount of butter and fill it to about 1.5cm high with the batter. Bake for about 20 minutes.

5.
Once baked, let the pancakes cool then cut into large, rhombus-shaped pieces and sprinkle with sugar. 

6.
Caramelise the pieces in a frying pan with a little butter and sugar until golden brown.

7.
Divide the caramelised Kaiserschmarren onto plates and garnish with berries and vanilla cream.
ralphschelling.com

Gazing at the snow-covered peaks of Slovenia’s Julian Alps from the sun-kissed terrace of Chalet Sofija is not exactly hard work (writes Guy De Launey). Especially for guests reclining in the heated outdoor swimming pool, gently massaged by the bubbles in the water and, perhaps, refreshed by a glass of something similarly effervescent.

For the couple who own and run this luxury hideaway up a steep, winding road, a short drive away from the bustling Kranjska Gora ski resort, this is the culmination of a lifetime of labour. “I like to call it a retirement project,” says Aleksandra Rass with a chuckle. “After 75 years, this is an excellent last part of my life,” confirms her partner, Svetozar Raspopovic, a renowned Ljubljana restaurateur and chef who is universally known as Pope.

They say that Chalet Sofija is their home – and it feels like it, though an offer to help with the washing up was cheerfully rebuffed. The downstairs lounge has piles of books and magazines for leisurely perusing, while the five spacious bedrooms are named after the couple’s grandchildren. Each features an impressive, Slovenian-made Coufer sound system and a TV hidden inside a Roche Bobois console – not that you’ll want to enjoy that rather than the view.
chaletsofija.com

For more cosy Alpine retreats, pick up our winter newspaper, ‘Alpino’, which is on newsstands now.