When chef Michael Zentner told me he was developing a riff on “Swiss onion soup” for Merci — the Charleston, South Carolina, restaurant that he co-owns with his wife, Courtney — I hesitated to admit it was my first time hearing of the soup.
Of course, I knew French onion soup, the classic dish built on slowly caramelized onions and beef stock and capped with toasted bread and bubbling cheese. Was I hearing Zentner incorrectly?
He told me that he in fact found a reference to a Swiss onion soup recipe while combing through old American nouvelle cuisine cookbooks for menu inspiration. My quest to find additional Swiss onion soup recipes led me down a few internet rabbit holes, all of which brought me to the same place: Schuler’s Restaurant & Pub a historic restaurant in Marshall, Michigan, that has served a Swiss onion soup for more than 30 years.
According to executive chef John Stovall, this soup didn’t originate at the restaurant, but it has become a Schuler’s stalwart. The popular soup even earned a shout-out in a 2015 print travel guide highlighting small Michigan towns in partnership with the Michigan Tourism Department, a longtime client of Midwest Living.
John Stovall, executive chef of Schuler’s Restaurant & Pub
“We thicken our (Swiss onion soup) with a roux, and I just like that thicker consistency. When it’s cold out, people want a hearty soup.”
— John Stovall, executive chef of Schuler’s Restaurant & Pub
Schuler’s house recipe shares some similarities to French onion soup, with a few unique departures. The two soups begin similarly, with yellow onions (a whopping 30 pounds per batch at the restaurant). In France, the onions can run the gamut from blond to deeply browned; at Schuler’s, they stop the caramelization sooner, cooking the onions just until they turn sweet and golden.
One of the largest differences between this soup and traditional French onion is the base. Instead of drawing upon beef stock, Schuler’s Swiss onion combines a purchased concentrated roasted onion base with the restaurant’s house au jus from its popular prime rib. As for the alcohol, Schuler’s leans on Guinness rather than sherry, gaining extra depth from the dark beer’s roasted maltiness. Finally, the soup is topped with a blend of Swiss and Parmesan cheese and baked until golden and bubbly.
For Stovall, the consistency is another way Swiss onion distinguishes itself. While French onion typically skews medium-bodied or even thin, Schuler’s version lands firmly on the velvety side. “We thicken ours with a roux, and I just like that thicker consistency,” Stovall says. “When it’s cold out, people want a hearty soup.”
At Merci, Zentner also uses a roux, but gives his Swiss onion soup extra body with crème fraîche. He also skips the traditional broiled cheese topping, as his restaurant doesn’t have an overhead hood. Now, he’s riffing on the concept again with a chestnut soup, swapping caramelized shallots for onions and adding port for a deeper, fruit-forward sweetness.
As Stovall and Zentner prove, there is no one true version of Swiss onion soup. Even as Schuler’s menu evolves based on customer interests, the soup stays almost exactly as it’s always been. “It’s one of those things people come back to time and time again — we don’t touch it,” Stovall says.
Zentner, meanwhile, treats the soup as a reminder that recipes are endlessly adaptable. “If I wrote you a recipe for Swiss onion soup, it would start with caramelizing onions in animal fat and adding alcohol,” he says. “After that, you’d make it your own.”
Will Swiss onion soup start showing up on more menus? It’s hard to say. One thing is for certain, though: Whether you go classic French or take the Swiss route, you’re in for a bowl of cold-weather comfort.
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