From cheese fondue and raclette to Züri geschnetzeltes and minestrone, there are plenty of amazing Swiss foods to try out during your stay in the alpine nation. However, despite being the home to a number of great dishes, a new ranking by TasteAtlas has put one Swiss delicacy in its list of the top 20 worst dishes in the world: Riz Casimir.

Worst dishes in the world list by TasteAtlas

To create the list, TasteAtlas used the user reviews from the more than 10.000 different meals listed in its online encyclopedia. Those with the worst overall reviews were then compiled into the 100 worst meals of 2023.

This year, Indigirka Salad from North-Eastern Russia won the prize for the worst dish in the world. Coming from Yakutsk - which is the coldest city in the world - the dish involves combining diced frozen fish with onions, oil, salt and pepper. The dish is then accompanied by fish roe, lemon wedges or a dressing - if this doesn’t sound too bad to you, the poor reviews could be attributed to a backlash after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

However, it is safe to say that the rest of the podium really does deserve to be there: in second place with an average score of 1,8 out of 5 is Canadian Pizza Cake - a multi-layered pizza cooked in a pot or pie pan. Perhaps the worst tasting on the list was Hákarl from Iceland - a dish made from fermented Greenland shark meat, whose smell and taste can cause even the toughest tourist to vomit.

10 worst dishes in the world

At the time of writing, here are the 10 worst dishes in the world:

1. Indigirka Salad (Russia)
2. Pizza Cake (Canada)
3. Hákarl (Iceland)
4. Anis de Flavigny (France)
5. Fried Spider (Cambodia)
6. Stegte Sild (Denmark)
7. Erter Gule (Denmark)
8. Vegetable Roll (United Kingdom)
9. Deep-fried Pizza (Scotland)

However, alongside the fried spiders, salted herring, pig heads and German Anisplätzchen, Switzerland also featured on the list with its own supposedly awful food: Riz Casimir was named one of the worst dishes in the world in 2023, coming in 18th place.

Why is Riz Casimir one of the worst dishes in the world?

Riz Casimir was invented in 1952 by the founder of the Swiss international company Mövenpick, Ueli Prager. The dish soon became a hit in restaurants across Switzerland, with many at the time thinking that the meal was more “exotic” than the traditional fayre. Today the dish is far less common but still has a loyal following, especially among the elderly.

So why is it on the list? Well, the original dish does get an initially reasonable review as it consists of sliced veal meat in an offensively mild curry sauce. Unfortunately, that is where the positives end, as to make the dish more “exotic” the curried veal is traditionally combined with fried banana, canned pineapple and a cocktail cherry on top - certainly not something you’d see in a Michelin-star restaurant any time soon.

How to make Riz Casimir

Nevertheless, to celebrate its inclusion on the list, here is a basic and modernised recipe for Riz Casimir to try at home! 

Ingredients for Riz Casimir (serves four people)

• 300g long grain rice
• 600g chicken breasts, sliced into 2-centimetre cubes
• Sliced almonds
• Sugar
• Salt
• Pepper
• 2 onions, cut into wedges
• Your own selection of fruit like bananas, pineapple, and grapes, cut into bite-sized pieces
• Lemon juice
• Butter
• 1tbsp, white flour
• 1tbsp, medium curry powder
• 200ml chicken stock
• 200ml milk

How to make Riz Casimir

1. Cook the rice to your liking, drain and set aside.
2. Fry the chicken in butter until completely cooked through and season.
3. For the sauce, saute the onions in butter for around four minutes, then add the curry powder and the flour before adding the chicken stock and milk. Stir and boil the mixture down until thickened and creamy.
4. Add the meat to the sauce and cook until well heated. Season to taste.
5. Heat your choice of fruit with butter, a little sugar and lemon juice.
6. Place the curry and rice on a heated plate, and garnish with the fruit mixture and some flaked almonds.
7. (Try to) Enjoy!

Find out about the rest of the world's worst dishes

In comparison to the rest of the dishes on the worst list, Riz Casimir may seem tame, but clearly, a lot of people aren't fans of the Swiss classic. For more information about the rest of the ranking, please consult the TasteAtlas website.