”There were once three brothers who were traveling along a lonely, winding road at twilight. In time, the brothers reached a river too deep to wade through and too dangerous to swim across. However, these brothers were learned in the magical arts, and so they simply waved their wands and made a bridge appear across the treacherous water.“

For this being the beginning of „The Tale of Three Brothers“ it somehow reminded me of the three Roca brothers, also extremely gifted in magical, i.e. culinary arts, each of them in a very distinct way. Joan, the eldest, is the head chef, world-renown for inventing and adopting various culinary techniques*. Josep, the middle brother, acts as the maître and head sommelier** whereas Josip, the youngest, is in charge of the desserts***. Together, they have created their own bridge between their culinary message and the diner. It all comes down to evoke emotions by applying most advanced self-developed techniques – in a nutshell, the Roca brothers at the core of techno-emotional cuisine.

The notion of three elements continues to be present in the restaurant itself. In 2007 the three brothers moved into completely renovated premises comprising the old villa (La Torre) built in 1911, the rectangular lounge / bar area and the triangular dining room. There are also three gardens – one that welcomes the diner when he approaches the entrance, one that offers zen-like contemplation within the triangular glass box in the dining room and finally one that houses lots of vegetables and herbs just behind the kitchen.

Breath-taking, emotional and just amazing – one of the most beautiful and enchanted restaurants I have seen in my life.

La Torre

After the reception, the whole entrance area is a white lacquered space where the magic begins…

Entrance Area

… to proceed to the bar to have a small sip of cava and some snacks…

Bar

…and finally, the impressive dining room welcomes the diner…

Dining Hall

Enough about the interior, let’s talk about the occasion as it is very rare to have such a fine group of foodies packed on one table. When we were doing our Copenhagen Crawl in February 2010, Steve Plotnicki proposed that he would like to arrange a dinner at El Bulli for some of us who had never been there. A man a word and a couple of months later we were getting an email that Steve will get a table in February. Needless to say we planned a couple of other meals around our trip, so Can Roca was naturally included.

There we were, the godfather himself, the miraculous ulterior epicure from Kansas City, Laurent from GastrosOnTour, Gary Alan Fine from VealCheeks, a French civilean and myself – and we had great fun.

Olive Tree

Sitting in the bar, we have a nice selection of snacks all starting with some caramelized olives hanging from a miniature olive tree. Delicious. Then some Bellini bonbons, Sardine bone chips that captured the essence of the Sardine taste all together with some nice Cava – life can be just great.

Menu on the Black Board

After being seated we quickly agreed to go for the “Feast” menu (11 courses at a very reasonable 145€) supplement by the Roca’s signature oyster dish as well as a goose a la royale (for half of us) and pigeon (for the other half).

Tapas

Instead of common amuse bouches Joan has traditionally been serving some small bites, or “tapas” as they call them in the kitchen. From my 2008 visit I was familiar with the intense pigeon parfait that again turned out to be just yummy. The truffled brioche served with a pot au Feu broth was much too heavy, a criticism often voiced in the course of this meal. The omelet was a traditional Catalan preparation, but it pulled also some strings for me, as I had often eaten omelets as part of (hotel) breakfast or for dinner. However, this piece was much too small to really have a lasting effect and could stand up next to the strong other flavours. A so-so start.

Oysters with Agusti Torello Cava – Apple Compote, Ginger, Pineapple, Lemon Confit and Spices

Originally created in 2005, the oyster dish stems from an old Larousse classic: huîtres au champagne. Joan experimented quite bit especially with the consistency of the cava as normal cava would have been too light to conquer the meaty oysters. In the end, the cava is thickened with Xanthan, poured and served at room temperature.

A perfect example of how the Rocas work on their recipes through thorough analysis, continuous improvement and, finally, perfect execution. However, the dish was less impressive than expected, bringing me to my main theme of the night: expectations. After having experienced an amazing and mind-blowing meal here in 2008, the bar was raised quite high. Compared to a similar dish in 2008, Chablis oyster, the flavors were too blurred and not crystal clear, but it demonstrated the essential character of both protagonists whereas the other flavors were kind of soaked up by the thickened cava.

’Escalivada’ – Charcoal-Grilled Eggplant, Pepper, Onion, and Tomato with Anchovies and Smoke of Ember

Two distinctive Roca elements in one dish: first, the use of smoke that the Rocas have been experimenting for some years now (I can still taste the smoked eggplant soufflé with sardines from 2008) and second, a cuisine that tries to evoke emotions from the diner by drawing on traditional flavors. Escalivada is a traditional prepration of Catalan cuisine (escalivar means “to cook in hot ashes“), with eggplants, red tomatoes, sweet red peppers and onions being charcoal-grilled and served stripped. Joan filled each of the veggies with a cream of its mousse paired with anchovies and perfumed it with the smoke of ember emphasizing the charcoal notes.

Not having grown up in Catalunia, this was hard for me to judge as it was not a familiar taste and grilling vegetables is not so common-place in Germany. But anyhow, it was delicious, rich, and intense with the smokiness a bit too dominating. Excellent.

Artichoke – Foie Gras Soup with Orange and Truffled Oil

A dish from 1991 (!) that was just too creamy and rich to be enjoyed properly. Overall pleasant and even delicate but any kind of textural surprise was missing. A good dish but hard to place in a lengthy menu.

Charcoal-Grilled King Prawn – Acidulated Mushroom Juice

After the previous dish, the barely grilled king prawn had a difficult stand. Subtle, with sweet acidity the dish was problematic for me mainly due to rather rare texture of the prawn. In 2008, we had a similar dish that I didn’t like that much neither…

Onion Soup – Crespia walnuts and Comte cheese

Another delicious in itself, but overly heavy, dense and texture-less course. Some monotony creeped up on the table…

Sole – Olive Oil and Mediterranean Flavors

A clear star of the night: an impeccably prepaired fresh piece of sole paired with five different flavors: fennel, almond, orange, piment and olive oil. As simple as this might seem, to taste the fish with each of the flavors showed a different perspective and the transformation ability of the sole as it perfectly ‘adjusted’ to each. Excellent to outstanding.

Baby Squids with Onion Rocks

Apart from the outstanding quality of baby squids and the yummy intense soup-like juice (much lighter though as the previous soup dishes) this dish didn’t speak to me or conveyed a message.

Red Mullet – Suquet and Lard

Hard to say but this was hardly edible as the red mullet was pretty rare and the suquet (a Catalan seafood stew) was overly salty.

Steak Tartar - Spiced Tomato, Caper Compote, Pickles and Lemon, Hazelnut Praline, Meat Bearnaise Sauce, Oloroso-Sherry Raisin, Chives, Sichuan Pepper, Pimentón de La Vera (D.O.) Smoked Paprika and Curry, Small Ccoops of Mustard Ice Cream and Mustard Leaves

A classic of the Rocas that inspired many chefs around the globe, this elaborate constructed and structuralistic dish had everything one dreams of when it comes to modern cuisine: outstanding product quality, ingenious flavor pairings and interesting textures. Outstanding!

Lamb – Sweet Potato and Tangerine

Roca’s ballontine dishes have some tradition, back in 2008 I had a fine goose terrine. Again, this dish was texturally interesting, especially with the crispy skin a part, but the lamb itself was rather fatty and smelled to lamb-like. Moreover, I found the tangerine and sweet potato too overpowering and the overall dish therefore out of balance.

Young Pigeon – Anchovy Sauce, Black Truffles

This was much better, but nevertheless, had we known that we supplemented another ballontine, we would have refrained from ordering it. A superb piece of pigeon with nice texture.

Green Colourology – Lime, Avocado, Green Apple

Colourology is, together with the deconstruction of perfumes, of the key themes of Jordip’s work. In a cumbersome and lengthy process he condenses same colour flavors and assembles them to convey a certain mood. Here, green tries to calm down the diner (which was necessary after this rather heavy meal). The style and the presentation, somehow reminded me of the Copenhagen school, much less of a genuine Roca dessert. But, this was one of the clear highlights of the meal.

Lemon-Distillate Sorbet – Lemon Rind, Perfume

Not finished yet – Jordip showed another technique the Rocas have been obsessed with for some time: distillates. This lemon-distillate was just perfectly intense, maybe of the best variations around the lemon theme I have ever eaten.

Vanilla, Caramel, Liquorice – Dried and Caramilized Black Olives

To conclude, a vanilla ice cream of benchmark authenticity and product character whereas I didn’t like the olives that much – I think there were too many of them on the plate which made them rather dominant.

Chocolate Box

The Verdict

When judging a meal, it very much hinges on your prior expectations – given my stellar 2008 meal at El Celler, the continuous praise from critiques all around the world (now at No. 2 of the Pellegrino list), and the third star it is fair to say that my hopes had been high and the bar was set out high. If I now measure the food only against my expectations, this was a meal far below what I longed for. Heavy or soup-like dishes that were delicate in themselves but offered no suspense with respect to flavors or textures (the onion soup, the foie gras soup, the baby squids), dishes hard to eat due to saltiness on the edge (king prawn and the red mullet with the suquet) or sweetness (the lamb) made the overall experience a rollercoaster coupled with textural monotony.

Surely, there were clear stand outs: the sole, all of the desserts, the tartar and the pigeon were really excellent but they didn’t reach the high accolades of the oyster Chablis dish, the melon/jabugo deconstruction, the eggplant/sardine soufflé or the anarchy dessert of 2008. I dearly missed creativity, the ability to absolutely wow the dinner – it seem like a toned down version of the borderline creative meal in 2008.

This brings me to my central point: has the hunt for the third star slowed down the evolution in this usually pace-making, trend-setting restaurant? Has a safe-harbor strategy won over utmost creativity? Hard to tell, but many other three star chefs (especially in Germany) seem to be ultimately free after the third star and accelerate their engines instead of backspacing…

Additional to the food comes atmosphere that is really one of a kind at Can Roca, perfect ambiance, perfect service, perfect wines at very reasonable prices that all together will bring me back for sure. Maybe next time with lowered expectations and a then exceeding expectations experience. May the hope be with me – the three brother can do magic, if only they have just forgot to use the elder wand for now.
☺

___________________________________________________________________________________
* Joan is widely respected as one of the masters of sous-vide and low-temperature cooking, experimentation with smoke, char-coal grilling and distillation. An overview can be seen here http://www.cellercanroca.com/TECNIQUES/tecniques_2.htm
**Josep has developed a deep understanding of wine pairing in adding emotional aspects to certain dishes. He is a profound fan of German Riesling.
*** Jordip was the first pastry chef of creating desserts that resembled perfumes being decomposed into their different flavors. And, I am still in love with his Anarchy…

The Chef

Here, Christian Scharrer impressively proves that he is back on the block, maybe even stronger than ever. After his formidable time at the Schloßhotel Bühlerhöhe where he was awarded 18 points in the Gault Millau and also elected chef of the year 2005 he somehow needed a break in the Frankfurt Airport Club before he started at the AROSA two years ago.

Christian Scharrer

Another great chef from Baden, Scharrer grew up with his grandparents having a local restaurant (“Gasthaus”) and a small farm so that his way into gastronomy was kind of pre-determined. A couple of important chefs are on his CV: his first post was at the Colombi hotel in Freiburg where Alfred Klink served as a tough but technically very elaborate and advanced master. He moved on to work for Jörg Müller in Sylt and, most importantly, as a sous-chef of Harald Wohlfahrt at the Schwarzwaldstube to name just the most important stints he served. So, utmost precision and product excellence can be expected…

The Restaurant

Buddenbrooks is located in the Lübeck room of the former Kurhaus which is now part of the AROSA complex: huge and impressive at first sight but still comfortable and not intimidating, for me a place to feel at home immediately. But, I have to admit I am big fan of Jugendstil interior with high ceilings, stucco and the like…

Buddenbrooks Interior

Scharrer offers two menus, one more regionally oriented Menu Terroir and one more internationally oriented Menu Visite both priced at 119€ for six courses. I opted for a mix of both and let Mr Scharrer choose for me. .

My Menu

And, I let the sommelière (who unfortuantely left the restaurant shortly thereafter) prepare a wine pairing using mostly wines from Baden. A not too bad idea as it turned out…

Nibbles

To accompany a very nice 2005 Malterdinger Bienenberg Pinot Sekt brut from Bernhard Huber, the kitchen served a three piece arrangement of small nibbles – delicate lobster, intensive suckling pig with lentils (already gone on the picture, greedy me…) and a bit too dominant roll of smoked herring (as far as I recall). In a sense these set the stage as especially the suckling pig was programmatic of the menu with strong rustic flavors that in turn was a bit too intense for an ouverture.

Amuse 1: Pigeon, Foie Gras and Topinambur

The first amuse pleasantly surprised and even wowed – the combination of slightly warm pigeon, pigeon cream, foie gras cubes, Jerusalem artichoke (fried and as pieces) and pigeon/truffles jus was very harmonious and showed precisely constructed flavors, proportions and textures. Only one foie gras cube more would have balanced out the dish and some herbal notes could elevate this even higher. Excellent.

Amuse 2: Dashi with Enoki Mushrooms

The only let down of the whole menu as this was not really fitting in the overall context and had a difficult stand after the excellent first amuse. Stand-alone a very good dish, in the overall menu dramaturgy a bit lost and misplaced.

Eel with Pear, Beans and Bacon

The first course was again on the high level of the pigeon amuse: a traditional dish from the Northern part of Germany, pear, beans and bacon are cooked as a stew, often also with potatoes – a simple, cheap and satiable ‘working class’ dish… Christian Scharrer’s version is very different and offers an interesting transparent decomposition of the different elements: lukewarm eel to add intensity and smokiness, crsip pork belly, pear cubes and jelly, bacon cream, fried bacon and some lardo played a wonderful concert of textures, temperatures and flavors. Both the eel and the pork belly showed diligent craftsmanship – excellent to outstanding overall, a real winner!

Scallop with Barley, Tongue and Onion

The parade of rather rustic flavors continued with an intensely roasted scallop coupled with some crunchy barley, tender tongue and a onion sugo to die for. Just immensely yummy and brilliant.

Loup de Mer with Cabbage and Truffles

Loup de mer with cabbage and truffles was next – unfortunately the loup had been under the hold-o-mat for a little too long and the skin was not that crispy any more. But besides that, a very good dish with a nice interplay of earthy notes of truffles and slightly sweet cabbage.

Potato Textures with Bacalao and Caviar

A surprising declination of different consistencies of potato (puree, mousse, espuma and tiny fried bits) – creaminess kicked in at first with an archetypical potato aroma, then the caviar added some smokiness that was amplified by the use of bacalao. Surprisingly light and excellent.

Boudin Noir with Bio Foie Gras and Sauerkraut

Maybe not anyone’s favorite, but I simply loved it as it stretched the boundaries of fine dining demonstrating that seemingly simple rustic ingredients (one could also use some ordinary liver pâté) can be just amazing. The key insight here was that boudin noir and Sauerkraut just work fantastic together – building on that Scharrer used this basic accord, strengthened it by the roasted pastry dough with boudin noir filling and toned it down through the use of a light cream and an espuma of Sauerkraut. Transparent, not too heavy and to the point. Excellent!

Wild Rabbit with Beetroot and Sauce Rouennaise

As a main, the wild rabbit had enough strength to stand up against the intensity of the former courses. Nicely accompanied by different beetroot structures and a classic Sauce Rouennaise. Very good.

Coffee, Malt and Mango (I)

As I learned, Christian Scharrer always presents his dessert ideas in two servings letting him more freedom to improvise around an idea. Never before did I have a combination of coffee mousse, malt jelly and thinly sliced marinated mango that turned out to be as it would just have to be this way. Again a rustic and earthy touch whereas the malt’s sweet side served as a catalyst for the coffee not to be too strong and thus built a bridge between the coffee and the mango. Excellent.

Coffee, Malt and Mango (II)

To be fair, I didn’t take notes of the second serving but as far as I recall it didn’t live up to the level of the first combination…

Petite Fours

The Verdict

Christian Scharrer’s cuisine has character and emotion. In his creations he shows a certain reflection of his character in that he goes with his gut feeling and is absolutely dedicated to his cooking. Scharrer loves strong and rustic (could we say “German”?) flavors and successfully demonstrates that there is room for a declination of rusticality in fine dining as he does so with diligence, insight and precision. For many others, such a cuisine could badly backfire as here the thin line between fine and ordinary “Gasthaus” cuisine is hard not to cross. Mr Scharrer does exactly this with bravery.

In combination with the splendid service led by Nathalie Meyer I can’t wait to be back. Thanks to the whole team!

Meanwhile, in Paris: an armada of restaurants were ready to challenge conventional French snobbery and luxury dining, among them places like Frenchie, Saturne, Le Chateaubriand, Rino, Yam’Tcha*, La Bigarrade** or Passage 53**, to name but a few. Even though they are not hunting the stars, some of them receive them, with the second star for Passage 53 being recently awarded in this year’s Guide Rouge. And most importantly, this does not lead to changes in the concept or catapulting prices: at La Bigarrade, the 12-course tasting is still at reasonable 65€/85€ (lunch/dinner), at Le Chateubriand the five-course mystery menu is still at 45€, despite being number 9! (and thus the best restaurant in France) on the polarizing San Pellegrino list. To take a long story short, given the only minor developments at the top Michelin places in France in recent years, the music plays at these vibrant, cool, young and fun neo-bistros where ‘fine dining’ is so successfully re-defined as those places are hard to get a table at. And, the idea spreads to Denmark (Relœ) and Belgium (Neptune, Veranda)…

And Germany? There seems to be some hope for food enthusiasts looking for a excellent fare at reasonable prices as two Amador disciples have begun to cook in a neo-bistro manner, André Rickert at Weinsinn in Frankfurt and Christoph Kubenz at Schaumahl in Offenburg (where no Frankfurter would normally set a step, but it’s worth it). But, and that is gratifying, they are not pure copyists of the French, but very distinct and unique protagonists of a maybe developing German bistronomic scene… Let’s see how Rickert is doing lately at Weinsinn…

The Chef

André Rickert has undergone his initial apprenticeship at Thomas Bühner when the latter was still cooking in Dortmund. In the following years he became an Amador disciple, lately being part of Caro Baum’s team at the formidable Amesa in Mannheim. His cooking or better plating clearly speaks the Amador ‘language’ in that dishes are plated in a modern, precise and transparent manner to let the main product be in focus whereas all other ingredients are perfectly proportioned and balanced. Clearly, in a bistro-style ambiance like Weinsinn one cannot serve cutting high-end dishes like at Amador or Amesa but he comprises only to some extent and most visitors are pleasantly surprised to see such a modern cuisine in a wine bar.

The Restaurant

Weinsinn was originally opened as a wine bar/restaurant by the owners of the museum caterers in Frankfurt with the initial card comprising both small bistro plates and proper restaurant dishes. Soon, they offered only a small a la carte restaurant selection of three entrées, three mains and three dessert whereas one can also chose a surprise menu at very reasonable prices (3 courses at 45€, 4 courses at 52€ and 5 at 59€). This concept is still valid, so we can truly say this is a good bang for the buck…

Stepping inside, one first encounters a small bar with several dishes written up on a chalk board to the right and is then escorted into the two-folded dining room whereas the first room was presumed to host the wine bar…

Weinsinn Interior 1

…and the second the “restaurant”. Now, it’s one concept whereas I like the second room more. Bistro-atmosphere, no table cloth and unpretentious but diligent service completes the overall picture of a real fun place to meet friends, discuss food, enjoy excellent wines and delicate modern dishes.

Weinsinn Interior 2

We let André cook for us so that we were relieved from having to choose from the menu card.

Menu March

And, of course, we selected some nice wines from the 200+ wines selection… But, honestly, I can’t really remember what we drank…

Amuse

The dance began with a nice tortilla nibble, intense, light and not too dense as we often encounter for this traditional potato omelet – followed by luke-warm potato salad with cucumber and baked chicken (‘Backhendl’) – again a light version of a traditionally heavy savory dish. Very good.

I couldn’t resist to wonder whether a amuse really needs to be part of this down-to-earth bistro concept? On the one hand, amuses have really become inflationary with the simplest Italian place next door proudly presenting some completely over-cooked vegetables soaked-up in oil that is nothing but disgusting. On the other hand, it is maybe a good idea to show that a simple yet refined amuse can be sooo different without pretending to be a traditional Gourmet place. Thus, it could be differentiating factor to make a small attention step for the diner to actually forcing him to also focus on the cuisine in this wine bar…

Marinated Veal with Celery and Truffles Vinaigrette

Tataaaa: the first course, marinated veal with celery and truffles vinaigrette was a joyful, spot-on starter emphasizing first and foremost the product character of the veal that was marinated to add some acidity enabling it to counter the other ingredients. This seemingly simple dish clearly showed the potential of Mr Rickert as it was very well thought-through and perfectly executed: celery in textures brought earthiness and a slightly hot acidity, the truffles vinaigrette (with real truffles of a quality solid enough to achieve a truffles effect) being rich and creamy, reduced and exactly dimensioned in the right proportion and, last but not least, some herbal jus of the parsley (I guess) to balance out the dish. In essence, this appeared like a light salad despite the normally rather heavy ingredients. Very good to excellent.

Lukewarm Cod, Green Apple and Wasabi

The next course was the star of the night: the lukewarm cod was impeccably cooked at low temperature (without having a fancy Julabo at hand in the kitchen) and met ingeniously with structures of apple, soy jelly, an wasabi ice cream (with exactly the right and thus non-dominating amount of wasabi). The trick here was the interplay of the different temperatures and textures with the cod being accentuated by slices of apple and small cubes of radish. Again, Rickert was able to shield the character of the main protagonist (by the topping and nice roast flavors) but at the same time was able to pair it with the wasabi and soy as if this would be the most normal thing in the world.

Many starred restaurants could be proud if they would be able to serve such a delicate and compelling combination. Excellent to outstanding!

Lobster Raviolo Carbonara

The lobster raviolo was a big yummy species with a thin but not too thin dough and some lobster pieces as ‘garnish’. The carbonara (egg, bacon and cream) combination worked out surprisingly well and didn’t cause us to waive the white flag due to over-stuffing. Very good.

Loup de Mer, Potato, Leek and Mustard

More traditional on first sight, the loup came perfectly cooked with herbal leek puree, potato/leek mash and a pointed mustard jus that did the little extra to this creation. Key was the formidable fish, perfect execution and the dialogue of herbal and acid notes. Very good to excellent!

Taunus Pork with White Onions and Bell Pepper

What a main: with a deep bow to the usually so underestimated pork (besides the now so fashionable Spanish Black Feet or Acon porks) Rickert presented a formidable parade of different pork pieces from sausage, back, loin and shoulder in combination with a simple slightly sweet, rich and spicy bell pepper sauce emphasizing the rustic character of the pork and playing yin and yang with the onions (nice repercussion of the sweetness of the bell pepper yet in a different tone). Excellent!

Peanut, Chocolate, Caramell

After a splendid pre-dessert (a compote of exotic fruits), the main dessert reminded a bit of Christian Baus chocolate/peanut combinations… A perfect closure to a formidable meal, although we really felt full at the time as the portions had not been that reduced versus the normal à la carte ‘weight’. Very good.

The Verdict

Let’s recapitulate: two men in the kitchen, a 5+1 course dinner at 59€, an extensive and very reasonably priced wine list, unpretentious and knowledgable service – how can one not go here in a city of daylight robbery where prices have sky-rocketed due to the target audience of expense account fiddlers??

To put this performance into perspective (and I have not eaten there several times): André Rickert is already among the best chefs in town, only overtaken by Patrick Bittner and Mario Lohninger. And that is at about half the price of Ernos Bistro, Villa Merton and the like. A nearly always fully booked restaurant tells the same story, many of the diners being pleasantly surprised about the quality of food, presentation and fun factor.

From an international perspective (and this is why I am writing this in English), Weinsinn is good and bad news as it shows that there is at least one example of bistronomics in Germany, but that is ridiculous in the end. In times where fine dining still suffers from the aftermath of the economic crisis, there must be room for such concepts such that, finally, something like a culinary “Mittelstand” will be established in Germany. Which is, in turn, very important for the top notch places as it introduces younger diners to more ambitious concepts and then will also potentially cause some spill-overs to the starred end of gastronomy!

I can only wish that André Rickert will keep that very high level and continue to delight us with his unconventional and thought-provoking but nevertheless delicious cuisine at very reasonable prices. So indeed, a fooding place not only for foodies!

Since September 2009 Munich has a new culinary hotspot: Innegrit Volkhardt, owner of the prestigious Hotel Bayerischer Hof immensely invested in the redesign of the former Garden restaurant and established a new Fine Dining restaurant called Atelier” and appointed Steffen Mezger, previously the chef the cuisine at the Garden restaurant, to lead both restaurants. Very quickly, this new venue won its first accolades with the first star in November 2010 and 17 points in the Gault Millau. Moreover, many foodie friends and some Facebook pictures told me that the cuisine is modern and interesting – so a visit was obviously mandatory☺

The Chef

Steffen Mezger progressed quite quickly: after his apprenticeship at the Panoramahotel in Waldenburg, a first post as Commi and Demi-Chef at Altes Amthaus* in Ailringen and a stage at Heinz Winkler’s Residenz*** he became Sous-Chef of Lothar Eiermann at the Wald- and Schlosshotel Friedrichsruhe* during which he made another stage at Tantris**. Then, in 2004 at age 26, he got his first chef de cuisine post at the Garden Restaurant in the Bayerischer Hof and in 2009 his responsibility was enlarged to also lead the white brigade for the new Atelier.

Eiermann was without doubt one of the best chefs of the 70s and 80s in Germany and one of the German Nouvelle Cousine protagonists. His cooking was classic in and out and thus Mezger was able to learn from his very solid culinary craftsmanship. And thus still shows as his cuisine now is flawless. Interestingly, after five years at a rather mainstream hotel restaurant he was given enough freedom to emancipate from Eiermann and his handwriting became more modern…

Steffen Mezger

The Restaurant

A bit hard to find, the entrance of the both restaurants lies hidden in the right part of the Bayerischer Hof. Once found, the very first step into reveals a different world compared to the other rather classic hotel interior. For the design of the Atelier, Madame Volkhardt hired the renowed Belgian art trader Axel Vervoordt who has created a very intimate, relaxing and almost contemplate temple-like atmosphere. The whole room shows a very deliberate interplay of light and shadow and does not appear too posh. I felt at home at once also thanks to the nice reception by the very obliging Maître Enrico Spannenkrebs who guided us to our table.

After being seated we enjoyed a nice glass of Billecart-Salmon Rosé and asked whether Steffen Mezger could cook for us as I, as always, had difficulties to choose from the two offered menus – Atelier Five (€90) and Atelier Seven (€115). All dishes can also be ordered a la carte.

Our Menu Dez 2010

This closely resembles the Atelier Seven with the sole and the venison from the other menu and both desserts. A splendid proposal, I must say! We were served this as a menu surprise so we didn’t know what was next…

Glückstädter Matjes, Büsum Crabs and Salmon

A parade of nibbles was served on a stone that together with the granite underplate reminded me a bit of some Scandinavian restaurants… Anyway, the regional crabs from Büsum were delicate and fresh, although the cracker in combination with the very good salmon was not crispy enough. The matjes (salted herring) was to the point and quite yummy.

Apple, Nuts and Almonds

Very new naturals-like the first amuse comprise some Boskop apples, nuts and almonds infused with parsley root milk that was slightly too watery to stand up against the strong nut character of the dish. However, the acidity and freshness of the apple counterbalanced the earthy nuts and restored the balance a bit. Very good but with a stronger parsley root milk this would have been excellent.

Oyster and Aquavit

A very delicate Gillardeau oyster with quinoa and fennel flavored by Aquavit – a nice (Nordic) idea but the fennel dominated the oyster too much in terms of texture and dimensioning.

Bio Foie Gras with Miso, Ponzu and Black Garlic

2009 Gewürztraminer Auslese, Andreas Laible, Baden

Honestly, I am a big fan of foie gras and I was most eager to try this “Bio” foie that had been produced without the unnatural stuffing of the gooses. However, the result was most problematic as it turned out to be overly fatty and without the distinct earthy and livery foie aroma. In combination with the also greasy Macadamia nut crumble it was hard to enjoy. In this version, Bio foie is not a sufficient replacemnt for normal foie – so I would abandon it completely from the card. Very nice Gewürztraminer that made this course a pleasure in the end…

Bar de Ligne with Beetroot and Pommery Mustard

2008 Imperial Weisß, Schloss Halbturn, Burgenland

The next course was a pleasant surprise: a perfect loup coated with just the right amount of beetroot jelly, some beetroot structures and an intense but not too dominant Pommery mustard jus. The jelly effected a nice seasoning of the loup without the ususal ‘crust effect’. Very good to excellent.

Brittany Sole with Sea Urchin and Pak Choi

2007 Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru, “Clos Saint-Marc”, Olivier Leflaive, Côtes de Beaune

One of the clear highlights of the night and a perfect example that excellent dishes don’t necessarily need to be complicated. The sea urchin sugo made this very special, not too salty, but with fresh and concentrated sea food flavor. As a contrast, the pak choi was a herbal and slightly earthy contrahent that adsorbed some of the edges of the sugo. Excellent.

Demeter Egg from Bicklhof with Leek, Vanilla-Potato Jus and White Alba Truffles

An almost classic combination: a bio egg of highest standards (Demeter level) served with leek, potato-vanilla sugo and white truffles. What can I say? Very fitting, all elements intertwined very nicely, only some texture was missing to make this outstanding.

Morgan Ranch Beef – Short Rib Braised for 24 hours with Soup Vegetables

2007 “Tschuppen”, Spätburgunder trocken, Weingut Ziereisen, Baden

A nice interpretation of German Tafelspitz (due to the braising and the traditional horseradish), this Morgan Ranch short rib was excellent and the simple almost purist presentation let the main product shine. This is how good beef should be prepared and presented. Excellent.

Polting Venison – Back and Liver with Perigord Truffles and Black Salsify

2008 “Rote Erde”, Muhr-van der Niepoort, Carnutum

Game and lamb from the Gutshof Polting in Postmünster has become widespread in many fine dining restaurants in Bavaria and beyond. Since four generations owned by the family Riederer von Paar zu Schönau, the whole farm applies very high quality standards and exerts utmost care paired with sustainability to its animals. And this clearly shows…

Here, Mezger not also used a wonderful venison back but also the liver and thus created a much more intense sensation. Moreover, the liver was not dominant at all and intensified the game flavor in a nice crescendo. Combined with some parsley and earthy black salsify this was a perfect main.

Cheese from Sennalpe Ornach, Bolsterlang with Figs and Salsiz

Although I am not a big fan of cheese courses this one was really convincing as it didn’t make me feel too full and was a deliberate composition. The Bergkäse was exactly as I love it – tangy and intense. The accord with the slightly sweet figs and salsiz worked very nicely as it complemented the salty cheese character. Excellent.

Quince with Pekan and Caramell

2002 Wehlener Sonneuhr Rielsing Auslese, J.J. Prüm, Mosel

Don’t miss the dessert at Atelier. This was my personal highlight: a surprisingly balanced pairing of quince, pekan and a cylinder filled with liquid caramel and caramel crumble. Excellent to outstanding. A what a wine – rightfully so, the Wehlener Sonnenuhr by Prüm is one of a kind. Thanks!

Manjari Chocolate with Ginger and Orange

2008 “Geistreich” Günter Triebumer, Burgenland

The patisserie couldn’t resist to send out the other dessert as well but I was feeling a bit full already and couldn’t really enjoy this so much anymore. Moreover, it was hard as its predecessor was soo good.

The Verdict

Sometimes it is not just the food that makes a restaurant special to me – in case of the Atelier, the overall experience was very pleasurable – the modern, interesting cuisine of Steffen Mezger, the most hospitable service under Enrico Spannenkrebs and the wonderful wines selected by sommeliere Christine Müller was an all-encompassing delight.

Steffen Mezger is immensely talented and can fully concentrate to work on developing his own style that already shines through: clear, transparent, almost purist creations with distinct and remarkable flavors, modern where it needs to be but rather with regard to the flavor combinations. Looking ahead there is plenty of potential in this young chef whose development just began. Already, this is among the three most interesting places in Munich, a bit ahead and slightly more consistent than Terrine or Tramin.

Thanks to the whole team for this wonderful evening – can’t wait to be back!☺

Hotel Casino Travemünde

And how’s the situation like in Germany? Between 25-35 there are a couple of upcoming and very promising chefs – but, most of them are known only in Germany and have not yet achieved bigger awareness. Let us start a new series on the most promising young chefs and apply the case study method to investigate.

The Chef

Kevin Fehling has a somewhat different CV than many of his German colleagues of this generation. After his apprenticeship at the Hotel Thomsen in Delmenhorst he served several mostly one-year stints in Bremen (Parkhotel and L’Echalote), Hamburg (Wollenberg and Piment) and on the MS Europa before he worked for Harald Wohlfahrt at the Schwarzwaldstube in 2004. One year later he was the Sous-Chef of a very traditional one star restaurant in Travemünde called Wullenwever. Then, at age 27 he became chef cuisine at the restaurant La Belle Epoque in Lübeck-Travemünde, received his first star early on and the second in November 2010.

Obviously, without being coined by an important chef over a longer period of time there was no need for a long and hard emancipation period and thus he had been able to work on a distinct style from his start at La Belle Epoque (LBE henceforth).

Kevin Fehling

The Restaurant

La Belle Epoque is located in the Hotel Casino Columbia in Travemünde just at the see promenade. The hotel has been re-opened in 2003 in the old Conversationshaus of 1914 that also houses the Travemünde Casino. Overall, the interior is quite settled and builds on many Belle Epoque elements from the early last century. The clear and modern restaurant itself is on the second floor and offers a spectacular view of the seaside – if it would be open for lunch that would be my favorite choice for a meal there.

La Belle Epoque Interior

Interestingly, two more young and upcoming German chefs also cook at Columbia Hotels: Andre Stolle in Wilhelmshaven and Denis Feix in Bad Griesbach. Will go there soon and report back…

When I dined at LBE in January one could choose from two menus – as it was too difficult to actually make a decision I let Kevin Fehling cook for me. Brilliant decision because he served both menus with one classic course and one dessert:-)

Menu Card January 2011

This closely resembled the current offer as now there is only one menu left starting from 4 courses at 95€ to a full 9 course journey at 170€ (comprising two alternative cold starters, two main course choices and two desserts).

Jacquesson 734

The evening started off with one of my favorite Champagnes, Jacquesson Cuvee No. 734. The ’7′ series of this small house is produced as a Grand Cuvee with the 734 being based on the 2006 vintage and some reserve wines from 2005 (22%) and 2004 (5%). It consists of 54% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir and 26% Pinot Meunier. With its characteristic low dosage, distinct Chardonnay nose and its subtle but distinct minerality it clearly stands out in the price range (retail about 35€). A perfect start…

Crustacean Macaron with Basil Pesto and Aioli

The first nibble, a crustacean macaron with basil pesto and aioli, resembled a modern version of a Bouillabaisse and Fehling tried to present the essence of the well-known accord of freshness, intensity, herbal notes and slight spiciness due to the aioli. As for many macarons serving both sides (top and bottom) let the macaron texture and its crustacean flavor dominate the other elements. With only the bottom this would have been perfect.

Coconut / Caviar Sniff

Then, a nice cigarette style presentation where the glass cylinder was filled with coconut jelly and caviar. Unfortunately the coconut was to strong for the caviar. The kitchen team served this ‘sniff’ for the first time and removed it from the menu after the evening…

Beef Tartar a la Prairie Oyster

Another deconstruction as Fehling played with the flavors of the famous Prairie Oyster cocktail traditionally made of raw egg yolk, Worchester sauce, salt, pepper and Tabasco. His version was quite refined and captured the core of the cocktail: a slightly hot marinade for the tartar, a real oyster, a quail egg yolk and an (indeed useful) air of Tabasco/tomato aroma. Quite refined and excellent!

Gooseliver Ice Cream with Jerusalem Artichoke, Sherry Vinegar and Figs

This last amuse was very easy to approach but then showed much more complexity than expected. At first, the gooseliver ice cream stated: ‘This is just yummy’, then the Jerusalem artichoke espuma kicked in as it broadened the flavor interplay. Digging deeper, there was a fig ragout that added sweetness and found its counterpart in the deliberately dimensioned sherry vinegar jelly cubes. Finally, some crunch from the dried artichokes balanced this dish. Excellent to outstanding.

Interestingly, Fehling served the foie ice cream with Jerusalem artichoke espuma before but only with some orange zests. This new version is clearly more advanced.

Raw Marinated Lanoustines with Blood Orange, Baddhas Hand, Shiso and Ginger Oil

After the rather ‘loud’ last amuse the first course was toned down, a subtle, delicate and elaborate cold starter with perfect langoustine pieces being the stars. Fehling gently marinated the medallions with red pepper and ginger oil such that the langoustine still shined but had a slightly hot touch. For the diner, the degustation was straightforward as every medallion had its accompanying elements (a tiny piece of almond, blood orange jelly, shiso cress, a thin slice of buddha’s hand lemon) centered around it and thus a spoon could automatically capture the right combination. Only two almond pieces were slightly too big such that the resulting accord was a bit out of balance. Overall, a very refined and almost ‘quiet’ course where the diner must listen carefully – excellent.

Carpaccio of Scallops with Perigord Truffles, Granny Smith, Beet Chips & Artichokes

This (other and normally served alternatively) cold starter was a bit louder and came up with a surprising element as the truffle cubes created a nice earthy counterpart to the salty sea flavors of the fresh scallops. Basically the truffles picked up on the beet chips that added more than only texture whereas the acidity of the apple served as the perfect backbone. Excellent to outstanding.

Beef Tartar, Iced Horseradish, Beetroot with Caviar, Mixed Pickles Espuma

A signature dish of Kevin Fehling, a very astonishing accord that creates suspense and delicacy. The combination of caviar, beetroot and the pickles crowned the wonderful tartar all best on the fresh and hot horseradish. Overall a very fitting mosaic of seemingly unrelated parts. Excellent.

Loup & Eel ‘Unagi’ with Yuzu, Sea Sand, Seaweed and Basmati Rice Air

The taste of the sea! A wonderful beach association as the seaweed and algae formed a kind of ‘sea ragout’ as the fundament for the perfect loup. The intense but not to dominant ‘unagi’ eel (freshwater eel grilled, marinated in a kind of terriyaki sauce and then grilled again in a quite complex and time-consuming procedure) and the wonderful sea sand (on kroepoek basis with algae) were perfect companions. As a contrast a bit of yuzu gel added the necessary freshness as well as acidity and balanced the dish. Only the basmati rice air could not really contribute much – excellent to outstanding.

Carabinero with Oven Potato/Liquid, Pulpo, Beetroot Structures and Jamon Iberico Puro

Another step-up in intensity: the tender carabinero served with a broth based on roasted potato and cold sour cream espuma (together resembling an oven potato with sour cream) was intrinsically yummy, whereas the different beetroot structures, the pulpo as hearty seasoning, the Jamon(potato peel combination and the different temperatures made this dish really special. Excellent to outstanding.

4x Chicken with light Parmesan Risotto, Parsley and White Truffles

The most problematic dish given my expectations when I saw the ‘4x chicken’ on the menu. I thought to get a transparent variation around the chicken theme. The dense cocotte presentation struck me and the accord was too classic for me… Fehling used four chicken elements: sot l’y laisse, chicken broth, an egg yolk and some chicken skin crumble served with a classic parsley puree, Alba truffles and a false Pamesan risotto – false as this was jellied parmesan in form of little rice corns. Somehow this was a bit of over-engineering as the surely delicate ‘risotto’ could not stand up against the other flavors. Also, I had the feeling that a bridge between all these elements was missing and it would have needed a bit more seasoning. Yet, an overall very good dish but without the surprising edges of the previous dishes.…

Variation of Limousin Lamb with Peas Cream, Tomato, Japaleno, Goat Cheese Foam and Mint Jus

A parade of lamb pieces was up next: fried leg confit, braised leg, and back whereas the back parts were a bit chewy. In our discussion later Fehling told me that he recognised that in the kitchen but the whole delivery was like that as it was not aged enough. Somehow, like the chicken this was less structuralistic and the flavors were more on the classic side. Only the interplay of the hot japalenos and the goat cheese cream turned out to be interesting accentuated by a contrast in temperatures. Again I had the feeling that less would have been more, especially the pointed cabbage was a bit repetitive herbal and was rather unremarkable in light of the intense peas-mint combination. Very good to excellent.

Venison with sea buckthorn from Privall, Chervil, Maggi Emulsion and Mon Cheri Jus

The second main was more purist and clear in presentation with the sea buckthorn adding an intense and surprising touch. I had to ignore the strong Maggi emulsion and then it turned into an excellent course…

White Chocolate Espuma with Dill Jelly, Apple Celery Sorbet, Cucumber & Finger Limes

The main plate (depicted above) was accompanied by a bowl of lukewarm white chocolate espuma on top of quite an amount of dill jelly. As I am a big chocolate lover I had to try the espuma first and this ruined the degustation as it was much too strong for the other ‘green’ protagonists. Moreover, I was missing a link between the chocolate and the rest… I still wonder whether the service had told me to eat the espuma with the dill jelly underneath. Maybe a thin coating of dill jelly over the espuma would have worked in that it could have programmed the diner for the herbal core…

Two petit fours, one interpretation of the ‘Sex on the Beach’ cocktail and a combination of yoghurt sorbet, passion fruit and pistachio concluded the meal…

The Verdict

A splendid dinner, excellent and in terms of execution, creativity and product quality absolutely worth two stars. Especially the scallops, the loup and the carabineros were memorable dishes – although I had a slight feeling that both the chicken and the lamb course seemed more classic in flavor construction and less transparent – somehow a bit less would have been more… Service was impeccable and maître and sommelier David Eitel accompanied the courses with interesting and really fitting wines.

In my discussion with Mr Fehling afterwards two aspects really stroke me that I find really interesting to share:

1. Compared to other European chefs of this generation, the German approach to excel in high-end gastronomy is to build on a solid fundament of product know-how and technical mastery. If a solid level is reached (and some laureals have been awarded), then they start to think about developing a comprehensive distinct style. Somehow a safety first principle. As it is obvious form the three star chefs, their identification process started at two star level or even later. In contrast, young chefs in Benelux, Spain or Scandinavia often start out with a comprehensive concept and then worry about technical perfection, products and nitty gritty details later. The good effect is that this makes them more unique and fuels destination dining (like at In de Wulf) but also exposes the diner to significant risks that would never happen here in Germany. Whereas this makes many experiences there at 1-2 star level more interesting, the overall quality seems to be higher here… Without valuing these different approaches, I can only wish that more German chefs will be brave enough to cook different, to develop a style out of the ordinary and simultaneously rely on their technical abilities. This could really bring Germany forward.

2. Contrary to many other countries (most notably UK or the US) we do not have a broad range of really knowledgable food critics but we have Jürgen Dollase who has made an enormous contribution to the culinary evolution (and theory) here in Germany. But akin Robert Parker in the world of wines many especially young chefs recently started to cook in a way that they thought the critic would like it. If then the recognition comes they carry it like a monstrance with them. I can only wish that the young generation do not blindly follow suit – otherwise we will share similar cooking styles across Germany, to exaggerate a bit…

Overall, I believe that Kevin Fehling is aware of these challenges! In my humble opinion he is one of the most talented chefs in Germany at this age and that he will scupture his unique handwriting in the coming years. Surely, we will hear more from him and Travemünde is already worth a visit (apart from its seaside resort beauty). It also makes a nice douple feature with Christian Scharrer who cooks across the street at the Restaurant Buddenbrooks in the A-Rosa resort.☺

Thanks to the whole team for this fantastic evening – can’t wait to come back!

Akin Sergio Herman on the Dutch/Zeeland side, Peter Goossens is the most important chef if not the “godfather” of Belgium high-end gastronomy – he is involved in many gastronomic projects and also plays an important role as a judge in the Belgium version of Masterchefs (and thus is, as Sergio, widely known in the public). His restaurant Hof van Cleve carries three stars since 2005 and is located in a typical Flemish farm house in Kruishoutem near Kortrijk/West Flanders. And, it is always on my agenda when I am in this region…

Hof van Cleve

What’s so special about Peter Goossens and his restaurant? Whereas Sergio Herman has certainly left his mark on the plates of many modern Flemish chefs (Geert de Mengeler from Hertog Jan, Filip Claeys from De Jonkman or Kobe Desmaraults from In de Wulf, to name just a few), Peter Goossens’ handwriting is less ubiquitous (or copied) across the region. Goossens cuisine is not ultra-modern, he rather successfully manages to combine both classic and modern structuralistic facets. He is not the inventor of new techniques and his cooking in the last couple of years has clearly been inspired by Sergio’s play of texture and flavors. The result of which is very astounding and just right – now, the plates are very elaborate and rest on the very best products the wider region has to offer. It’s not a me-too cuisine but a quite unique style… Nothing is redundant and the overall dining experience is in a sense geared more towards delivering perfection with just the right amount of creativity and modern techniques.

As the a la carte selection is quite pricey almost at Parisian level (starting from 50€ up to 170€ for a caviar dish) I opted for the seven course menu ‘Freshness of Nature’ (now at 215€, 310€ with accompanying wines) which over the years got reduced from a 9 course menu in 2007.

Amuse I: Potato and chicken

A very nice start with a potato ‘ball’ with a chicken ragout and a chicken skin cracker with mimolette cheese and porcini cream. Delicate, yummy, salty – a perfect start

Amuse II: Mackerel with Cucumber and Apple

Then, a perfect mackerel tartar with cucumber sorbet and apple – a refreshing counterpoint. The smokiness of the mackerel worked very well with the intense cucumber and the acidity of the apple.

Amuse III: The Egg

Visually stunning: the egg consisted of bacon, yoghurt and cheese (I guess mimolette again, but didn’t take notes).

Amuse IV: Oosterschelde Eel

Another amuse was a variation of oosterschelde eel: as a whole piece covered by a crispy thin bread, as tartar wrapped with beetroot and as cream. Very programmatic of Goossens as it shows a masterly reliance on the outstanding product quality and then elevates it by a very sensitive variation to increase both textural and flavor dimensions. In essence, an almost classic accord of beetroot and eel augmented by just the right dosage of lemon oil and passion fruit ‘puree’. Outstanding.

The parade of amuse ended with crab, kombu and sesame which I found good but not at the level of the other appetizers. Overall, an impressive start.

SARDINES – mozzarella di bufala / ‘coeur de boeuf’ tomato / olive “noir de Nice”

What a masterpiece! Breathtaking because of the amazing product quality and the ingenious hand of Peter Goossens in ‘designing’ this dish – just the right amount of white tomato jelly as the basis (a bit reminiscent of some Berasategui dishes), fantastic sardines, olive crumble, mozzarella cream, green celery granite, dried tomatoes and a wonderful frozen ponzu jelly which in turn seasoned the tomato jelly. À part Goossens served a traditional piece of coeur de boeuf tomato with olive and mozzarella and as a second a part a sardine with verbena in an olive jus. Whatever you did, every bite was sensational and intense playing with textures and temperatures. Divine.

By the way, a different caprese take using the same ingredients was on the menu in 2009 but this version was far more modern and delicate.

SEA BASS ‘CAUGHT ON THE LINE – fennel / quinoa / eggplant

Goossens presented a succulent and very aromatic piece of sea bass cooked to perfection at low temperature and combined it with fried eggplant blossoms, eggplant puree, a wonderful gamba and fennel coated with quinoa. Especially the latter accord worked surprisingly well contrasting the slightly sweet and herbal fennel with the crunchy and earthy quinoa. Outstanding!

It is programmatic that in 2010 Goossens began to let vegetables shine and elevated them beyond their pure side dish function. Moreover, he created a vegetarian menu on which I will comment later.

YOUNG ANGLER – saffron / chorizo mussels from their bed

Essentially this ‘seafood’ dish was a modern interpretation of a traditional paella that could not be better. The chorizo was used with utmost diligence and added spiciness and intensity whereas it interplayed very nicely with the saffron. All products were of best quality with the mussels being more important than the angler fish that had a mere textural effect. Excellent to oustanding – only the chorizo crumble was a bit wetted by the paella sud…

LANGOUTINE FROM ‘GUILVINEC’ – cauliflower / goose foie gras / belotta

Before the main langoustine plate, Goossens served the langoustine head with its sugo to prepare the dinner for the intrinsic langoustine taste. Indeed, the quality of the langoustine on the main serving was breath-taking. A very typical Goossens sea and land creation whereas the bellota was braised and did not dominate the langoustine at all – cauliflower was the accelerator in providing a textural element and formed a bridge between all elements. Only the foie gras didn’t really add much. Excellent.

PIGEON FROM ANJOU – butternut / gnocchi / mushrooms

A perfect main: pigeon paired with butternut, celery, chanterelles, pigeon confit and jus: again a showcase of product quality, again building on a known flavor accord but with less surprising elements than the dishes. Nevertheless, the overall combination worked very well – excellent to outstanding!

FORREST FRUIT – lime / mint / ginger

Wow, what a dessert: raspberries, blueberries, white chocolate, pistachio sponge, hazelnut cream, litchi sorbet, lime cream and ginger jelly combined with a raspberry, elderberry ‘soup’ – couldn’t taste the mint, however… Amazing intensity grounded by the surprising hazelnut cream. Simply outstanding!

APRICOT – almonds / caraibe 66% / basil

Another fine dessert, maybe a bit less spectacular than the first. A very smooth accord without that many edges. Excellent.

The Verdict

Sometimes a meal like this needs to be digested and contemplated. Immediately afterwards I found this meal more coherent and compelling than my dinner at Oud Sluis, maybe partly to my little disappointment with some of Sergio’s dishes. As weeks have gone by, I would still rate this as an outstanding meal, a benchmark in combining classic craftsmanship and modern elements where necessary. Additionally, you need to factor in Hof van Cleve’s splendid warm-hearted service, a unique sommelier and the cosy farm house atmosphere which make the whole experience so special. But, there were less dishes that I can still taste and remember compared to the night at Oud Sluis. Thinking about the latter evening creates more sparkle and excitement, yet Goossens’ performance was nearer perfection in overall execution, product quality and flavor construction. So, in the end, I cannot wait to go back in 2011 and see how things have developed… It’s a just a nice double feature☺

The Vegetarian Menu

As I have mentioned earlier, Goossens started to offer a pure 8-course vegetarian menu “Pure Nature” (8 courses at 165€, now reduced to 7 courses at 150€) in Summer 2010. Interestingly, it is not offered as a second menu but as a choice listed in the normal à la carte section. Somehow, this speaks for itself as I had the feeling that this offer seems a bit half-hearted to surf the new naturals wave…

Anyway, in the following you can get some impressions without any major tasting notes. Overall, I had the feeling that this menu was not yet at the level of the normal one: some dishes seemed like a ‘ripped’ version of their ‘normal’ counterparts, some seemed a bit too simplistic. Not at the level of Michael Hoffmann’s green avantgarde… But I am very sure this will be a very valid choice at Hof van Cleve in the near future – will be interesting to watch…

TOMATO – olives / green celery / avocado

The caprese without the sardine – outstanding as well, yet the smoky counterpart was missing a bit but the herbal avocado dots worked quite well…

CUCUMBER – gherkin / pickles / purslane

Rather simplistic but very authentic in flavors, especially by the use of purslane. Remined me a bit of Scandinavian dishes in its purity. Excellent!

CAULIFLOWER – watercress / brokkoli / hazelnut butter

Quite traditional with an interesting textural overlay, very yummy, excellent.

EGGPLANT – zucchini / anise hyssop / miso

A little bit like a stripped version of the sea bass dish with clear emphasis on the wonderful fennel/quinoa combination enriched by the slightly sweet anise. Outstanding!

LEEK – butternut / parsley / cumin

Modern interplay like a first main course. Excellent.

POTATO – spinach / cévennes onions / parmesan

A bit dense and overly potato dominated.

Can’t wait to be back!

Oud Sluis

In August 2009 after a splendid diner at Oud Sluis I asked Sergio Herman what he still strives to achieve after being awarded three stars (since 2005) and 19.5 points in the Gault Millau. He paused and stated that first of all he wants to give the best every day (and for his highly artificial cuisine that’s a lot of work given the incredible booking situation and opening times serving lunch and diner during the week). And, then he added that he is eager to continuously reinvent himself. At the Flemish Primitives 2010, he stated more precisely that he wants to spread the “Sergio feeling” creating an overall dining experience working together with various artists (e.g. tattoos, porcelain, photo) to express his personal style.

Sergio Herman

In the summer break of 2009 this development had just begun as he had completely renovated the interior of the restaurant into a very modern black and white “salle de noir”, combining the previously separated rooms and painting even the homey wooden ceiling white. When we dined there, the white brigade still needed time to feel comfortable and the whole setting seemed to lack the warmth and authenticity of previous years.

Interior

Already in this very 2009 diner, the style of the cuisine had slightly changed as the style-defining presence of international, especially Asian flavors was less apparent and some dishes showed more looks than substance.

2009 dishes

The iFoie (top left) is a brilliant idea but it’s just apple and foie mousse with a sherry jelly which tasted good but did not create the most interesting interplay of flavors and textures that is one of the cornerstones of Sergio’s cuisine (thank god I added the brilliant textures of foie gras as a second foie serving (top right)). Similarily disappointing in this respect were both the tattoo dessert (bottom right – Sergio had created two tattoos with the legendary tattoo artist Henk Schiffmacher, one for the lady, one for the gentleman) and the LOVE dessert inspired by Robert Indiana. To be sure, most of the other courses were outstanding to divine, but the overall level of the meal was below my previous Oud Sluis experiences which showed more overall consistency.

Then, end of 2009, the big bang happened: Gault Millau awarded 20 points to Oud Sluis, an honor previously only given to Marc Veyrat who has closed his three star venue due to health problems. So, there is one answer to my question – at least now, there are no further promotions possible☺

I expected the booking situation to worsen (and it did) but as I was invited to a wedding of dear Facebook friends (a blind “date” in 2009) I could book a weekday lunch table for September in May…

We opted for the six course (three desserts are counted as one course) Père et fils menu and asked for an additional course – in the end, they charged €185 for the enlarged menu. This is exactly the price for the now offered seven course menu.

Amuse Part I

2007 Leányka

This parade did already show the direction of Sergio’s further development: an utmost precision even in the tiniest detail let the amuse (and later the petit fours as well) look like art in itself, like little sculptures. Although this sculptural touch had been present in Sergio’s dishes before, it was definitely some notches up for the amuse/petit fours. And, they did taste: mussels / almonds / oyster chips were perfectly fresh and crisp and the macaron with salmon and yoghurt was intense, yet showing a bit too much meringue (but half the macaron would do for many many other macarons as it can become far too dominating).

Wonderful structures of carrot with amazingly tender pork belly, crab and miso followed by eel with beet root, sour cream and hamachi with sprouts, horseradish and soy formed the first phalanx of incredible amuse which certainly showed that there is no better way to start a meal – well, only they could have been served a bit more chilled (but this is a surely a tribute to the full restaurant and the immense workload necessary to prepare them).

The wine pairing with a 2007 Leányka from Hungary (christ, I simply cannot read the producer’s name on the bottle and forgot to take notes) was very successfull – the grape Leányka means ‘maid’ in Hungarian which is programmatic for this floral and rosy wine with enoght structure to accompany the various ‘nibbles’ and the first course

Amuse Part II

The second part of the amuse was also impressive: a very genuine salad / tomato cracker and goat cheese ice cream demonstrated how refined even the simpliest ingredients can taste if treated with utmost care and respect. Last but not least, a delicate and very Sergio-like interpretation of thinly sliced Wagyu with spring onions, chicken skin cracker, avocado crème and Tomkagai jelly and a new version of the signature variation of local mussels: razor clams, small crabs, mussels with kaffir lime and dried soy jus. Outstanding and a big applause for this craftsmanship and parade of ideas.

greenland prawns – dashi jelly, fresh cucumber and bio-yoghurt, granite of bergamot

The first course took us back on the ground and we wondered whether this Stockman bowl of Greenland prawns was really served at Oud Sluis. Already from the appearance one can tell that this creation is less dense and complex than “usual”. Of course, the prawns were of outstanding quality and nicely marinated in soy and some lime vinegar, the accord with the fresh and intense cucumber and the slight temperature contrast with the granite of bergamot worked perfectly. Yet, I missed the textural accentuation that normally emphasizes exactly the right elements of the plate. Moreover, the many prawns seemed a bit repetitive although they were each individually aromatized by different wild herbs but this was more like Aduriz and less like Herman, somehow too subtle for him. For every other chef this would be excellent but Sergio can clearly do better.

From a menu dramaturgy point, clearly more refreshing and a better start than before – maybe that’s his rationale behind this dish… Unfortunately Sergio had left to look after his kids after we finished, so I couldn’t ask him

marinated langoustine – north sea crab, langoustine-gel, emulsion lime/verveine

2008 Eisachtaler Riesling Kaiton, Kuenhof, Alto Aldige

Next up was our inserted second preparation of langoustine: a carpaccio of langoustine filled with intense north sea crab meat surrounded by an archetypical langoustine jelly and a very intense lime/verbena-gel. Whereas the prawns had shown at least some texture, this was texturally too one-dimensional. And it was a bit rich – something I never experience before at Oud Sluis. But, the taste was incredible, the carpaccio showed an amazing product character and the interplay of the langoustine, more rustic crab and the jelly and the herbal gel in combination with the shiso cress was a masterpiece. Sometimes, textures don’t seem necessary. Excellent.

langoustine – tomato varieties and courgette emulsion, spring onions and fresh almonds, almond and tomato vinaigrette

2009 acústic blanc, acústic celler, Monsant/Spain

Ahh, finally, a typical Sergio dish: a benchmark species of roasted langoustine served with different tomatoes and courgette emulsion, spring onions and fresh almonds accompanied by a wonderful almond and tomato vinaigrette. As “simple” as it seems, this is Sergio at its best: perfect dimensioning with the almonds providing the essential unexpected kick, light, fresh (abandoning with heavy sauces but using light transparent vinaigrettes), product-focused and a nice textural overlay using the natural and pure courgettes, almonds and the thin toast. Pure pleasure – bravo!

gooseliver ganache – artichoke, poached-grilled gooseliver, marinated peach and hazelnut

2005 Crémant d’Alsace, Audrey et Christian Binner, Alsace

The next course was again most unusual as I never had a warm gooseliver dish at Oud Sluis before. A first dish to criticize also from a non-Sergio perspective: the hazelnut and goose liver emulsions made the dish overly creamy, the peach was a bit isolated and could not show its full potential such that the whole dish was not in equilibrium of sweet, sour, rich and earthy flavors. And, it’s hard to stand up against the quality of Anne-Sophie Pic’s roasted foie gras – nowhere in the world (except maybe for Troisgros) can this foie quality be found. So why serve this slightly inferior product? Overall, a very good dish and maybe one of the only dishes at Oud Sluis not at three star level.

eel – quinoa sweet/sour, carrots, asparagus

My dining companion got the eel with quinoa, a far more satisfactory endeavor as it again was pure Sergio and nice interpretation of the sweet-sour duality. Especially the marinated eel really added nice counterpart to the almost pure other elements as it grounded the dish. A textural balance act, perfectly constructed. Outstanding.

sea bass – slightly smoked lobster, summer beetroots and radishes

2008 Chardonnay Cuvée du Pape, Chateau Ksara, Bekaa Valley/Libanon

A second divine dish: perfect loup (of the necessary thickness!) combined with surprising smoked lobster as indirect aromatization, some beet root and radish variations. Interestingly, one of the rare occasions where Sergio used a kind of beurre blanc that carried slightly smoky notes to add acidity, and balancing out the dish. Nothing else needed, nothing redundant… Amazing pairing with the Libanese Chardonnay!

anjou pigeon BBQ – lemon and spices, sea kale salad, potato and shallot, girolle and galangal jus

2006 Coteaux du Languedoc “Clos Maginiani, Domaine Zumbaum Tomasi, Languedoc

Pigeon is, among lamb, one of favorite protagonists for mains at Oud Sluis. Irrespective of the premier pigeon quality, the interesting sea kale salad and the galangal, this dish seemed a bit bland as there was too less on this Stockman plate to counterbalance the sheer amount of the pigeon. Tasty, yes, nice textures, yes, nice interplay of acidity, spiciness and fruitiness, yes – but it could not quite live up to the divine pigeon dish with solid/liquid foie spheres and the sushi of cabbage served in 2008. Nevertheless excellent…

a mouthful of cherries

The first part of the desserts: contrary to last year’s only visually appealing dishes, this “mouth” delivered and showed the full spectrum of OS’s pastry mastery, artistically playing with the cherries theme with some mascarpone mousse and yoghut ice cream underneath. Not like an improvisation but like a cleverly arranged variation, never boring, texturally diverse and just to the point. Outstanding.

bugs bunny

”Bugs buggy” was along the same lines – a variation of carrots in a dessert, particularly the cakes were astonishingly good. Visually and taste-wise stunning. Maybe a bit repetitive…

berries in a leading role

The third divine dish of this lunch: “berries in a leading role” showed how modern pastry can create new worlds to be discovered. A benchmark vanilla flan, different berries, various textural elements served with an incredibly sweet broth of berries and lime. Chapeau!

Chocolate Coin

As I had not eaten the tattoo coins created by Sergio and the industrial designers of studio Job, he inserted them after the dessert parade. A bit reminiscent of last year’s visual phase, it is just chocolate, nothing else. Admittedly presented in an appealing way but not a proper dessert course as which it had been used end of last year. Simply too “boring” compared to the other desserts.

Petit Fours

The parade of petit fours repeated the artistry of the amuse – a delicate combination of verbena and aloe vera, passion fruit and white chocolate followed by a masterly miniature of a modern tiramisu with grenadine, milk crunch with yuzu and a fruit soup with mint.

The Verdict
Overall, this lunch was much better than the 2009 experience, but not quite at the level of 2007 and 2008. The complexity of Sergio’s style is still very present and in way the he has taken the next step towards integrating visual dishes and filling them with more “content” and delicacy, especially the pastry is back on the block and has left its merely visual phase of 2009. Maybe the integration of both approaches will yield the “Sergio feeling” in the end.

Interestingly, in my previous reviews I praised that Sergio exposes the diner to a new world of textural suspense and of unknown flavors/ flavor combinations. In this very respect, this lunch did not create that much sensation as in 2007/8. There are two reasons: on the one hand I have gained more exposure to fine dining and thus experience such that it is harder to really wow me. On the other hand, the competition did not sleep in the meantime – others have somehow tried to replicate Sergio’s structuralism (but most failed) or enlarged their spectrum of flavors and products. For example, whereas the gap between Sergio and the top German chefs was quite substantial in 2008 it subsequently narrowed down and chefs like Wissler, Bau, Elverfeld and Amador are at a similar level, yet with a distinct and different style. (On a side note, the whole modern Benelux “school” seems heavily influenced by Sergio’s (and also Jonnie Boer’s) work and thus seems repetitive from time to time. Only Peter Goossens has found his unique way in integrating both modern and traditional aspects and thus stands out (more to come soon on my Hof van Cleve visit)).

So, keeping that in mind it is hard to judge Sergio by comparing him to his previous work – in a way, this makes him his own benchmark but makes further development difficult – at that level, that is. Subjectively, the cuisine is more “back on track” after the “disappointing” 2009 experience and maybe the trajectory will lead Sergio towards a cuisine with is both visually stunning and pure delicacy keeping his key strengths. So, to be sure, this is still a benchmark experience and every foodie should have eaten here, enjoying the unique atmosphere and impeccable service (interior, brigade and cuisine seem more balanced out now)! I, for myself, can’t wait to see where the journey goes.(1)

________________________________

(1) I only hope that Sergio can deliberately diversify to obtain other funding sources in order to be able to cut down opening times and stress for his brigade… For some very good impressions see the following vidao (still the old interior) above

Stay tuned – lots of reports to come: news from Benelux, some new German places and maybe also, for the first time, some culinary retrospective of 2010.

Enjoy whatever you do!
highendFOOD

Where was I? Osnabrück, right. So the mission of this trip was clear: enjoy an evening at La Vie and write some personal comments about how Thomas Bühner’s cooking has evolved since my last visit. For those of you who do not know where Osnabrück is and who are not familiar with the restaurant I found the following video (well, it is taken by the restaurant but gives a good impression imho):

2010 has been an important year for Thomas Bühner of Restaurant La Vie in Osnabrück – after being an in-official three star candidate in 2009 he became an espoir in 2010, the only one in Germany. This has put “official pressure” on the restaurant, the black and white brigade and the chef himself. But, at the end of the day, one can only cook (with water, that is) and deliver the best service possible. If there are no regrets ex post, no mistakes, no fauxpax and your guests are unanimously happy, what can you do? You simply cannot use (the) force to get the highest laurels.

Having participated in Bühner’s development in 2008, 2009 and 2010 it could be said that his cuisine evolved, improved and matured quite significantly, step-by-step, continuously and silent like a reflection of Bühner’s character. For me, this development and the sustainable moments of pure pleasure that Bühner managed to bestow me are much more important than the number of stars. In the end, a visit to La Vie was always a very comprehensive and consistent delight… Let’s look back on this autumn’s menu to see why…

Menu Card

We opted for the big tasting menu but inserted (only) one course for me (well, no surprise) and replaced some courses for my companion. The kitchen was quite flexible in doing so.

Amuse did always play a distinct role at La Vie. In the past, we always had a couple of nibbles and one proper amuse (I can still remember the outstanding liquid Caesar Salad in 2008 or the melon carpaccio in 2009). This time Bühner served two modern presentations akin to the contemporary Benelux school.

Amuse I: Saffron Eel

The first, saffron eel served with a sepia macaron that was the key element with wonderful intensity, was a delicate first attention step. The eel operated a bit in the background and provided a nice underlining for the saffron seasoning coupled with the smokiness of the eel. Only the tapioca could not add much and some crunch was missing. Excellent.

Amuse II: Lobster Taco

Light and shadow: while the cocos-coriander ice cream was of paramount freshness and intensity, the lobster taco was somehow disappointing as the lobster jelly was completely dominated by the very aromatic red quinoa.

Cockles Escabeche

Peter Stockmans porcelain has already been present in the first two amuses – distinctively modern, yet different due its playful use of different shades of blue and grey, simply beyond the ordinary. Having dined at Oud Sluis just a couple of weeks before, I was familiar with most of the pieces. But, Bühner uses some elements quite diligently where it makes sense and the combination with the Hering forms a nice contrast between playful and purist design – a contrast also present in his cuisine as we will see in the course of the menu.

As usual, each course is preceded by a small bite to prepare the palate for the sometimes complex flavors of the actual courses. The first bite was a cockles Escabeche with crispy rice that turned out to be a bit too dominant for the wonderful cockle. It was quite difficult to eat from the Stockmans cylinder – served on a spoon would do some good here.

Brittany Langoustine – Carpaccio & Jelly

Again a beautiful Stockmans piece set the stage for Brittany langoustine served as a carpaccio filled with crab meet slightly accentuated by some lemon touch on top of a langoustine jelly. The combination with the sweet and intense avocado worked very well with the lemon building the bridge. A crescendo was added by the jus of wild herbs. The mount was a bit too large so that portioning was quite difficult – two smaller mounts would have been better. I also missed some kind of crunch. Nevertheless, an excellent dish.

Marinated Mackerel, Beetroot, Foie Gras, Soy

Next up was a pure beetroot gazpacho with pistachio oil followed by a wonderful mackerel dish: one of my personal highlights ever, an uncompromisingly modern dish with clear present flavors, textural variation and clever dimensioning. Especially the interplay of soy and beetroot provided a wonderful platform for the intense but not too dominant foie gras (served as a light jellied mousse) and the smoky mackerel. In a way, this accord of beetroot and soy accentuated the similar sweet-smoky combination of the mackerel and the foie. Simply outstanding

Loup de Mer & Pulpo, Kohlrabi, Yuzu, Verbena, Black Garlic

A squid sushi with cauliflower announced the arrival of a another complex masterpiece: a perfect sea bass combined with tenderly cooked pulpo, a variation of kohlrabi, a cream of Yuzu, black garlic and, most importantly the zests of dried verbena. Here, Bühner shows a very talented hand in dimensioning the verbena that takes up the lemon theme from the Yuzu and spreads it all over the dish like a perfume. Moreover, the black garlic (although the German Gault Millau generically hates it) provided a deliberately chosen earthing and brought balance to the dish. Excellent to outstanding, only the kohlrabi was a bit too omni-present.

Turbot Green, Salty Celery & Turbot Jus

Bühner has used the parsley infusion of fish for some time now: parsley is pureed till it is liquid and then the turbot is infused with the parsley, vacuumed and cooked sous-vide at low temperature for only 8-10 minutes. The result is very compelling – the whole fish gets a subtle and distinct all-over seasoning that still preserved its character. Here, the combination with the pure yet brilliant turbot jus, the salty celery (as puree and whole pieces) showed the other side of Thomas Bühner – reduced, almost purist dishes with astonishing intensity. Every other element would have been redundant. Outstanding.

King Crab & Chicken, Sot-l’y-laisse, Smoked Egg & Skin, Pumpkin, Algae, Sweet Potato

Preceded by a simple but intense crustacean and chicken coulis, Bühner presented another ‘complex, modern’ dish that was a bit sub-standard with respect the overall high level of the entire meal: king crab with sot-l’y-laisse, smoked egg and skin, pumpkin, sweet potato and algae. Somehow, there was too much going on on the plate and the combination of sweet potato and pumpkin was a bit repetitive. Still excellent, but especially the smoked egg and the algae could have been more pronounced.

Ravioli of Liquid Périgord Truffels, Young Peas, Wild Herbs

Just an amazingly yummy and simply dish, more on the pure side of Bühner’s character. Everything said.

Curry Lentils with Goat Yoghurt

It continued in this purist way. The mains were introduced by another Bühner classic: curry lentils with goat yoghurt. One can mix the yoghurt with lentils or drink it to neutralize the spiciness of the lentils. Pure pleasure.

Wild Pigeon, Armagnac, Plum

The pre-main, if you want, was wild pigeon with a marinated plum filled with pigeon confit. On the side the service brought a digestif glass filled with pigeon essence slightly flavored by Armagnac. Again, a pure delight – the pigeon was most tender and perfect, the plum aromatic and the confit intense – together it formed the ‘essence’ of pigeon, a masterpiece and the dish of the evening.

Pure Roebuck 2010-2, Beetroot, Ceps

Although German chefs seem reluctant to tag their dishes with the year they have created it (like Berasategui or Dacosta), this main certainly warrants some pride and rightfully carries the name Pure Roebuck 2010-2 (the second version of Pure Roebuck in 2010, the first was a pre-main). Before the actual dish, Bühner served his ingenious roebuck jus to sip – it’s the pure (therefore the name) meat jus of roebuck without any spices, broths or other seasoning. To extract the juice, he minces the roebuck meat, vacuums it and cooks it sous-vide at 55°C. As a next step he uses a vacuum vaporiser to reduce it even more and to get the most concentrated jus possible. Here, technology helps to capture the essence of the roebuck. For the full story see the following video:

In this second version he presented gently poached roebuck (only using some spices without other direct seasoning) with beetroot cooked in hay and salt, some thinly sliced very intense ceps and some crumble of ceps – all basted with the intense roebuck extract. On the side, he served a yummy potato-cep espuma. What a flavor sensation, it all worked soo well, although I am not a big fan of poaching roebuck because the texture becomes a bit problematic. But that’s more a personal dislike. Overall, Thomas Bühner can be proud of this dish as it clearly shows his technical mastery and clever hand for the manifestation of pure flavors. Outstanding.

Variation of Pumpkin, Orange-Ginger Sorbet

After this intense main, the pre-dessert could keep that level and was just perfect. Thank you, Mr Bühner!

Combination of Berries, Cookies & Licorice

Last part of this wonderful evening: a light, transparent and delicate combination of berries, cookies and licorice using all textural and temperature contrast without being overly complicated. A perfect showdown.

Thomas Bühner & Taiga

The Verdict
This was an outstanding meal clearly worth three stars relative to the Pan-European standard. Only one thing struck me: the two sides of Bühner’s cuisine – modern and very complex on the one hand and very puristic on the other. In my personal view, the purist dishes seem more natural, to the point, effort-less and emotional (well, the mackerel with foie and beetroot was also amazing). In a way, they are more characteristic for Thomas Bühner than the elaborated modern dishes that are in the tradition of the Benelux school and thus less differentiating than the Pure Roebuck, for example. But, and that’s the key question, is it necessary to have only heart – can’t it be sometimes playful and sometimes purist? If this is the reason for not promoting Bühner to three star status, I don’t know. Personally, I can’t think of anything else.

Overall, this dinner was very compelling and warrants any visit to La Vie. I can’t wait to be back and further observe how Thomas Bühner continuously develops. Emotional and moving moments for me, paired with a splendid service headed by Tharyarni Kanagaratnam – be it with or without the third star, irrelevant for me at least.

Berlin - Margaux

This is not one of these usual reviews about one specific menu in a restaurant – it’s praise for someone whose cooking emotionally moves me every time I dine there.

Someone who lets me participate in a revelatory and contemplative dining experience…

Someone who demonstrates that we leverage only a small percentage of the full spectrum of potential ingredients and flavors and that vegetables and herbs offer so much potential for enriching our cooking…

Someone who grows his own vegetables and treats them with utmost respect and immense knowledge…

Someone whose ideas and aroma combinations are singular…

Someone who is passionate about his cooking and takes no prisoners when it comes to product and execution quality…

Michael Hoffmann

Admittetly I was always a big fan of Michael Hoffmann’s cooking (see my 2009 post), but during the last year he has made such a significant progress such that my love for his cuisine grew even stronger. After both herbs and vegetables had been on the forefront of his cuisine for some years, he bought his own „garden“ (well, actually a nursery) and started to cultivate some 400 different kinds of vegetables. Now, herbs play a slightly lesser role in his cooking and vegetables do more of the dance! He even signs his menu cards with “Chef and Gardener” instead of “Cuisinier”. This own garden gives him the opportunity to experiment with harvesting times and will further deepen his understanding of vegetables.

Mentally he also made an important step forward. Having been underrated at the Michelin and Gault Millau for some years, he continued to walk his way – against all odds (especially in the Berlin scene) and without having a sound financial backing of a big corporate or private sponsor. This year he seems even more confident and freed from the verdict of the guides. If it doesn’t work out here in Berlin-Mitte in a true Gourmet temple there is always the option to open a more rustic restaurant somewhere in the rural outskirts…

Most importantly, he has refined his unique handwriting: until early this year his cooking reminded a bit of Pierre Gagnaire in that he improvised around a common theme across different plates. Compared to last year’s stellar performance (LINK) his dishes have significantly matured and grown up being much more purist, clearer in construction and more to the point. Moreover, as he is very concerned about sustainability, some products are off the menu card: there is no goose liver, no tuna, no turbot, no sole, to name but a few.

Let’s look at some of Mr Hoffmann’s this year’s dishes to understand what has been going on and to show different facets of his creative process and thinking:

Berliner Löffelerbsen

Modernization/new context: Berliner Löffelerbsen (originally a rich version of a pea soup so thick that a spoon could stand therein) comprised a rice chip with an espuma of yellow peas (used for the original recipe), dried pea zests and Melissa. This yielded a concentrated pea experience opened by the crunch of the chip and closed by the zests all beautifully flavored by Melissa. Light, intense, refreshing.

Radish with ‘Crispbread’

Elevation: radish with ‘crispbread’ (actually a light baiser-based version) consisted of a raviolo of jellied radish jus filled with radish and yoghurt thrones on a ragout of cucumber, radish and candied citron accompanied by a refreshing sugo of apple, horseradish and lovage. A bit like a traditional Abendbrot with bread, radish and cucumber, this revealed the utmost precision Michael Hoffmann uses in all his creations as proportions worked out so perfectly that the small amuse was pure pleasure, delicate and showing the potential of ‘boring’ radish.

Escabeche Salad with Chickweed

De- and new-construction: Escabeche Salad with chickweed. Hoffmann combined a sliced jelly of braised and smoked bell pepper, shallots cooked in sea salt in combination of glazed bean stripes and savory and, last but not least, a wonderful ice cream of chickweed. On the one hand this was a very clever deconstruction of the spectrum of an Escabeche salad and on the other hand a premier showcase for chickweed that was clearly the cornerstone of the dish. So, in a way dish construction was turned upside down: the chickweed was king and all the other ingredients emphasized different shades of the herb itself (nutty, corn and spinach flavors). Although this being a recent dish (and was part of the 19. Gourmetvision) it was a little more programmatic of the herbal phase of Hoffmann’s œuvre but with a clearer structure. Well, needless to say that Hoffmann used the whole claviature of temperature and texture contrasts but only in the background.

Rondini, Olive Oil and Truffles

Vegetables shine: Rondini, olive oil and truffles. Hoffmann served boiled compote of Rondini (a special pumpkin (gem squash), which looks a bit like zucchini), marinated wild herbs and Croatian truffle along with black radish cooked in salt. A very ragout-like dish building on the slightly nutty and mild taste of the Rondini flavored by the herbs and the strong salty black radish, which had to be dosed quite carefully as the saltiness, could have become problematic.

Mackerel, Cucumber and Buttermilk

No clear protagonist: mackerel, cucumber and buttermilk. Hoffmann first pickled the mackerel with Indian spices and then steamed it slowly to perfection whereas the accord with the buttermilk (as a yoghurt replacement), cucumber and garden herbs worked sensational.

Turnips and Purslane

Clear and straightforward, purist: turnips and purslane. Programmatic of the more mature and purist Michael Hoffmann this dish is inspired by the work of René Redzepi where he dined this year for the first time. But rather than just copying Redzepi’s unique work, Hoffmann cooked the turnips in grape seed oil and served them with a purslane salad (like spinach). The resulting combination of slightly sweet turnips with the slightly sour, salty and nutty purslane was ingenious and perfectly put into spotlight by a rich grape sabayon emphasizing both sweet and sour facets of this dish.

‘Bar de ligne’, Sashimi and Tarragon

New paths: ‘bar de ligne’, Sashimi and tarragon. A dish completely relinquishing a traditional jus – ingeniously Michael Hoffmann uses a jelly of tarragon vinegar and soy/honey to marry the sea bass (cooked in tarragon butter) and the new sashimi of couscous, fennel, red leak and turnips. As the jelly melts with the warm elements it works like a concentrated jus but in the exactly right dosage. To be fair, Grant Achatz has also worked extensively with jelly that he used to coat entire dishes but he used broth-based jellies. Hoffmann’s approach is more effective and precise.

Summer Vegetables

Seasonality: Summer Vegetables. Of course, seasonality plays a major if not the most important role in Michael Hoffmann’s creations. The seasonal versions of his signature dish “Vegetables” ingeniously show how he manages to solicit the best taste and effect from each and every vegetable used. He carefully cooks them separately in mineral water and serves them with the most intense vegetable broth I have ever come across, some dried vegetables for textural effects and a spicy bread with different thin stripes of the vegetables which in itself is delicious yet a bit strong in my opinion. Compared to Bras’ gargouillou it’s more transparent and thus offers more insight into the different vegetables used. Chapeau!

Eggplant, Coriander and Jerusalem Artichoke

New vegetable cooking techniques: eggplant, coriander and Jerusalem artichoke. Hoffmann changed the character of the eggplant by candying it over a couple of days and slowly roasting it in olive oil. So it gained the character of a dried fruit, concentrated and intense that was perfectly counterbalanced by the smokiness of the smoked puree of Jerusalem artichokes and herbal nature of the crispy salad stems as well as the coriander crème.

Potato Sandwich and Leeks' Ash

Vegetable main courses: potato sandwich and leeks’ ash. What defines the character of a main course? It is not necessarily the existence of a solid piece of beef – it should have highlight character and enough substance to stand out like the third act in a classical drama. So it must have power to excel, suspense and mark the turning point of the menu – build a bridge towards the desserts. Interestingly, with the eggplant Hoffmann had already prepared us for sweeter nuances. And this violet potato sandwich delivered, yes indeed!

Essentially a millefeuille of ultra-thin layers of violet potatoes, a royale based on spicy cucumbers, confit of violet potatoes, raw-marinated potatoes with garden herbs accompanied by a cream of the very same garden herbs partly accentuated by leeks’ ash. Last but not least, there was an intense broth of turnips to ground and aromatize the whole dish. The main course nature was caused by the complexity of the different potato variations (suspense) and the richness of the royale (power) whereas the herbal notes made it delicate. Moreover, as the violet potatoes are slightly sweet the acceleration towards the desserts somehow continued.

Tomato-air-bread with Candied Vegetables and Parmesan

Vegetable desserts: tomato-air-bread with candied vegetables and Parmesan. Already a Hoffmann classic this brilliantly shows the potential of vegetables in sweet courses. A new context for vegetables but the broad variation of taste and flavors and the potential ways of treating them yield a very enriched spectrum of possibilities.

Dear fellow foodies, this is one of the most interesting cuisines in Europe – putting it in the “new naturals” drawer would fit but in effect fall short of the pure spectrum of Michael Hoffmann’s cuisine. It is truly unique with its very own philosophy, very elaborate and uses only the very best products available in combination with a cooking precision far beyond most new naturals chefs. Most importantly, he is not following a trend he is cooking “Hoffmann” and nothing else.

So go and experience it yourself – it is worth any trip!