Tag Archives: New German Cuisine

Christian Scharrer: (German) Rusticality Refined

Posted on by
Reply

Travemünde has more to offer than the fabulous two star La Belle Epoque where chef Kevin Fehling is at the forefront of a new generation of young German to be aware of. Literally across the street, the A-Rosa Grand SPA Resort and its gourmet restaurant Buddenbrooks offer a quite different take on fine dining, yet not necessarily a worse one.

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…

Continue reading →

La Vie (Th. Bühner) – A Question of Time

Posted on by
8

Osnabrück? Where the heck is that? Well, for people interested in fine dining it is the home of the Restaurant La Vie where Thomas Bühner has been both chef and patron since April 2006. But, Osnabrück has more to discover…

Exactly 2000 years ago in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest near Osnabrück Arminius led about 11 Germanic tribes to defeat the Romans under Varus. The city itself was founded in 780 by Karl the Great and soon became a diocesan town. Thus, in the medieval ages it was a prosperous town, even part of the mighty Hanseatic league in the 14th century. In 1648 the peace treaty after the Thirty Years’ War was partly signed in Osnabrück (the Peace of Westphalia of Münster and Osnabrück).

Osnabrück Impressions (courtesy of the City of Osnabrück)

Osnabrück Impressions (courtesy of the www.osnabrueck.de)

Moreover, after the second world war it become the home of more than 160 paintings of Felix Nussbaum who was born in Osnabrück and murdered by the Nazis in Auschwitz. Today, the Felix-Nussbaum-Haus of the magnificent Daniel Libeskind carries a nice collection of Jewish art. Right now, the special exhibition “The hidden trace. Jewish ways through modernity” reflecting Jewish life in the diaspora is worth the trip alone.

header_fnh

Felix-Nussbaum-Haus (courtesy of the www.osnabrueck.de)

I can really say that I fell in love with Osnabrück even after having discovered only some of its treasures. Overall, Osnabrück today is a blend of old (timbered, neoclassical and rococo style) and modern buildings which is also characteristic of the cuisine of Thomas Bühner. Hm, quite a transition;-)

Interestingly, since Bühner was named chef of the year in the German Gault Millau in Nov 2005 it merely seemed a matter of time until the third star would be awarded. In the 2006 Michelin nothing happened simply because he announced to move to Osnabrück but held his two stars in the 2007 edition. The same was true in 2008 (promotion of Amador, Erfort and Lumpp) and in 2009 (promotion of Elverfeld). At the same time, Jürgen Dollase does not stop to praise Bühner’s cuisine and lately named him meal of the year in Germany in 2008. Enough to discover myself…

Continue reading →

Amador – Subtle, Emotional, Brilliant

Posted on by
6

Shortly after my visit to the Vendôme I had the possibility to get an update of how Juan Amador’s cuisine has developed since my last visit in May. And, I must say that all but two dishes in the main menu were new to me. After the meal I am still stunned how much progress he has made in refining and elaborating his distinct style. So, another prime example of the significant and positive developments in Germany.

The Restaurant

Located in Langen about 20 minutes south of Frankfurt the Restaurant Amador is not easy to find as it is not inside a prestigious castle or hotel like most of the other German top restaurants. Instead it is situated in a typical timbered house in the centre of Langen (for some pictures I owe special thanks to Julot and to Sternefresser where indicated).

dsc_0012

The Restaurant (thanks to Julot)

Continue reading →

Joachim Wissler – New German Cuisine at its Best

Posted on by
18

Among Germany’s top chefs Joachim Wissler is certainly unique. Regarded as one of the best chefs in the world he continues to push the frontier for new (and forgotten) ingredients, techniques and, most importantly, new and unique combinations of flavours. He is on the forefront of the development of a “New German Cuisine” in the last couple of years.

Restaurant Vendôme

As part of the Grandhotel Schloss Bensberg in Bergisch-Gladbach near Cologne the Restaurant Vendôme is located in the small cavaliers’ house. It has been carefully renovated in 2007 to leave its Baroque and too overloaded interior behind. Now it better fits to the modern and refined cooking of Joachim Wissler. Interestingly, the whole team was involved in creating a truly harmonious, warm and also practical ambiance. Miguel Calero, the mâitre, told us that everything what’s needed (cutlery, napkins etc) is hidden somewhere except for the plates…

The New Interior

The New Interior

Continue reading →

Short Bite: New German Cuisine?

Posted on by
Reply

Is any press good press? Hard to say…

In the yesterday’s NYT travel section Gisela Williams has written about “A Wellspring of the New German Cuisine“. Wow, I thought, after the article on Amador, the recent developments in the German restaurant scene are getting more attention. Given the mission of my blog I can only welcome that;-)

Gisela starts out with my favorite theme – on the one hand Germany is only second to France when it comes to three star restaurants (nine as of this year’s Guide Rouge) and on the other hand “the land of sauerkraut and spätzle, it seems, is finally getting little culinary respect”. Well said, quite true, but needs to be changed… She then continues by describing that old and young chefs are creating a new German cuisine ( “parsing their Teutonic heritage for new flavours, rather than reciting French or Spanish techniques for haute effect”). D’accord…

Continue reading →