Happy new Year to all of you! 2012 was a year filled with many wines, not too many tastings and blind tastings, but certainly enough Epicurian moments to fill a few pages. I certainly have not reported everything, as workload was higher than in previous years, but there are some great moments that are worth being mentioned anew. Read the rest of this entry »
Rüsselsheim war ja in den letzten Jahren wahrlich nicht sehr positiv in den Schlagzeilen vertreten. Schießereien in der Fußgängerzone, Fluglärm, Krise beim Autobauer Opel. Doch letztes Jahr auf einmal der kulinarische Paukenschlag: Das Restaurant Navette unter der Führung des jungen Kochs Thomas Macyszyn erhält einen Michelin Stern.
Aber schon davor, auch aufgrund der geographischen Nähe, war es schon lange mein Wunsch das Navette zu besuchen. Schön, dass es nun endlich geklappt hat. Die Handschrift von Thomas Macyszyn ist etwas anders als man es heutzutage von der “Avantgarde” gewohnt ist. Viele fruchtige Elemente finden hier ihren Platz auf dem Teller: Geschmacklich eine riskanter Hochseilakt. Doch wo andere schnell ins kitschige rutschen, gelingen im Navette harmonische Kreationen, die für Frohsinn und Abwechslung sorgen.
Hier der Besuch im Einzelnen. Entschuldigung für die teilweise schlechte Foto-Qualität, mir sind an der Kamera unglücklicherweise die Einstellungen verrutscht. Read the rest of this entry »
Only today, already a few weeks after the dinner actually took place, I finally have the time to report about our meal at Restaurant La Vie in Osnabrück. In this small-sized German city in the Northern part of the country, Chef Thomas Bühner and his wife and Maîtr D’, Thayarni Kanagaratnam, have built up a gem of a restaurant, both regarding food and atmosphere. The premises are comprised within a listed Classisistic building in the heart of the town and the modern interior, also composed of warm tones with wood elements, is in perfect contrast and harmony with the architecture. When you enter the premises, you are warmly welcomed and instantly feel at home. Read the rest of this entry »
The Northern German city of Wolfsburg could also be called “German Motown” as it is mainly known for having the Volkswagen headquarters and consists of plenty of Volkswagen factory buildings. In recent years though, the car company has invested in building an attraction park and visitor centre for car lovers, including a luxury hotel of the Ritz-Carlton brand. The hotel facility is nestled in between the visitor center and from its windows one can overview a harbour basin and the impressive Volkwagen factory with its century-old smokestacks. I’d call it industrial romanticism. More important for food travelers though is the hotel’s own fine dining Restaurant Aqua, where Chef Sven Elverfeld has built a reputation for being one of Germany’s top chefs.
Finally I got to visit one of Frankfurt’s most acclaimed fine dining locations, Restaurant Villa Merton*, where Chef Matthias Schmidt is applying a cuisine which could be qualified as regional, experimental and natural. Without doubt, there are some striking similarities to restaurant Noma chef René Redzepi’s philosophy, as Schmitt as well has a focus on regional specialties, gathering herbs and fruit and sourcing meat and fish in the very region of Frankfurt.
After I had a provisional introduction to Matthias Schmidt’s cuisine at a pop-up restaurant last year, a friend’s visit was the right occasion to discover his philosphy “full throttle”. We opted for the seven course menu named “Stoff”, here’s the story of our dinner. Read the rest of this entry »
What might look a bit like a haunted mansion within the high rise buildings of Shanghai, actually is a very charming old Tudor house and represents a beautiful setting for wine and food.
For our last dinner in Shanghai I went online and made some research about what the Shanghai fine dining scene has to offer. There are a few branches of international 3 star chefs (The Pourcel twins and Boulud) which I suspected might only be less good copies of the originals. Then there are those much talked about hip restaurants such as “Mr. and Mrs Bund”, which might actually be worth a shot, but also bear a big risk for disappointment. But we wanted none of these, and rather picked a restaurant with a wine theme that seemed to offer a reasonable package: Napa Wine Bar and Kitchen. Read the rest of this entry »
