IFS

I had an senstional dinner last week at Schloss Berg near Luxembourg where Christian Bau rocks it... He hase made a big step forward and continuously modernizes his cuisine rooted in the French tradition. For me, on par with Herman and Goossens these days. This is an absolute must for any destination diner! Some excerpts from my latest blogpost: Christian Bau During a six week internship (or stage) at the Hotel Götz Sonne Eintracht at the age of 14 he was so fascinated by cooking that he came back at 16 to start a three year apprenticeship. In the hotel kitchen he acquired a classic fundament for his cuisine - solid craftsmanship which today is rare in a "normal" hotel kitchen... Maybe more importantly Christian met his future wife Yildiz at Götz... Only eight kilometers away in Sasbachwalden Gutbert Fallert had successfully established a gourmet restaurant in his Hotel Talmühle which carries its Michelin star up to now. Intrigued by the quality of this new terrain of Haute Cuisine Christian Bau applied and got his entrance card into the wonderful world of Brittany lobster, turbot, loup de mer, Bresse pigeon you name it. So this station was a perfect ramp-up for his way to the stars. After military service (of course in the officers' mess in Achern) and a short stint at the very ambitious "Le Canard" in Offenburg Christian Bau stayed five years at Harald Wohlfahrt's Schwarzwaldstube in the Hotel Traube Tonbach (Baiersbronn) where he soon became Sous Chef. After Witzigmann's cocaine scandal (see Fine Dining in Germany) Wohlfahrt was unanimously the best chef in Germany, a genius if you want, who creates simple and sensational dishes deeply rooted in the French tradition. The Wohlfahrt school is characterized by utmost precision, discipline, hard work and the quest for perfection (yes, some German virtues in a positive sense) but also by his willingness to let his disciples develop, grow and to learn from his vast culinary knowledge and touch. Not for nothing many of today's successful young German chefs have been trained there (see my boring historic overview of Fine Dining in Germany here). Christian Bau finally ran the kitchen quite independently while Yildiz was working side-by-side in the black brigade... By incidence, the young couple met the owners of the Victor's Reidenz Hotels while visiting the renaissance castle Schloss Berg in 1997 and signed to them to be the chef de cuisine of the then to be opened gourmet restaurant. At only 27 he received a lot of freedom to develop his vision of a top restaurants. After the opening awards came quickly and steadily: first star in 1998, the second in 1999 and the third in 2005. Very well deserved in my opinion - all dinners I had so far were of three star quality with some of the most memorable dishes I ever had (e.g. a fantastic foie gras with green tea and mango in 2006)! Conclusion What can I say? I have to admit I really like Christian Bau's intelligent way of cooking and I see him on track to the absolute top among European chefs. Compared to my recent experiences at Oud Sluis and Hof van Cleve (which I both praised) Bau is on par - the whole experience is closer to Goossens in style but equally fun and enjoyable as Sergio Herman's cuisine. More importantly whereas Herman and Goossens have only gradually developed their cuisine further in the last two years I experienced big leaps at Schloss Berg, especially from January to August this year. Christian Bau is on the quest, surely, and he gradually modernizes his cuisine by getting rid of unnecessary elements (as Klaus Erfort, as Christian Jürgens) and reducing his plates to maximum taste. I particularly like the idea of having some typical dishes like the crab, the turbot & langoustine, the sole which he tries to vary improve continuously. His most important strength is an ingenious touch for pairing of flavours in a more conventional way than Juan Amador in a good sense. Together the strong foie dishes and the patisserie it simply makes him a great chef! Moreover, I sense that there is still some potential unlocked and dare say that if this is unleashed then only the sky is the limit;-)

We will be in Barcelona mid Sept and thus I am finanlizing reservations. Comerc24, Can Fabes and Can Roca are booked - Gresca, Hisop sound interesting, but I din't find opening times on the net? And, whereas it was absolutely no problem for CF and CR Sant pau seems to be better booked - it is the first time I didn't get a desired reservation What about Espai Sucre, Abac, Alkimia - any recent experiences?? Any other recommendations welcome...

We had a wonderful lunch last week at Oud Sluis. Sergio Herman is still rocking it. Wonderful new and surprising perspectives on what flavours can work together. Complex, intuitive and just delightful. A true genius. For a detailed review see below... Anyone else been there recently?

I had an outstanding meal at Hof van Cleve one week ago and have to report that since Bu Pun Su's report things seem to have improved... Some details here, for more and pictures see my blogpost (I do not know how to crop the picture so that they fit in here...) ______________ The Menu ... we arrived at HvC and were immediately drawn to the relaxed atmosphere and warm welcome. It was like entering another world... We were seated on the beautiful terrace "but" on the side to the parking lot without the view over the landscape. As aperitif we choose a Billecart-Salmon Rosé champagne which was as always refreshing and not too dry (afterwards we regret this choice a bit as 28 euro per glass is a not yet experienced price level even for a three star Michelin). Appetizers were subtle, had some nice smoky flavors and were a good preparation for the menu. The menu card reads interesting though a la carte is quite expensive and almost on Paris levels - superior products have some price tag attached. We decided to go for the 9-course tasting menu "De Frisheid Van de Natuur" which offered a nice variety of dishes to taste - a menu dégustation in the best sense it seemed. The description of the specific dishes was less prosaic as in Oud Sluis and made me think that Goossens' cuisine is maybe more reduced and less playful than Sergio's which turned out to be true in the end. We set out with Langoustine "Guilvinec" curry / kalamanci / avocat which was absolutely fantastic and ranks among my Top 5 dishes ever. The Brittany langoustine was of superb product quality and cooked softly to perfection with crispy skin on the outside and incredible tenderness in the inside - and, yes it tasted as a perfect fresh langoustine should (well, I have not tried the Pacaud or Passard one yet;-)). The carpaccio underneath was a solid basis for the dish. The combination of kalamanci lime (frequently known as acid orange), curry ice cream, avocado and the two forms of langoustine was playing with all flavors and textures and created sheer pleasure with a not yet experienced taste sensation. On the side they served a curry vinaigrette which added some juiciness and mouth-feel factor... Proportions worked out so well that the main protagonists were never in danger to be dominated. Chapeau - outstanding, a true masterpiece. This dish is similar in style to Sergio's cooking but less complex and maybe a little more to the point. Then Thon "Bleufin" tomate / crabe / algues - again incredible product quality especially the tomato. This dish was more an interpretation of the three main ingredients and did not have one main player. But the balance of different elements and thus flavors was astonishing. [...] Homard de l'escaut de l'est asperges des dunes / basilic / belotta. Peter Goossens just continued to blow my mind with this simple yet ingenious dish. For the last time in this report I want to point out that all courses consisted of superior product quality handled with all due respect and true mastery, this time with "local" lobster from Oosterschelde and asparagus from the dunes served as a cannelloni with belotta ham (Goossens is one of the masters of asparagus). The only problem was that the light made photographing quite challenging:-)) Outstanding. The next two fish courses let me breathe again, both being excellent but not at the level of the previous dishes. [...] Porc "Iberico" coux fleurs / soja / xères - I can't really remember what the cauliflower etc. added to this dish. The fantastic pork (belly and loin I suppose) stood out strongly and dominated the sides. With regard to dramaturgy this was a nice step up and preparation for the main. Very good to excellent. The third masterpiece of this meal: Veau corrèze "sous la Mère" fevettes / morilles / petits pois. Look at the plate - isn't it just beautiful? The best veal ever, even better than the one we had at the Auberge de L'Ill a couple of weeks before. Goossens sources his suckling veal from the French department Corrèze in the Limousine which is one of the best sources for this product. Together with the peas puree, morels and corn this was a perfect accord with the veal melting in my mouth. Outstanding! Desserts were excellent to outstanding. Overall This was one of my best meals ever on par with Oud Sluis, Le Calandre and Alinea (and Arzak/Amador). Combined with the very nice atmosphere and the impeccable service this was a true three star experience. The direct comparison to Sergio Herman suggests itself as both are modern in the best sense. Goossens' creations are more reduced, less playful and with more traditional elements and are based on extremely well selected products of astonishing quality. In contrast Sergio's plates are more dense using more elements and more exotic/Japanese flavors. It is hard to choose - do both as they are references with slightly different approaches. When writing this I was re-reading Andi's report and can only state that Goossens has modernized his style but still links back to French Haute Cuisine. At least in that menu he used less local products than before and showed quite a variety of products and types of dishes - I personally think he can even develop further if he consistently creates dishes like the langoustine...

Thanks for this report, ulterior epicure as it clarifies some of the questions I had in mind when thinking about this L.20 and pins down precisely your critique. We didn't make on our trip in may as Laurent opened on the last day of us being in Chicago. Do you think that Laurent has the potential to develop towards a heavyweight? Moreover, I found I awkward that they charged you 25 bucks per additional course . I just did the same at oud Sluis and somehow nothing extra appeared on the bill... What were the a la carte prices for those courses? Cheers IFS

Can only second Rutz, really creative and relaxed, impressive wine selction also by the glass. On the upper end try Christian Lohse at Fischers Fritz** and Michael Kempf at Facil*. I have not yet managed to eat at the new Tim Raue outlet, but it lokks nice on their website (unforunatley the direct Ma link doen't work right now...). Asian and especially chinese elements... Best IFS

Hi Tracy if you like modern food, go visit Juan Amador's Tasca in Wiesbaden directly. They serve classic Amador dishes and received one star in 2008. If you have some more time you must eat at Amador in Langen near Frankfurt (40 mins from Wiesbaden), currently of the best restaurants in Germany (3* since 2008). If you prefer a more classic dining I recommend Die Ente in the Nassauer Hof in wiesbaden. Especially the duck served in two courses is very good. Or you get to the Rheingau (20 mins from Wiesbaden) where Burg Schwarzenstein is quite nice. Just tell me what you are looking for... Best IFS

It is indeed sad that they close, but from my experience their food do not work very well in a Pub-like atmosphere. My last meal was ecellent, clearly on 1*-level which they will never get in this location. As the sous Jordi has told me the next location will be better... I see a huge potential in Nuno! Best IFS