In portrait
Fehling, Elverfeld, Bau: Germany’s best chefs share their secrets
A dish like a painting – just like Sven Elverfeld.
© Kirchgasser Photography
It is the highest honor that a chef can bestow: three Michelin stars. Nine German chefs can pin this success to the lapels of their chef’s jackets. How they tick and what drives them can now be read in the portrait collection “Three Stars: That’s all it takes”.
Nine men know the art of cooking better than anyone else in this country. They are grandmasters at the stove, food virtuosos. These nine belong to an illustrious circle of currently 121 people worldwide who can adorn themselves with three Michelin stars. More is not possible in the culinary world. How do these grand masters of kitchen art tick? What drives you? How do you understand pleasure? Isolde Heinz and Gunnar Meinhardt visited the chefs and talked to them about work and life. This is from that Book “Three Stars: More is not possible” become.
For example, there is Christian Bau, who talks about his first internship in gastronomy. Of the fact that back then there were still slaps in the face and ears stretched, but he still fell in love with this world immediately. It was a love that stayed. Since 2005 he has held three stars with his restaurant “Victor’s Fine Dining by Christian Bau” in the romantic Berg Castle at the extreme tip of Saarland. Or Sven Elverfeld, whose “Aqua” restaurant in Wolfsburg has been an institution for more than 20 years and who says that he set himself the goal of earning three stars and then just followed his urge to “develop dishes that simply taste good , speak for me and are unmistakable”. And that’s exactly what you can see in his dishes: “Like a painter, whom you can recognize by his pictures”.
Portraits of the heroes at the hearth
In addition to the personal drive of the chefs, the portraits also deal with overriding themes. They talk about the regionality and quality of products, about sustainability, the value of meat and meatless cuisine. About what constitutes top cuisine for her and what influence it has on the diet of society. As a treat, each chef reveals one of his recipes from the three-star kitchen. In addition to Bau and Elverfeld, Kevin Fehling, Jan Hartwig, Christian Jürgens, Claus-Peter Lumpp, Torsten Michel, Marco Müller, Clemens Rambichler and Joachim Wissler also have their say. This listing is no longer up-to-date. Because in this year’s star award, Wissler’s “Vendôme” in Bergisch Gladbach was downgraded from three to two stars (more on this here). Jan Hartwig no longer belongs on the list either. He left the “Atelier” last year. The restaurant now has two stars. Thomas Schanz, who made it into the best of the best for the first time this year with his “Schanz.Restaurant”, is missing.
Unfortunately, this book once again makes it clear that there is a gap in the world of top gastronomy that finally needs to be closed. Because women are not to be found among the best of the best. Again not. Eckart Witzigmann, grand seigneur of German-speaking star chefs, writes in the foreword that he likes to count the ten gentlemen who are portrayed in the book. “The entire cooking world envies us for these heroes at the stove and I wish them the same attention and popularity as our colleagues on television,” says Witzigmann. In an inset, he adds that all the ladies in the kitchens shouldn’t feel discouraged by this.
Although female chefs are on the rise, there are still 16 women among the 327 top chefs who were recognized by the Michelin Guide this year – more than last year. But it’s only 16, so it’s still less than 5 percent. And three stars has not yet cooked. There is a slight upward trend year after year, said the director of the “Guide Michelin” for Germany and Switzerland, Ralf Flinkenflügel, recently to the DPA, but there can be no question of an explosion in this area. “It would be nice to have more,” he said.
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