The news had “cut off the desire to eat”. Three years ago, Jean-Michel Kruth, director of La Maison Adam, The Butchers of Alsace, learned that it was a Lyonnais who held the world record for the largest sauerkraut. “The restaurateur where we ate was the record holder. You see a little! For an Alsatian, to go to Lyon and learn that, you weren’t even hungry anymore. “An” anomaly “which he tackles this Saturday in Haguenau, north of Strasbourg. And to recover the lost honor of Alsace, the butcher who has been committed for years to defending Alsatian culinary heritage is no less targeting a 2-tonne sauerkraut, or 500 kg more than that of the Lyonnais.
To achieve this record attempt, the adventure was not easy and the butcher had to pedal a little in sauerkraut to get there. First, there was the Covid-19 crisis. Then find the place until, “last year, at a show in Paris, Jean-Pierre Fugier, the director of the Cora de Haguenau, called on us to offer us to occupy part of the car park and help us with about forty people”. The idea of the largest sauerkraut in the world was finally taking shape.
“A real Alsatian sauerkraut! »
On the eve of this feast, the Alsatian delicatessen is on the hot coals. “I haven’t slept for six months,” he says. Imagine, it will be a real Alsatian sauerkraut! » Five thousand knacks, more than a ton of cabbage, 200 kg of potatoes, 400 kg of meat and sausages, huge burners… Not to mention the 45 kg of goose fat, just to coat the pan and 150 liters of Riesling to moisten it.
A saucepan, which in itself is “a feat, a true work of art, a jewel, specially designed and financed by a craftsman, Piotr Halwa from Sobrima company in Hoerdt. I think the hardest thing to do was his saucepan, jokes the butcher. It was necessary to carry out tests upstream, bring in a specialized welder, like for a submarine! “. A special saucepan shrouded in mystery: its dimensions are not communicated pending the arrival of the bailiffs, and a future just as kept confidential, even if Jean-Michel Kruth confides that he has other events of primary importance in store for him.
For a good cause too
Mobilized like never before, ready to bring the sauerkraut home, he had to limit the cooking to 20 people from Maison Adam to cook this Saturday. Between firefighters, emergency services, cooks, technical staff, more than 80 people will work to beat the record under a 1,000 m2 marquee. At least 3,000 people can be served from 9:30 a.m. And this is where the charcutier’s other motivation lies: to sell as many tickets as possible at 3 euros, for portions of around 600 grams, because the entire amount collected will be donated to the association. “The Rose Factory” which helps women with breast cancer. “It’s a nice little dish that’s well worth 8 or 9 euros. We want to attract as many people as possible to give the association a big check”.