Category: Europe
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It was about time to revisit Thomas Bühner’s La Vie in Osnabrück. My last meal there in December last year was on a very high level yet with some weaker moments, especially on the dessert side. But it showed a clear tendency towards higher laurels, namely the third star. In this year Bühner hired Frederik…
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What is a vision? Apart from its medical meaning it could be a long-term goal (in management – where does my company want to be in 10 years?), an inspirational experience (in spiritual terms) or a hallucination (a vivid conscious perception in the absence of a stimulus). Now, infamous German food critique Jürgen Dollase collaborates…
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“What is a three star experience like?”, some foodie and non-foodie friends use to ask me. What is the difference between a one, a two and a three star restaurant? In Michelin terms the answer is straightforward: In essence the Michelin ratings pave the way of planning trips. Sitting in the very restaurant, however, is…
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Crisis – what crisis? Sure, there still is something like a financial crisis which hit also the fine dining world quite significantly… But an identity crisis? Hmm. The so-called ‘new naturals’ have left their own footprint by continuing the tradition of Michel Bras and Marc Veyrat to fully embrace the regional produce and its distinct…
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A new menu concept? Interesting. Exactly when I dined at Aqua I received a mail about a new menu concept at Vendôme – 8 courses (plus desserts) at €150, 12 courses (plus desserts) at €190, and finally 16 courses (+ 8 desserts) in the grand “explorative voyage” at €245 – full stop. Well beyond the…
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Well, Belgium and the Netherlands have emerged to a culinary hotspot not only due to Peter Goossens, Sergio Herman and Jonnie Boer ranking among the best chefs in the world. Interestingly, there are many young, very talented chefs who have developed a modern yet distinct culinary style, especially in the Flanders region. At my recent…
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£48 for a five course Michelin star menu – Andy Hayler has shown us how this works in last Sunday’s Telegraph issue. But, you have to travel quite a bit back and forth in the UK (637 miles to be precise). Fuel bill added on top this might not be a true bargain… In the…
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After all the recent praises you might wonder whether I would ever again report about bad meals (remember King Kamehameha and Can Fabes!). Contrary to professional restaurant testers I can choose the restaurants I visit and most of the time I choose wisely, especially in the last months 🙂 So don’t be disappointed that another…
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After a couple of meals last year at Christian Bau’s Schloss Berg I followed Trine’s example of taking a break to see how the cuisine develops over some time. But, sooner that I thought the idea came up to show very good friends of mine real three star cooking and somehow Schloss Berg appeared as…
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Most chefs at high-end restaurants are obsessed in a very positive way – either with execution, product quality, presentation or creativity. Michael Hoffmann of Margaux in Berlin is all of that but maybe to an even greater extent. In the last couple of years he built up an immense knowledge of herbs both known and…
