When Hermann Bareiss received the news of Restaurant
Bareiss’s third Michelin star, he was caught leaping into the air with
joy. ‘Freudensprüngen (jumping for joy) is not really my
thing’, admits this tall, distinguished hotelier with a wry smile – ‘but
these were special circumstances.’ It was a fabulous moment, a stunning
reward for him, for his jovial chef Claus-Peter Lumpp and for all the
staff who’d helped to make it happen. (The next morning they were all
lined up waiting for the chef at the kitchen door with a guard of honour
- presumably of wooden spoons and soup ladles.)
The intimate dining room has huge wraparound windows
framed by swagged pelmets and damask curtains. Above there’s a deeply
carved wooden ceiling twinkling with starry lights, below is deep pile
royal blue carpet. You glide to your seat – a capacious Louis XVI carver
chair with matching stool for your reticule (or perhaps for your pug).
The table (one of only eight) is draped in pristine linen with bustles
and bows for petticoats, adorned by a single candle, a gorgeous but not
intrusive bunch of flowers and sundry weaponry and china ready for the
feast.
A meal at Bareiss is an assault on all the senses.
Expect extraordinary, multi-layered tastes and textures, and depths of
flavour to set tongues wagging. Whether you choose one of the set menus
(6 or 8 courses at dinner, 4 at lunch) or put yourself in the chef’s
hands, every dish has ‘a story to tell, in several different chapters’.
A sturgeon-based creation has petals of
carpaccio-style fish splayed out over a lightly lemony cream, crowned
with a teaspoonful of caviar and set about with crisp dice of citron
confit. In a separate glass are tiny cubes of lightly smoked sturgeon
poised on a sharp lemon jelly; in another, a whisper of foaming sturgeon
essence with hints of lemon and ginger.
An orientally inclined monkfish medley features a
roasted chunk with squares of watermelon, fresh dates and pistachios in
starring role, with bit parts played by a tiny stuffed crêpe with herby
vinaigrette and succulent monkfish cheeks in a cool yogurt-based sauce.
Milk-fed lamb from the gentle hills of nearby Schwäbische Alb takes a
Mediterranean turn: a neat line of roasted aubergine dice is flanked by a
small slab of crusty-skinned, pinkly roasted leg and a syrupy,
gelatinous mouthful of slow-cooked spare ribs with polenta.
The wine list, too, is worth a special journey.
Sommelier Jürgen Fendt, twice a finalist in the Meilleur Sommelier du
Monde competition, is a walking encyclopaedia and genial guide to vines,
grapes and wines. The huge list has every international name you’ve
ever heard of (and a few you may not have), but while in the Black
Forest it would be crazy (given the huge strides made in Baden’s
vineyards) not to drink local. Standout whites at a recent meal were
Karl-Heinz Johner’s mouth-filling Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris) Spätlese
and an elegant Viognier from Fritz Wassmer, while Hans-Peter Ziereisen’s
pepper-and-spice Syrah, produced in frustratingly tiny quantities in
southern Baden and always sold out at the cellar door, rocked a few of
the assembled Rhône-lovers back on their feet.
The eight tables are turned over just once at lunch
and at dinner - the chef wants people to linger at table for as long as
possible, "to have a really memorable experience". The restaurant is run
as a separate entity from the eponymous hotel and closes two days a
week (Monday and Tuesday) so Claus-Peter’s travels and television
appearances are fitted into his days off. "When people book a table at
Bareiss, they know the chef will be in his kitchen" explains Herman
Bareiss.
Guests who can choose their dining hour and linger as
long as they like, and a home-grown, three-star chef who stays home and
does the cooking? Now there’s an idea.
Restaurant Bareiss,
Hotel Bareiss,
Gärtenbühlweg 14,
Baiersbronn-Mitteltal,
Germany
+49 744 2470
www.bareiss.com
