THE BEST THING IS HAPPY GUESTS
He is considered one of the best chefs in Germany: Torsten Michel, 43. Born in Dresden, he came to the "Traube Tonbach" in 2004 to cook in the "Schwarzwaldstube". He has been head chef at the renowned gourmet address in Baiersbronn for three years. In January 2020, however, the gourmet world received terrible news. Find out more in this article. An interesting interview with Torsten Michel from our WEISS Magazine No.4...
On the night of January 6, the 230-year-old main building of the luxury hotel, in which the "Schwarzwaldstube" was located, burned down. After the initial shock, the hotelier family Finkbeiner decided on an interim solution and opened the "temporaire" on the roof of the parking garage after just four months of construction. Torsten Michel and his kitchen team now have a new temporary home - and guests once again have a special place for outstanding enjoyment.
On the "Traube Tonbach" Instagram page, you can follow the speed at which the new restaurant was built. The fire in January completely destroyed the "Schwarzwaldstube".
Michel: Everything is burnt. The chefs' knives, the cookbook collection, pots, 10,000 bottles of wine, the silver, the entire stock of porcelain - all gone. A tragedy. Fortunately, no one was harmed and the hotel remained untouched. The "temporaire" was an ingenious temporary solution.
You insisted on KPM porcelain for the furnishings.
Michel: That's right. You often use such cuts to question things and do things differently in the future. But I didn't want to change the porcelain.
Why?
Michel: The ARKADIA collection is similar to our kitchen: timelessly beautiful. And the sound only comes when the cutlery meets the porcelain! That's part of the enjoyment experience.
The ARKADIA collection
What else do you value?
Michel: Although it is not designed for the catering trade, KPM porcelain is extremely suitable for everyday use. We have 30 guests in the evening, seven courses per guest, so many plates pass through many hands. They are washed, polished and served. But we have hardly any loss, hardly any breakage: the porcelain is extremely robust.
You are one of the best chefs in the country. When did you know that you wanted to become a chef?
Michel: To be honest, I wanted to become a pilot at the end of my compulsory military service, but that didn't work out due to a slight red-green weakness. I wasn't interested in another career as an officer. So I looked for an apprenticeship and was very lucky with the restaurant at the Hotel Bellevue in Dresden. The quality of a training company lies in the fact that it "picks up" a young person and inspires enthusiasm for the profession.
The FAZ once wrote: "Torsten Michel has a memory for pleasure.
Michel: I think every chef has that. It comes with the job. In 2010, I was a guest at "El Bulli" by the famous chef Ferran Adrià. I can remember 38 of the 45 courses. If something was particularly good, you carry it with you - and maybe use it at some point.
How does the "temporaire" go down with guests?
Michel: We are fully booked, just like before. There's no better compliment for a chef.
