For its chef, Joachim Wissler, is a man who doesn't cook
food like other chefs do. He is someone who has an excellent commanding of
classical French technique and at the same time, slowly developed a style that
has very little to do with that of any other restaurant in Europe. To describe this style,
a few characteristics come to mind. First of all, his cooking is pure. Dishes such as a
goose liver with chicken bouillon and courgettes for instance do not feature a
lot of elements. What they do have instead are a clarity and definition of
flavour, which you rarely find. At the same time, the quality of the produce is
quite impressive, which is not always the case in "modern" restaurants. This is
best shown by some crayfish, served with a spicy Indian-inspired cream. These
have a texture that only the best crayfish display and somehow manage to stand
out, despite the spicy cream.
What this dish also shows is the incredibly risky game that
Wissler plays throughout his menus. His dishes are constantly at the edge; at the edge of
being too complex in flavour, too daring or in this case too spicy. Whilst this
is certainly a risk for him, it is also one of his greatest strengths. Being a
chef who has been at the top in Germany for quite a while now, he is someone
who constantly pushes his cuisine further. When he said last year that his
desire was to simplify it, distill the flavours in some way, he only made this
happen this year. That is quite an achievement, as most chefs tend to stick to
their guns, once they get some sort of recognition.
Wissler's food is the kind of avant-gardistic cuisine even entrenched classicists can only adore
To draw a parallel with the Wissler of a few years ago, and
his present style, a calf's heart dish is quite a good example. He used to be
quite famous for serving a lot of intestines and lesser cuts of meat. Whilst
some of you might remember quite bold (and delicious) dishes, the new creation is
the complete opposite: It is a dish that strikes you with a crystalline
precision. There is texture, there are flavours, there is a balance and there
is a lightness that make it a special start to a menu. At the same time, it is
a starter that doesn't lacks the power and concentration that can be seen as
trademarks of his.
Another dish that has to be particularly mentioned is a
venison with pistachios and cepes. Again, the pistachios are quite prominent
and could result in an unbalanced dish. But here again Wissler counters the
intense puree with the gameyness of the venison and the earthy cepes. What the
entire dish leaves you with is something quite remarkable: You have the feeling
of having very coherent flavours on your plate, whilst you're eating a
composition that brings together components that you rarely get like this.
That last point might well lead us to what can arguably named the most impressive feature of Wissler's food: The ability to pair flavours that seem totally out of the box. One of the most captivating dishes of his is that rose petal, ham jelly and girolle dish. It sounds like something that would make classicists turn in their graves, but somehow manages to enthral you. The roses have flavour, and work harmoniously with the other elements. If a dish such as this one could perhaps be served at Pierre Gagnaire's restaurant, the latter rarely creates such consistently excellent menus as does Wissler. That is where these two masters differ. The former, as great as he is, does not have the consistency that Wissler undoubtedly has. For Wissler manages to retain the diner's attention throughout 20+ course menus. That is an achievement not many chefs can be porud of.
However, as Vendome gets a perfect score from QLI, there is more to this restaurant than just food. Indeed, Miguel Calero leads the front of house with professionalism and passion that are rarely associated with such a relaxed way of doing things in Germany. This makes the atmosphere in this beautiful restaurant without doubt the most lively and enjoyable of all German 3* restaurants.
So next time you want to have a meal to remember, don't be put off when you look at the menu of Vendome and see bizarre-sounding dishes. On the contrary, if you let yourself go and are open-minded enough, you might well have a meal that will leave you wondering where Joachim Wissler gets his inspiration from; we simply don't know.
