Chef Harald Wohlfahrt – The Greatest Chef in Germany and One of The Finest in Europe

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It may have been a big slide for Head Chef Harald Wohlfahrt as his restaurant Die Schwarzwaldstube came down from the 23rd spot to the 47th, but this is still one of the best restaurants in Germany where you can get the finest French cuisine. In fact, Chef Wohlfahrt is considered as the greatest German chef in the country and one of the finest in the whole of Europe.

Chef Wohlfahrt was born on the 7th of November 1953 in Loffenau, Germany. He grew up on a farm, and one of his primary duties was to help his grandparents tend to their garden. At a very young age, he already knows what hard work really means as he worked at their farm, and he has also learned the value of fresh produce and local ingredients as he helped in their kitchen. The value of fresh ingredients, the passion for food and cooking, the dream of owning his own restaurant someday were what prompted him to follow a culinary career.

He went to the Northern Black Forrest to learn the basics of cooking and to have his culinary training at the Monk Waldhotel in Dobel, and after three years here, he then went on to work at a two-star restaurant in Baden-Baden where he stayed for two years. In 1976, he became the saucier in Traube Tonbach. To further his culinary skill, he went to Munich and became an apprentice of Chef Eckart Witzigmann and trained under the country’s first celebrity chef. After his stint with Chef Witzigmann, he also trained under Chef Alain Chapel in Mionnay.

Armed with an exemplary culinary skill that he learned from some of the best chefs in Berlin and Munich, Chef Wohlfahrt then went back home in 1978 and found work at the Schwarzwaldstube as its sous chef. Two years after being a sous chef, he was finally appointed as the head chef of Schwarzwaldstube.

In 1991, Gault Millau named Chef Wohlfahrt as the Chef of the Year, and in 1992, he finally completed his Michelin stars when he received his third one. His restaurant has also been included in the S. Pellegrino list of top 100 world’s best restaurants, and this accomplishment was not an easy task. These are just some of the awards and recognitions that Chef Wohlfahrt has received throughout his culinary career, along with praises for his published books as well as cookbooks.

He gets his inspiration for his cuisine from the land, and he credits his culinary style to the two great chefs that have made a big impact in his culinary career – Chefs Witzigmann and Chapel – but he has created a name for himself that is truly his alone. Right now, Chef Wohlfahrt is regarded as the best chef in Germany who offers the most scrumptious French cuisine.

Chef Harald Wohlfahrt’s Roe Deer Medallions with Green Pepper Sauce

Ingredients:

1.76 lbs. roe deer back
0.44 lbs. celeriac
1.76 oz. butter
3.5 oz. cream
3.5 oz. chanterelle mushrooms
3.5 oz. cepe mushrooms
1 shallot
3.17 cups red wine
0.85 cups apple juice
2.7 tbsp. port-wine
0.44 lbs. red cabbage
1 laurel leaf
1 branch thyme
1 branch rosemary

For the sauce:

1 spoon green pepper
1.1 cups cream
0.44 lbs. vegetables (broccoli, carrots)
3.2 pints roe deer stock (roe deer fond)
1 laurel leaf
1 branch thyme
1 branch rosemary

Directions:

1. Take the roe deer back fillets. Remove the back tendons. They will be used for the sauce later on. Cut the meat into medallions.

2. Tie the medallions with a kitchen string so that they keep a nice form. Count about 3 roe deer medallions per person. Salt and pepper the two sides.

3. Sear each side for about 2 minutes. Then, take them out off the pan, where you put the already prepared tendons.

4. Add the vegetables as well as the herbs. The whole has to be very well seared for about 10 minutes until you obtain a nice colour. Then, sprinkle the red wine over it.

5. Reduce the red wine and add the roe deer fond, which has been refined with the roe deer bone. Thus, you can prepare it 2-3 days in advance.

6. Add the crème fraiche (heavy cream) and let it simmer in the pan for about 10 minutes. While the sauce cooks calmly, take a frying pan and put the green pepper inside. Then, pour the roe deer sauce over the green pepper, using a sieve. Let it encore reduce until it seems good for you.

7. Cut the red cabbage into very thin slices. Next, lay it in a marinade of red wine and apple juice. Add thyme, laurel, spices, port-wine, and sugar â€“ a very popular mixture.

8. After all this has been marinated well, cook for 2-3 hours. The cabbage will caramelize with the sugar and turn tender afterwards.

9. For the garnishing, you need celery puree. Peel the root and cut it into dice. Finally, cook it a mix of milk and creme fraiche (same proportions each), until it is very, very tender. Put the whole in a mixer and add some butter to this puree. Salt and pepper.

10. Put butter in a pan and add the hacked mushrooms, the chanterelles as well as the cepe mushroom heads. At the end of the cooking, add salt and chervil.

11. Place a cepe mushroom head on top of each medallion. Sprinkle with bread crumps and put it in the oven at 302 degrees F for 6-7 minutes.

12. Place the red cabbage, then the chanterelles and the celery puree on a serving dish. Withdraw the medallions from the oven and put them on the serving dish. Add the broccoli pieces, the sauted carrots, and, to finish, pour the sauce over it.

Servings: Serves 4.

Image Credit: schwarzwald-tourismus.info

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