Restaurant Vendôme
2017 Immich-Batterieberg Detonation Riesling
Foie Gras Vesse‘s – Chocolate, Foie Gras, Peanut Butter / Beet Macaron & Fleur De Wagyu – Beet Crisp, Osetra Caviar / Label Rouge Salmon & Ginger Ale Vinaigrette – Pickled Turnips, Coriander / Black Olive Oreo & Fresh Goat Cheese – Tomato, Chervil
Homemade Focaccia, Olive Bread, Tomato Chive Bread, Cereal Bread – Bernard Antony Butter
Foie Gras Carpaccio & Scallops – Bouchot Mussels, Pepper Vinaigrette, Elderberry Caviar, Olive Oil
Octopus in Beet Root – Tuna Emulsion, Bulgur Wheat, Bouchot Mussel Vinaigrette, Tomato, Olives
Miso Brined Farm Egg & Parmesan – Morel Mushrooms, White Asparagus, Parsley Puree
Grilled Blue Lobster – Melon, Allspice, Vanilla, Red Pepper, Poached Oyster, Grilled Tomato Vinaigrette
Lech Valley Char Brined in Juniper Butter – Leek, Tapioca, Char Caviar, Fish Bone Sauce, Apple
Grilled Wagyu Ox-Rib – Sweet Corn Cream, Cress, Green Sauce, Salted Plum, Horseradish Oil, Bread with Parsley Cream
Lamb’s Best End & Vadouvan – Lentil Crepe, Sweetheart Cabbage, Allspice & Sesame Puree, Black Fermented Garlic
Buckwheat Doughnut – Fourme d’Ambert Cheese, Williams Christ Pear
Cheesecake “Halfbaked” – Sour Cream Ice Cream, Raspberry
Asparagus Granita & Strawberries – White Chocolate, Almond & Tarragon Ganache, Tonka Bean
Vendôme Celebrations – Mini-Magnum with Strawberry, Strawberry Marshmallow, “Snickers,” Chocolates
Toqued by Joachim Wissler since 2000, and holding three Michelin stars since 2004, Restaurant Vendôme is located approximately thirty minutes east of Cologne inside Grand Hotel Schloss Bensberg, the surrounding environs beautifully manicured and clientele largely well-heeled Europeans.
One of over fifty starred-Chefs trained on the grounds of Traube Tonbach, a career that began in 1980 jumping indirectly from Schwarzwaldstube to Schloss Bensberg where a style marked by whimsy quickly caught the eye of critics, it is now nearly two decades later that Wissler continues to cook inside the small kitchen, a team at his side crafting edible works of art offered via one of several tasting menus.
Light and airy in ambiance, just twelve tables and less than forty diners seated Wednesday through Sunday including weekend lunch, it is from underground parking that guests pass through gardens en route to refinements, staff proper but not at all stiff and happy to answer questions or grant requests.
Priced €165 to €295 exclusive of Wine, each menu presenting choices along the way, it is even before decisions are made that diners are greeted with Aperitifs and small bites, a quartet of flavors immediately showing Chef Wissler’s fondness for modernity and highlighted by Goose Liver “Peanut Butter Cups” as well as an airy Cookie sandwiching hand-cut Wagyu topped in Osetra Caviar.
Opting for Chef’s largest “symphony,” a nearly four-hour opus consisting of ten-courses that followed opening bites with warm Bread and Butter from Bernard Antony, it was while indulging in a Roll dotted by Olives that locally produced Riesling was poured, the minerality and complex acidity playing well of a first plate of thinly sliced liver “Mi Cuit” topped by Bivalves and no less interesting as a partner to Octopus lacquered by Beets next to Tabouli with a sidecar of Cephalopod Sausage atop Tuna Tartare.
Lucky to visit during Spring, the region’s bounty and Joachim’s obsession with coaxing the most out of superior Ingredients both on full display, it would be difficult to deem either course three or four the meal’s best as both were magnificent, first a poached Egg tanned by Miso beneath Parmesan “Snow,” and then snappy Lobster served in two compositions with one brightened by Peppers and Tomatoes while the other found added sweetness from Melon perfumed by Vanilla.
Saucing almost every dish tableside, aromas drifting upward as compositions were described at length, it was by roasting the remains that Char from Lech Valley took on depth to match roasted Leeks and balled Apples, Bones again coming into play as service piece for domestic Wagyu nearly raw with a bit of salt and condiments including Salted Plum and Creamed Corn molded to look like the real thing.
Taking the Maître D’s advice to finish with Lamb instead of Guinea Fowl, three cuts including Offal wrapped by a Crepe dazzling in part due to bold spicing covering a wide swath of Asia, it was transitioning from savory to sweet that fun again was on display via a composed Cheese dish featuring molten Fourme d’Ambert at the center of a Doughnut and Williams Christ Pear Sorbet atop Blue Crumbles on the side.
Taking Cheese even sweeter for the first of two Desserts, Quark and a mellow Cow’s Milk variety forming both Cake and Crème Brulee accompanied by Raspberries, it was admittedly Vendôme’s most unexpected triumph that saw Asparagus used not once but thrice in an elegant finale, the bowl of Ganache particularly memorable before finishing up with traditional German Cookies, Marshmallows, a housemade Magnum and Snickers Bar.
www.althoffcollection.com/en/althoff-grandhotel-schloss-bensberg/restaurant-vendome
