‘Greetings From The Mediterranean’ by Chef Jan Hartwig, H&S Chef Of The Month
H&S Chef Of The Month
Chef Jan Hartwig
Nationality: German
ATELIER
Interview With H&S Magazine
Who Is Jan Hartwig?
“I am the Chef de Cuisine of the restaurant Atelier (3 Michelin stars, 19 Gault & Millau points, 10+ Gusto pans) at Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich since May 2014. Following my initial culinary training at Dannenfeld, Braunschweig, I passed through further essential career stages working under the tutelage of Christian Jürgens at Kastell, Wernberg-Köblitz and GästeHaus Erfort, Saarbrücken. Between 2007 and 2014 I worked at Aqua, at the Ritz-Carlton in Wolfsburg, together with Sven Elverfeld (3 Michelin stars and 19,5 Gault Millau points).”
Type Of Cuisine?
“I want to take the guest on a journey of experience that they can remember afterwards. A visit to my restaurant should remain in the memory. How often do you go out to eat and a few days later you can’t remember what you ate? I want to create dishes that stay in the mind and are understandable. I want to satisfy and serve a culinary intellect and prepare an impeccable product excellently. I also want to inspire the guest and make them happy. I am also very concerned about animal welfare, sustainability and the footprints I leave in the world with my work, both for the guest and for the environment.
The focus is on regional and seasonal products for my light and creative cuisine. Regionalism and sustainability are important to me in the selection of ingredients. On the proven foundation of haute cuisine, I conjure contemporary and modern creations, but always without unnecessary extras, the recognition of the product is my foremost objective. In addition, the taste and the culinary experience are in the foreground and as the guest should have fun during dinner.”
What Inspired You To Become A Chef?
“My father is a trained chef and since I can remember, cooking accompanied my childhood. At least one time a day we used to enjoy a hot self-made dish. But it wasn’t just the culinary part that excited me – I loved sitting together with my family and chatting around the table over a good meal.”
What Is The Biggest Challenge You Have Faced In The Culinary Industry?
“The biggest challenge in my career so far is the global corona pandemic, I think everyone knows why. I hope we all get through it safely because the pandemic will cost a lot of people their livelihoods, and no one ever expected this bad.”
What’s Your Biggest Achievement In The Culinary Industry?
“Getting the third star was an incredible feeling! I really enjoy going to work, because I want to develop myself and for me, it is fun going to work. I want everybody to be satisfied.
Innegrit Volkhardt (General manager of Hotel Bayerischer Hof), my Atelier team, the guests but primarily I have to be satisfied with myself. The third star not only brings success, it also involves more responsibility and stress. The higher you raise, the deeper you can fall. Also, the pressure grows, as the guests are very critical and expect a lot. We did not only get three stars, we have to keep and win them every night.”
When It Comes To Cooking What Is More Important To You The Technique, The Ingredients Or The Creativity?
“All aspects are significant. I always choose one protagonist to form the idea of a dish so I put ingredients first, then creativity and afterwards technique.”
Recipe Of The Week: ‘Greetings From The Mediterranean’
Sardine, Pulpo, Camarones, Calamaretti & Amalfi Lemon
Sardine
Ingredients:
• 4 large, firm sardines (filleted and cleaned)
• Pickling stock
• 10g celery
• 20g carrot
• 20g spring leek
• 20g white onion
• 20g fennel
• 20g parsley
• 10g tarragon
• some chilies
• 80ml Chardonnay vinegar
•30ml white wine
• A dash of Pernod
• 30ml olive oil
• 1 tablespoon garlic oil
• 100ml vegetable broth
• Pepper, saffron, sea salt
Preparation:
Coarsely dice the vegetables and chop the herbs. Bring to the boil with the liquids and season to taste with the spices. Let the broth cool down then put the sardine fillets in it for 12 hours.
Potato Filling For The Sardines
Ingredients:
• 100g La Ratte potatoes (cooked in their skins and then peeled)
• 2EL diced dried tomatoes
• Chopped parsley
• Lemon zest
• Salt
• Piment d’Espelette (Espelette pepper)
• A dash of best olive oil
Preparation:
Mash the potatoes with a fork and mix with the remaining ingredients and season to taste. Form a dumpling per dish and put two sardine fillets on each. Brush the stuffed sardines with olive oil and season with salt flakes.
Potato & Lemon Cream
Ingredients:
• 100g floury potatoes
• 20g crème fraîche
• Some hot milk
• Lemon oil + zest
• Salt
Preparation:
Boil the potatoes until soft and pass through a fine sieve. Blend with remaining ingredients until smooth and season to taste.
Confit Potato
Ingredients:
• 200g clarified butter
• 1 bay leaf
• Lavender flowers
• A quarter clove of garlic
• Salt
• 4 cutout potato cylinders
Preparation:
Flavor the butter and vacuum with the potato cylinders. Cook in the steamer for 25-30 minutes at 100°C. Grill the potato cubes in a grill pan until hot and season with salt.
Ham Mousse
Ingredients:
• 75ml cream
• 75ml milk
• 150g Ibérico Bellota ham
• Salt, pepper
• Rosemary, thyme
• 1.5 sheets of gelatine
• 70g whipped cream
Preparation:
Boil 75 ml of cream and the milk with the ham and spices. Remove from the heat, cover and leave to infuse for an hour and strain. Warm the ham, cream and dissolve the soaked and squeezed gelatine in it. When the mixture starts to gelatinize, fold in the whipped cream. Pour the mixture into silicon ball moulds and freeze completely.
Tomato Jelly
Ingredients:
• 200ml tomato juice
• 1 tsp Tabasco
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 20ml gin
• 5 juniper berries
• 1 sprig of rosemary and thyme
• 2 sprigs of basil
• Salt, black pepper, cane sugar, piment d’ Espelette
• 25g vegetarian gelatin
Preparation:
Boil tomato juice with remaining ingredients (except gelatin) and season to taste. Strain finely and boil again with the gelatine. Using a needle, dip the frozen ham balls through the tomato jelly and allow to thaw and temper at room temperature.
Pulpo
Ingredients:
• 1 handful of mirepoix (consisting of fennel, carrot, celery, leek, onion)
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 sprigs of thyme
• 2 sprigs of rosemary
• 2 parsley stems
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 allspice
• 10 peppercorns
• 2 juniper berries
• 1 teaspoon Pimentón de La Vera
• 1 teaspoon allspice d’Espelette
• 150ml white wine
• 100ml Noilly Prat
• 100ml champagne vinegar
• 80ml Pernod
• 4L water
• 1 pulpo
Preparation:
Boil a flavorful stock using the above ingredients and cook the pulpo in it until the arms are soft but not overcooked. Let the pulpo cool in the stock and then portion it.
Vinaigrette
Ingredients:
• 10g paprika yellow
• 10g red bell bell pepper finely diced
• 20g zucchini peel finely diced and blanched
• Finely chopped parsley
• 20g Ibérico Bellota ham finely diced
• 100ml clear tomato stock
• Xanthan gum
• Ssalt, pepper
• Chardonnay vinegar
Preparation:
Season the tomato stock with vinegar, salt and pepper. Slightly thicken with xanthan gum and add the remaining ingredients.
Aioli
Ingredients:
• 1⁄2 clove of garlic
• 2 tablespoons of Greek yogurt
• 4 tablespoons milk
• Vegetable oil
• Piment d’Espelette
• Salt
• Lemon juice
Preparation:
Finely blend the garlic, milk and yogurt with a hand blender. Blend in the oil until a creamy emulsion is obtained. Season to taste with salt, piment d’Espelette and lemon juice.
Parsley Paper
Ingredients:
• 100g potatoes
• 100ml of water
• 50g parsley
• Salt
Preparation:
Boil potatoes until very soft and blend finely with the water and parsley in the Thermomix. Season with a little salt and spread the mixture on a silpat mat. Dry in the oven at 60°C for 4-5 hours.
Piment d’Espelette Cream
Ingredients:
• 200g red bell pepper
• Salt, black pepper
• Garlic oil
• Pimenton de la vera
• Piment d’Espelette
• Xanthan gum
• Olive oil
Preparation:
Grill peppers on charcoal and peel. Remove the core and mix finely with the remaining ingredients. Bind with xanthan gum and olive oil.
Crustacean Mayonnaise
Ingredients:
• 1 egg yolk
• A little Dijon mustard
• 1 squeeze of lemon juice
• A dash of Tabasco
• Vegetable oil
• 1EL syrupy boiled down crustacean stock
Preparation:
Make a mayonnaise from the ingredients, adding a little salt if necessary.
Camarones
Ingredients:
• 20g camarones
• Flour
• Vegetable oil
• Salt
• Lemon juice
Preparation:
Flour the camarones and deep fry them in the vegetable oil. Drain on a paper towel, salt and sprinkle with lemon juice.
Calamaretti
Ingredients:
• 20g cleaned calamaretti
• Olive oil
• 1 slice of garlic
• 1 sprig of thyme
• Salt
• Lemon juice
• Finely chopped parsley
Preparation:
Sear the calamaretti in a pan with the remaining ingredients and season.
Other Ingredients:
• Fine basil panicles
• Fried garlic chips
• Pickled amalfi lemon
Serve:
Arrange the components of the dish as in the picture, on a plate.
Greetings From The Mediterranean by Chef Jan Hartwig
