Chef Name: Jan Hartwig
Age: 35
Title: Chef de Cuisine, Restaurant Atelier.
Awards:
Three Michelin Stars, 2017.
18 points, Gault & Millau, 2017.
10+ pans, Gusto, 2017.
4,5 F, Feinschmecker, 2017.
Two Michelin Stars, 2016.
18 points, Gault & Millau, 2016.
10 pans, Gusto, 2016.
Newcomer of the Year in Bavaria, Gault & Millau, 2016.
Chef of the Month, June, Feinschmecker, 2016.
Chef of the Year, Feinschmecker, 2016.
Newcomer of the Year, Der Große Restaurant & Hotel Guide, 2017.
‘Young talent – young and with potential for further awards’ choice of the Top 100 German Chefs by Gourmet Portal Restaurant Ranglisten, 2015.
How old were you when you started cooking professionally?
I was 17 years old.
What’s your earliest and fondest first memory of food?
My first memory of food is cooking at home with my family. My family always attached importance to good, healthy cuisine.
Which chefs inspire you most and why?
I am inspired by many different people, particularly by the chefs I have worked with. Michael Schumacher is the person that inspires me the most beside the chefs because of his strength of will and assertiveness.
What are your two favourite cookbooks and why?
I have about 400 different cookbooks. At the moment my favourite books are My Way by Tim Raue and Sven Elverfeld by Sven Elverfeld. I have known Tim Raue for many years and the book was a gift from him. It is a very personal book that provides an insight into his private and professional life. I contributed to the Elverfeld book when I worked at his restaurant – it was about two and a half years’ work.
Which two ingredients could you not live without?
Vinegar and oil.
What is your favourite comfort food to cook at home?
Every variety of pasta.
If you could eat at any Michelin star restaurant in the world of your choosing today, where would it be and why?
It would be the Restaurant Aqua in Wolfsburg, Germany. I worked there for seven years before I came to Munich and I never managed to eat there. Another reason would be that my family lives just 40 minutes away.
And who would you take as your guest?
I would like to take old school friends who don´t have anything to do with gastronomy.
What do you look for in a good chef?
A good chef needs to have respect for the products they work with. They should have fun in being creative and love their job totally, even though they need to give up a lot of leisure time.
What advice would you give to chefs starting their career paths now?
They should start from the bottom and learn the basics perfectly. It’s like learning an instrument. You need to be familiar with the notes and the instrument before you can play in front of an audience.
Chef Jan Hartwig is Chef de Cuisine at the Restaurant Atelier (Hotel Bayerischer Hof).
Website:www.bayerischerhof.de
Address:Promenadeplatz 2-6, Munich, Germany.
Telephone:+49 89 2120 – 743
Instagram:@janhartwig_atelier & @bayerischerhof_munich
