Learn to cook up a storm with the help of Munich’s top chefs
I’ve just had the best meal of my life. It wasn’t in one of Munich’s culinary temples, sparkling with Michelin stars. No, I cooked the whole thing myself. Admittedly I had a little help. Or make that a lot of help. Yes, I had the city’s number one chef—Hans Haas, from two-star restaurant Tantris—at my side the entire time. A treat in a million, I assure you. But not one that’s out of reach. No, thanks to Haas’ business-savvy wife, who came up with the idea in the first place, her husband now spends one day a week running his cookery school in the Amalien Passage in Schwabing, where gourmet groupies flock to be shown the secrets of really, really fine food.
If you’re anything like me, you’ll often have wondered about these things. With such a glut of courses on offer, and most of them at no meager fee (Haas’ costs € 380 per person), you have to question whether those behind them are merely seizing on the current desire for self-improvement, or whether you really can learn something from them. And, even then, is it possible to learn € 380 worth in a day? Let me banish your doubts. The course was worth every cent. Not only did we prepare and eat a stunning five-course meal, using top-quality ingredients and with free-flowing champagne and wine, but we also had the honor of having a great chef to ourselves, both during preparation and dining, for an entire day. I’d have absolutely no hesitation in forking out to return. And, it seems, I’m not the only one. Haas, who has been behind Tantris for 14 years, has a number of regular customers who keep coming back for more—more tips, more food, more wine and more of the chef’s irreverent humor, which makes for a highly enjoyable day.
Things get underway at 9 am, when a group of slightly unnerved—we’ve all heard about chefs’ tempers—individuals turn up at the premises in Schwabing. But it’s soon clear that Haas is a very likeable, unassuming chap. Unlike many of his contemporaries, who seem to think life is one big PR push with guest appearance after guest appearance, Haas is not a glory chef. Instead of poring over figures, raking in the money and building up his foodie empire, Haas is devoted to the cause—cooking—and is at Tantris pretty much every evening.
Once the introductions are over, it’s into the kitchen, which, apart from being slick and modern, is full of everyday implements. “There wouldn’t be a lot of point in me showing you how to cook with highly specialized equipment, when you don’t have it at home,” says Haas. “Anyway, all you need to cook really well is a good oven, good pans and good knives.” That’s not forgetting some pretty hot ingredients, too. As soon as Haas’ assistant, Daniel, produces a box of wriggling, but slightly sedated, lobsters, it’s clear there is to be no scrimping. Our first task is to cook the shellfish, by plunging them headfirst into boiling water. We then learn how to crack them open, retrieve the meat and remove the ovaries, which can be popped in a pan of water, somehow magically turning into lobster caviar before your eyes. Next up are two entire backs of Bavarian lambs. Stressing the importance of good ingredients, Haas proceeds to sharpen his knife again, and then slices the meat, his blade sliding through it as if it were butter, to remove the back bone and prepare the rack of lamb. Following his detailed explanations, it is then our turn to have a go—every one of us desperate to cut as close to the bone as possible so as not to waste what looks like fantastically good meat. Moving onto something smaller, the next challenge is to debone a quail, chop it up into its various parts, then put it all back together to create a quail chop, stuffing it with foie gras. As I said, no skimping. A nice little trick this one—I usually avoid quail as I swear you lose more calories in attempting to pick the meat off the thing than you get from eating it, but this produced a succulent, meaty chop, about the size of a small chicken leg. Having prepared the meat, it’s time to put together some sauces, and to learn another new trick—ice. Once you’ve fried all your bones, leftover meat and veg, simply sprinkle on some crushed ice and leave it. Don’t, as I generally do, start scratching all the burnt on bits off the bottom. Just leave it. The sudden coolness of the ice will lift all those flavorsome bits clean off and into the sauce.
Yes, there’s a lot to take in and, by this point, concentration is beginning to slip. So what better time to crack open a bottle of bubbly? Haas’ own label, of course, accompanied by miniature cornets of filo pastry filled with beef tartare and horseradish. Fizzed up and raring to go, we move on to the fish. Daniel carries in two shimmering sea bass, their eyes sparklingly fresh. Before you ask where on earth you’re supposed to find a stonking great sea bass in this seafood desert that is Munich, Haas explains that he has a special supplier. For those of us who aren’t so fortunate, however, he recommends we head straight down to the Viktualienmarkt. Once filleted, the fish is poached in warm olive oil (see recipe on page 16). I’ll never cook fish any other way again. It’s so simple, and yet produced the most succulent piece of fish I’ve ever eaten. With all the major preparations done, the afternoon is spent eating and, in between dishes, returning to the kitchen to finish off the subsequent course. This may be fun at first, but after several glasses of the rather delicious wines that were chosen to match the dishes, most of us begin to realize the reason why Haas is a chef and we are not. It’s hard work—both physically and, even more so, mentally. And, given the choice between dashing back to the kitchen to plate up a rather exquisite dessert with as much enthusiasm as we’d tackled that lobster eight hours ago and sitting chatting, with another glass of wine, most of us would have chosen the latter. Indeed, come 6 pm, I was simply exhausted and ready for bed. Haas, meanwhile, was heading back to Tantris, where his working day was just starting…
Hans Haas Kochschule, www.hans-haas.de, Tel. 28 67 44 71
Here’s a selection of Munich’s other cookery courses:
For something a bit different, have a look at the program on offer at the 1950s bistro, Café Kubitscheck (Waldfriedhofstrasse 105, Tel. 71 04 91 26, www.cafe-kubitscheck.de), which features chefs from restaurants across Munich. Creativity is the name of the game here—how about a “Projekt Kühlschrank” course, where each student brings their five favorite ingredients and is given some more unusual ideas as to what they can make with them? The course is a bargain, at € 60. Or check out Hard Rock Cooking—a course run by Berndt Rold, chef at what is probably Munich’s most creative restaurant, essneun. For € 125, participants will be shown how to put together wacky creations, such as chocolate tobacco mousse, pomegranate and Fisherman’s Friend Spätzle salad and tonka bean crème brûlée with mustard cherries. All drinks are included. Café Kubitscheck also offers the chance to brush up on your local knowledge. Try the “Münchner Gschichten” course with Manuel Reheis from Broeding, for example, where you’ll learn to cook a series of classic local dishes for € 125. Or, for the same price, join the chef from Eisbach, Christian Ribitzki, to learn how to prepare some classic German dishes with a twist, such as apple carpaccio with beetroot and horseradish, or veal Tafelspitz with red cabbage purée and chocolate glace. There are plenty more options on offer—check out the aforementioned Website for details.
If you want to make a weekend of it, then check out the course on offer at Alpenhof Murnau (Ramsachstrasse 8, Murnau, Tel. [08841] 49 10, www.alpenhof-murnau.com). This luxury hotel, just 45-minutes south of Munich, prides itself on its classic gourmet cuisine—think foie gras, St. Jacques scallops and truffle. Yes, it’s the stuff Michelin stars are made of—indeed, new chef Thilo Bischoff is hoping he’ll have managed to maintain the restaurant’s one star when the new guide comes out in November. But, in the meantime, and before he becomes too big a name, you can join this young chef for what promises to be a fascinatingly comprehensive gourmet experience. Not only will you spend a day cooking with Bischoff, but you’ll also join him on a shopping trip to the Grossmarkthalle and Viktualienmarkt in Munich and see how top chefs go about choosing their ingredients and planning a menu accordingly. The next course runs on October 21 and 22 and costs just € 245. Another nice little touch is the option for non-cooking partners to pay a small supplement to join in the fun on one or both of the evenings. Contact the hotel for details and reservations.
