The Black Forest is not just a cake
When the bells of the Catholic church of St. Peter in Endingen chime at noon, the corridor of the Pfarrwirtschaft restaurant turns into a sitcom.
Without eating or drinking it (yet), waiters, diners of all ages and cooks appear and disappear on this stage, creating a small orderly, restless and cheerful chaos, with an unexpected familiarity on this side of the Rhine. And nobody finds it strange nor improper.
just five years ago, thomas merkle He decided to expand his coquettish homonymous establishment with the aim of feeding his daughter's schoolmates, his friends or whoever was third party. He had already achieved coveted and enslaved Michelin star.
He had already attracted gastronomic travelers from all over the world. It was time to replace the immaculate jacket with a denim shirt, scoundrel, in which he boasts more of being part of the network of young restaurateurs in Germany than of being present at the Red Guide.
But, above all, the time had come to cook for fun, to give what this region really excites about the tablecloth: freshness, authenticity and after-dinner.
Simona and Thomas from Merkle's
The idiosyncrasy of Black forest it is much more hedonistic and collective than the rest of Germany. While in the great Protestant plains, food is nothing more than an intake of calories that are later converted into hours of work, here it is the axis of socialization, as if the Mediterranean culture had a branch on the other side of the Alps.
Everything is celebrated with a fork in hand, which is why, when the country rethought itself in the second half of the 20th century, this Baden-Württemberg subzone turned to gastronomic tourism. It had everything for it: the proximity to France, a varied and addictive landscape, an extensive recipe book and a stubbornness that guaranteed success.
And today it continues to be so, with milestones such as Baiersbronn , a small town of no more than 15,000 inhabitants that accumulates eight Michelin stars. But this time is behind us. So silently proclaim it Thomas Merkle and his wife and pit boss for him, Simone Dinger Merkle , from his food truck.
Leaning out of their window, they cover events and liven up fairs, democratizing their creative cuisine based on macerated vegetables and spices. Of course, without giving up its essential gastronomic restaurant that, every lunch and dinner, coexists with the moderate hustle and bustle of its Siamese Pfarrwirtschaft.
In a way, Endingen and the entire Kaiserstuhl region have adapted to the culinary nouvelle vague. The base is in the terroir, in its fresh vegetables and its local livestock, with which they have created an amazing ecological awareness.
In fact, in the neighboring town of Eichstetten , 70 percent of the food production has the bio seal, while the vineyards in the area have adapted to this current in an exercise of distinction and honesty. This reality is not confirmed only with statistics, but also with the popularity of sustainable supermarkets that have proliferated in this town and with the slowdown of the rural exodus.
Now it is the urbanites who return to the town in search of tranquility and responsible prosperity. They have even been encouraged to experiment with surprising foods, such as peter koch and his unusual black jungle miso.
Eckert
In Oberkirch , the thriving wholesale market Mittelbaden has promoted initiatives such as Hofgut Silva , a farm where Judith Wohlfarth happily raises free-range Berkley and Tamworth pigs that have caught the attention of most of the surrounding star chefs.
Not far away, the good old Willi Wurth store is now run by his daughters, who have revolutionized the company. On the one hand, they have made their stores a gourmet space without artifice. On the other hand, they have been encouraged to cultivate groundbreaking varieties, such as red-fleshed apples, and to recover others such as asparagus.
Oberkirch also traps with other magnetic stimuli such as Classic Volkswagen Van that Simon brought from Brazil and now rents out for events. In his plans is to offer, next summer, tours of the vineyards that surround this town. While perfectly coiffed pagodas reign in the landscape Instagram of this town, clandestine distilleries are hidden in the basements of the houses.
There is no official data because there is no Prohibition Law that requires it, but it is estimated that in this municipality alone there are between 800 and 1,000 stills in full operation. Most of them inherit the permission of their predecessors from the eighteenth century, when the Bishop of Strasbourg he accepted that the surplus fruit be used for brandies.
Others have turned a blind eye to business, such as Anne-Katrin Hormann and her Fies distillery. Here, the core cherry liqueurs in any Black Forest cake share glory with new cocktail elixirs, like their Fisini aperitif and Black Forest citrus gin.
the pavilion
To the left of the end of the world, the re **Dollenberg mountaineering sort** looms in an idyllic valley. His greatest heritage has always been his surroundings, although what has made him a benchmark is his cuisine. In the kitchen reigns Martin Hermann , who associated professionally and sentimentally with the Schmieder family 32 years ago to star in one of the exemplary stories of the Black Forest: from a small hotel to a luxury complex.
**Le Pavillon**'s two Michelin stars attest to its success. And, although at the table the experience is genuinely Relais & Châteaux With its perfectly executed sauces, its heavenly cheese cart and its effeminate choreography, the pairing is where the risk appears. your sommelier, Christophe Mayer , has dared to defy the house rule of pairing everything with red Bordeaux to masterfully introduce the region's wines.
Beyond the various varieties, what can be deduced from his letter is that climate change is here to stay on the Rhine hills. No one here curses this reality, rather they toast to it and to its status as new burgundy , but with a clear premise of love for the land: the future will be bio or it won't be.
In the leafy heart of the Black forest also shows the multi-awarded town of Baiersbronn , where several hoteliers have decided to stand up to the avant-garde to return to traditions without rancidity. And the Hotel Tanne is the example, with a restaurant with a view where the retina quickly gives in to the taste.
Tanne
The master class in cooking with roots ranges from the preparation of distant fish such as Arctic char with vegetables to hearty stews with deer as the protagonist. For the rest, this complex is designed for siestas, to relax with its brand-new sauna area and to isolate itself in its tree-house, the wellness dream of any adult child where steam cabins and dream catcher hammocks are not lacking.
Road to Sasbachwalden , the B500 road demonstrates why it is Germany's Route 66, weaving its way through slender fir trees, chasm-breaking ridges, and lakes like the Mummelsee , where every little boat would dream of retiring. And suddenly the road turns into a dizzying descent until the trees give way to the vineyards and Sasbachwalden reveals itself like a Narnia vintner. This little town is an overdose of exemplarity and cuteness for everything.
your cooperative, Alde Gott , has managed to overcome crises of confidence through superlative wines and an exhaustive control of each variety that it now celebrates with a new venue open to the public where tastings and guided tours are held and with the amazing and honeyed whiskey that have dared to distill in used barrels.
In its streets there is no iconic building that does not house a hotel or a restaurant. A hyperbole that is endorsed with a convincing fact: there is one establishment for every 100 inhabitants. The consequence is not only that each alley is beautiful or that each facade has something to say.
Also that it is practically impossible to taste all the dishes that are prepared here, that is why the tourist office decided to offer a entertaining experience : the Dinner Jumping.
Booking a couple of weeks in advance, four restaurants are organized to offer each course of a long dinner at a different table. In this way, you can have an aperitif in a delicious Italian restaurant and end up tasting a dessert in a haute cuisine restaurant like the Engel or the Talmühle.
And to sleep, the large barrels converted into rooms for Sleeping in a Barrel, the most immersive wine tourism experience that you can live.Located on the northern and southern borders of the Black Forest, two establishments exemplify what the future of this region is. On one side is Erbprinz , a classic that has been a place for celebrations ever since 1788 opened as a post office with dining room in Ettlingen.
Just by pronouncing his name in the surroundings, salivation begins, but a good reputation is not so decisive when it comes to seducing the stranger. That is why, a little over a decade ago, this exemplary hotel changed owners, expanded, modernized and added a brand new room to its old inn with which to recover the Michelin star it had already achieved in 1963.
Mummelsee
Booking a couple of weeks in advance, four restaurants are organized to offer each course of a long dinner at a different table. In this way, you can have an aperitif in a delicious Italian restaurant and end up tasting a dessert in a haute cuisine restaurant like the Engel or the Talmühle.
And to sleep, the large barrels converted into rooms for Sleeping in a Barrel, the most immersive wine tourism experience that you can live.Located on the northern and southern borders of the Black Forest, two establishments exemplify what the future of this region is. On one side is Erbprinz , a classic that has been a place for celebrations ever since 1788 opened as a post office with dining room in Ettlingen.
Just by pronouncing his name in the surroundings, salivation begins, but a good reputation is not so decisive when it comes to seducing the stranger. That is why, a little over a decade ago, this exemplary hotel changed owners, expanded, modernized and added a brand new room to its old inn with which to recover the Michelin star it had already achieved in 1963.
Erbprinz
Today, the plaque that accredits him shines with its own light while Ralph Knebel , his chef, prepares a menu that he defines as "craftsman" . For its part, on the southern edge of everything, just where the Rhine lazily sprawls before crossing Basel, Nicholas Wiedmer scares with his insulting youth, 26 years old, and his dozens of awards, among which his inclusion in the Red Guide just a year ago. “More than an obsession, it was a dream” he confesses he, with an unexpected maturity that makes him forget about the holidays, “It is not going to be that the critic comes just that week” , he adds.
Their cuisine, fresh, international , of proximity but without giving up exotic shades, He drinks from the work culture of his family and his military service together with chef Tanja Grandits in the temple of him Stucki, who taught him to play with spices, macerations, local essences and distant bazaars. But the anecdote of his youth and freshness is not just an effervescent headline.
All the spaces that your Eckert restaurant and hotel they are so steeped in that groundbreaking philosophy. Minimalist rooms, Tesla chargers, hipster details and a string of furniture of Vitra signature that connects this establishment with the nearby Campus of the Swiss firm in Weil am Rhein.
The inevitable escape to this design Disneyland reveals the most unusual connection between landscape and creativity , with the volumes of Fire Station that Zaha Hadid designed inspired in the vineyard confluences of the Lörrach mountains . but that's another story.
Pflugwirts
_*This article was published in **number 122 of Condé Nast Traveler Magazine (November)**. Subscribe to the printed edition (11 printed issues and a digital version for €24.75, by calling 902 53 55 57 or from our website). The November issue of Condé Nast Traveler is available in its digital version to enjoy on your preferred device. _