Jeroen Achtien: Dry Aged Pikeperch & Lamb Cheeks

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Would you like a culinary borderline experience? Chef Jeroen (Restaurant “Sens”, Vitznau, Lucerne, Switzerland) makes it crack. Here are the test notes.

Gault Millau – July 12, 2020

Text: Urs Heller Photos: Olivia Pulver

EXPERIENCE 1: «THE PARMESAN OF THE SEA». Jeroen is not someone hiding outside in the kitchen. He likes the contact with the guests, so he prepares the first amuse-bouche outside on the lake terrace with stoic calm and a friendly explanation, «Caesar Salad», of course, one of a kind: a small leaf of lettuce. Pickled tomatoes. Dried, smoked, and grated egg yolk. A «Parmesan», not from Italy, but from the Rigi. A lot of effort for a single bite, but wonderful! Starter No. 2: “Edible charcoal”! Smoked hot peppers are in the black ball, which you can dip into an Indian lime dip. Also good: a Dutch toast with Beeler Sbrinz and mustard seeds; there is a fermented Beet sauce. The recipe can be scanned on the can and read on the iPhone. That’s how it works with young chefs today. The kimchi taco and the roll with chorizo ​​and black garlic were also great. A young chef grates dried and smoked octopus over it: “The Parmesan of the Sea!”

Jeroen Tamme Achtien, Head of Restaurant Sens, Vitznauerhof Vitznau

Recorded! Jeroen Achtien and his Dutch brigade amazed in the “Sens” Vitznau.

Jeroen Tamme Achtien, Head of Restaurant Sens, Vitznauerhof Vitznau

Preferred location right on Lake Lucerne. Dinner at sunset.

EXPERIENCE 2: ZANDER FRESH FROM THE ICE! Can fish be “dry-aged” like a mock of meat that is left hanging on the bone? “Of course,” says the Dutch cook and magician Jeroen Achtien, frees the Pikeperch, from eyes and gills, cleanses and vacuums it. The freshwater fish is then at zero degrees for five days on the ice. “It matures, gets more taste,” says the boss. However, “ice aging” is only half the battle for this parade. It gets awesome because there is a lot more to it: cauliflower. Thin slices of bacon, served with tweezers, fermented grapes, an impressive miso sauce. And a glass of Tonkubetsu Honjozu. “Sake goes best with it,” says Susanne Nguyen (formerly Tim Raue), who heads the service at “Sens”.

 EXPERIENCE 3: DUCK LIVER, STUFFED! Achtien: «I like foie gras very much. But stuffed liver in the menu – somehow this is no longer possible. So I experimented for a long time. » The solution has literally been on the table for a few days now: the chef is picking clarified butter, the foie gras is becoming an incredibly gentle spoon dish. So smooth that Jeroen immediately takes countermeasures: fried orange fillets, pumpkin kombucha, and yuzu gel set the tone. The “Royal Belgian Caviar” is also not “just like that”. The components here: Passion fruit (well!), Egg yolk, goat curd.

 

EXPERIENCE 4: Also Lamm cheeks can be braised. In the main course everything from the Muotathaler lamb, delivered by the butcher Markus Heinzer. First a cheeky wild garlic Bao-Bun with the small but very fine lamb cheek (!). Then the Back-Fillet matured for three weeks. The Lamb Neck, which has been cooked for twelve hours, lies under a Sakura leaf. We discover the Lamb Sweetbread under a savory salad. The jus has power: XO, with Scallop pieces in it! Sous-chef Marcel Koolen was in Asia for a few months in winter; so there are always Asian components on the menu.

Charcoal Dish – Edible «charcoal»! Smoked hot peppers are in it.

Vitznau Interior – Small, fine, stylish. The «Sens» in the Vitznauerhof.

Dutch Toast – Dutch toast, Sbrinz & Fermented Beet sauce.

EXPERIENCE 5: CHEESE FROM NITROGEN & «SUCKERBÔLLE». It never gets boring until the end. Jeroen Achtien comes out of the kitchen again, dips blue mold buffalo cheese in nitrogen. The effect on the plate: the cheese is just cold for a few seconds – then the typical blue mold taste develops. There is also “Suckerbôlle” (Sugarbread), a specialty from the Dutch Friesland; That’s where Achtien and half the kitchen brigade come from.

 GAULT MILLAU SAYS: “Vitznauerhof” chef Jeroen Achtien is one of the most unusual young wild chefs in the country. “Wild” is only half the truth: his creations are perfectly composed and only want one thing: taste sensations, as much Umami as possible. Taste is “king” in top gastronomy. Potential for improvement? Timing! Four and a half hours at the table are one hour too much, even on the most beautiful terrace on Lake Lucerne.

Hotel Vitznauerhof – Sens Restaurant, Seestrasse 80, 6354 Vitznau, LU, Switzerland

17 points by Gault Millau

Hotel Vitznauerhof on Lake Lucern