When a cook is considered unanimously by guests and peers alike to be the uncrowned king of sauces in the south-Baden region, then this is much more than modest recognition, seeing that the gourmets of the southwest of the republic are spoilt for choice. It means no more and no less than that the cook praised in such a manner ranks among the very finest culinary artists. Fritz Zehner is his name and he was born in 1954. When one mentions all this praise to him, his mischievous eyes gleam a little brighter than they usually do. And at the same time, he brushes it aside.
For nothing is more burdensome to him than the big public fuss that surrounds him. He is much more at home running back and forth between the kitchen and the dining room, keeping a masterful eye on the stove, and conversing with his guests.

www.zehnersstube.de

Even Wolfram Siebeck, the best-known restaurant critic in Germany, is delighted. What better restaurant than the gourmet temple of Hans-Paul Steiner could we choose to begin this series? Only five minutes away from us, in Sulzburg, Hans-Paul Steiner has worked his way up to the Mount Olympus of German cooks by using only the best ingredients, cooking seasonal dishes and developing an individual style. The two Michelin stars, which he has had for a several years, show what class he is in.
His fish is legendary, the meat dishes are an adventure for the palate, the wine menu is comprehensive and exquisite, and the service is friendly and competent.

At the same time, the Hirschen in Sulzburg has kept its feet on the ground. Charming and elegant, but not attractive to snobs and yuppies.

We recommend that you book early.

www.hirschen-sulzburg.de

Ingredients (serves 2):
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
1 pumpkin, 1 - 1.5 kg.
1 apple
1 - 2 tomatoes
Salt and pepper
Stock cube
Season to taste: cream, lemon juice, fresh dill

Preparation:
Remove seeds and strings from the pumpkin; peel, wash and cut into chunks.Lightly sauté onion and garlic in oil. Add the remaining ingredients, cover with water and simmer until the pumpkin is soft. Then purée. Season to taste with cream and a small amount of lemon juice and serve with fresh dill.

Ingredients:
1.5 kg rack of wild boar
For the baste:
1 l buttermilk
1 bunch of soup greens
5 juniper berries, crushed
3 peppercorns, crushed
1 bay leaf
Additional ingredients:
Salt and white pepper
40 g lard, ¼ l dark beer
1 tablespoon instant clear broth
For the sauce:
1/8 l hot water
30 g butter
20 g flour
3 tablespoons currant jelly
Juice of ½ lemon
Salt and white pepper
1 cup of sour cream

Preparation:
Wash the rack and wipe it; place in a bowl. To prepare the baste, pour the buttermilk into a bowl. Clean, wash and finely cut the soup greens. Add the crushed juniper berries, peppercorns and bay leaf to the marinade. Pour over the meat. Cover and marinate for 24 hours. Remove meat from the brine and dry thoroughly. Then rub with salt and pepper. Heat lard in a roasting tray. Brown meat on all sides for 10 minutes. Baste with beer. Sprinkle and stir in instant broth. Place roasting tray, covered, on the centre rack in a pre-heated oven (80 minutes at 220 °). Remove the roasting tray from the oven. Remove the meat, cover and keep it hot. Add hot water to the meat juices for making the sauce. Heat butter in a saucepan. Sprinkle in flour. Stir for 3 minutes to brown the mixture. Add meat juices. Boil for 5 minutes. Stir in jelly and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the sour cream. Heat the sauce one more time, but do not allow to boil.

Ingredients for the crêpes:
375 g flour
500 ml milk
6 medium eggs
Pinch of salt
Carbonated mineral water
For the plum compote:
400 g dried plums
1/2 l red wine
1 cinnamon stick
1 large strip of untreated lemon zest
1 clove
4 whole allspice
3 tablespoons sugar
Additional ingredient:
Concentrated butter for baking

Preparation:
1. Stir flour, eggs and salt into a smooth mixture, gradually adding the milk. Add enough mineral water to create a thin batter. Let the batter rest for 30 minutes.
2. For the plum compote, let the dried fruit, red wine, spices and sugar simmer gently for 20 minutes. Remove the plums from the liquid. Pour the liquid through a fine sieve and let it simmer for a few more minutes.
3. Fry thin crêpes (Palatschinken) from the batter, using two coated pans if possible. Brush the pans with concentrated butter and ladle in a small amount of batter into each pan. Turn and tip the pan immediately in order to evenly distribute the batter. Fry the crêpes on each side until golden brown areas appear.
4. Stack the crêpes and keep them warm in the oven at an 80 °C temperature (gas: lowest level).
5. Heat the plums in the liquid. Fold the crêpes into quarter circles and serve with the plums and sauce.