Top chef Claus-Peter Lumpp as Guest chef in the Ikarus

March 2011 at Restaurant Ikarus: Claus-Peter Lumpp

Classy classics

Three-star chef Claus-Peter Lumpp has no need of trendy tricks. He doesn't follow fashions and contemporary trends. Classic French cuisine, whose refinement and finish have proved their appropriateness and entitlement to a place in the 21st century in a timely and enjoyable manner, reigns triumphant with Claus-Peter Lumpp, chef de cuisine at Bareiss, his place of business in the little Black Forest village of Baiersbronn.

Claus-Peter Lumpp's grandmother played a major part in him wanting to become a cook. Lumpp was so taken with his granny's Swabian cuisine that he himself wanted to stand at the stove. Although his mother would have preferred to have seen him with his 'A' levels under his belt, he left school early and started his training as a chef at Hotel Bareiss, which at that time was still called Kurhotel Mitteltal, in 1985. After his military service, when he worked as the manager of an officer’s restaurant, he went to the Victorian Restaurant in Düsseldorf in 1986, where he worked as a saucier with Günter Scherrer. This was followed by stints in Germany's best restaurants – at Tantris, three-star chef Heinz Winkler's Munich restaurant, and at "Chef of the Century" Eckart Witzigmann's Aubergine. As if he had not gathered enough gourmet skills already, in 1990 he joined top French chef Alain Ducasse at the Louis XV Restaurant in Monaco. Equipped with knowledge from the world's best chefs, he returned to his chosen home of Baiersbronn in 1992. At the age of just 28 he took over the kitchen at Bareiss, which had already received two stars in the Michelin Guide. He retained this award for 15 years on the trot. During this period the down-to-earth Swabian received other famous awards. In 2002, for example, he was chosen as Chef of the Year by "Der Feinschmecker".

In 2007 the man from Swabia was then catapulted into the premier league of German chefs when the Michelin Guide awarded him his third star, which he holds to this day.
He is currently one of nine German chefs who have been honoured with the Michelin Guide's highest award.

Claus-Peter Lumpp is today one of the best German chefs in the world, and with good reason. Diners and critics alike value his aromatic, opulent cuisine, which combines visual elegance and digestibility. "Taste comes before everything else," says Lumpp and, as if to prove it, serves his guests a never-ending stream of classic, modern masterpieces, such as variations on foie gras with salted caramel and port, or braised scallops on a tomato and caper ragout. As far as he is concerned, the high-class ingredients should be able to develop their flavours to the full. No paraphernalia on the plate is allowed to distract - neither deep-fried leaves nor geometrically arranged sauces. Claus-Peter Lumpp achieves a rare marriage of clarity of flavour and appearance on the one hand, and a brilliant richness of aromas on the other, which make his dishes so fulfilling on a sensory and sensuous level.

As far as Claus-Peter Lumpp is concerned, the crux of his work is flavourful and always authentic cuisine which excites his guests. "I'm not so inspired by trends or development of techniques or styles. What challenges me and my team the most is the maximum perfection that we can devise, develop and implement for our guests with the help of Nature, according to our imaginations and abilities, and through our complete dedication."