Tommy Dananic
“I would have gone to the ends of the earth for this job!”
The mood of the otherwise exceedingly friendly ladies at the reception at Hangar-7 threatened to turn sour as the young man resolutely refused to be persuaded to simply leave his application at the desk. The young man was not to be deterred. "No, I want to see Herr Trettl in person," he insisted. And waited several hours. His tenacity has paid off. Today, Tommy Dananic is one of two Head Chefs in the kitchen of Restaurant Ikarus.
Not that it was all plain sailing for the young man with Croatian roots. Roland Trettl did at some point take the time to interview Tommy back then, in March 2005. But although Dananic had worked hard over the two preceding years in his role as chef de partie at Johanna Maier's gourmet restaurant, Trettl wasn't about to appoint him in that position.
He could start as commis de cuisine, or in other words as a young chef on the bottom rung of the career ladder. Dananic accepted without hesitation. "I would have taken a job as a dishwasher to work with Trettl and Witzigmann. I would have gone to the ends of the earth for this job!" he says, bubbling with excitement.
"Initially I thought, like any young man would, that I could already do a lot. In hindsight I have to say it was probably only after two years at Ikarus that I understood how much of it actually works," says Dananic. A passion for cooking and the absolute will to grasp the opportunity that Trettl had given him have allowed Dananic to gradually ascend the kitchen hierarchy at Restaurant Ikarus. Today, the 29-year-old is one of the pillars of Roland Trettl's team. "I've got much to thank the boss (Roland Trettl) for. He pushes you, but at the same time he'll lend you a hand whenever he can. Roland Trettl is both a boss and a friend." The influence of the guest chefs takes the experience to yet another level. Dananic says with the turn of every month, he feels as though he's working in a different restaurant in a different country. It can be stressful, but you wouldn't know it looking at him. "What could be better than really wanting to go to work every day?" he says, with a twinkle in his eye that lets you know he really means it. "I learn something from each and every guest chef. Techniques. Ingredients. Philosophies. When I once asked Claus-Peter Lumpp about the exact preparation of one of his dishes he answered: 'Tommy, the recipe doesn't have to be right – the taste has to be right!' That's spot on, isn't it?"
Asked what's in store for him career-wise after Restaurant Ikarus, Dananic answers with typical disarming honesty – and pays his boss what is arguably the greatest compliment: "I can't imagine for the moment why I would want to leave what I have here. But if a tempting offer did arise, I'd ask Roland Trettl if I should take it up."
Restaurant Ikarus Team
Opening Hours Restaurant Ikarus
Daily, lunch 12:00 to 02:00 pm,
dinner 07:00 pm to 10:00 pm
In order to better facilitate the Ikarus kitchen's transition from one guest chef to the next, the restaurant will be closed for lunch the first day of every month.
However, evening opening hours on these days will remain the same: the restaurant will open at 07:00 pm.
