Cooking with passion and using the best ingredients to always create new dishes – that is the joy of living! This was made possible by the experience I gained during time spent in various top establishments such as the Hotel Atlantic Kempinski and the Landhaus Scherrer in Hamburg, Petermann’s Kunststuben in Zurich and Da Gianni in Mannheim. Complemented by my time in Tappe’s Restaurant and in the Restaurant Veneto in the Hotel Windrose on the island Sylt, I was well-prepared to take over the 5 star superior hotel LANDHAUS STRICKER. With two restaurants, the SIEBZEHN84 with its modern kitchen concept and the gourmet restaurant BODENDORF’s, it is the perfect place to celebrate my ideas as a host with high standards. The numerous awards are an acknowledgement, a delight and an incentive all at once to live my philosophy consistently each day, together with my team; always work on further development and never stand still. And do this with great enthusiasm.
One of my favorite products is the lamb from a Danish farm called Knuthenlund. Its meat is extremely tender, with a mild, refined flavor. At Knuthenlund, every effort is made to bring out the flavor of the meat, from the pasture to the butcher’s shop. The lambs graze on the lush grasslands around the farm, where a variety of herbs grow (lemon balm, ramson, chervil…), adding flavor to the meat. When the time comes, they are slaughtered on site, which prevents the development of stress hormones.
I usually cook lamb sous vide. I put the meat in an airtight bag and plunge it into water at a rather low temperature, 59°C [138°F], for 45 minutes. That way it cooks evenly, without overcooking the outside. Then I brown it at high heat in olive oil, butter and rosemary. One of our classics at Bodendorf’s is lamb with chervil: glazed saddle and stewed shoulder served with chervil mousse and gelée. My idea was to combine the meat with the herb that the animal feeds on. It’s one of my favorite dishes.
