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| American Dream Cuisine™ |
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| Baltschug Restaurant |
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Hotel
Baltschug Kempinski,
Moscow, Russia |
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Extraordinary - Merit
December - 2005 |
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5 Stars
& 4 Stripes
Cuisine & Service |
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The Ultimate
Award:
Seven Stars and Stripes™ |
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"It seemed like an amazing opportunity for me to broaden my knowledge
and skills in classical
haute cuisine and to learn from someone regarded as
one of the best in the business.” ~ TB |
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The thought entered my mind upon my arrival at the
distinguished domain of epicurean artist Rainer Sigg, Executive Chef de Cuisine
of Hotel Baltschug Kempinski. My knowledge of Chef Sigg and his creative talent
for sculpting simple fresh ingredients into works of art came from a recent
visit to the Lorenz Adlon restaurant at the Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin, where
Rainer spent quality time as Executive Chef. Always true to his form, Chef Sigg
believes that gastronomy was ‘hard-wired’ to his brain from his
experiences during childhood with his grandmother’s cooking. From her
mentoring he learned how important it was to preserve the original flavor of
every component in a recipe without suppressing it with sauces or spices. His
pure and simple philosophy extends to his support team of chefs, which kind of
reminded me of a benevolent monarch shepherding his subjects.
We were guided
through the restaurant by our host Olga, all the while fighting the urge to
gaze intently at the unforgettable view just beyond the windows. There on the
horizon was a scene of onion domed St. Basils Cathedral in Red Square as if
framed by the ambiance produced by glowing candles and the background music of
Richard Kleidermann. |
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| When we arrived at our table
we found it nicely decorated with a bright traditional Christmas poinsettia.
Menus were presented followed immediately by steamy hot towels, which gave us
reason to pause and relax before delving into the work of our cuisine review.
Our server Eugeny offered six wonderfully hot assorted homemade breads along
with a cute little ceramic pot containing butter covered with a transparent
logo of the hotel. Nice touch! |
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| While he poured decanted red wine for us, Eugeny
explained that tonight’s dinner would be from Chef Rainer’s personal
selections and we would no longer need the menus. We marveled at how confident
the chef must feel to be able to wing-it ‘ala minute’ and still
produce the kind of creativity necessary for such a fine establishment. Our
dinner included a remarkable rendition of salmon and caviar called
Milllefeuille of Scottish Salmon and Mashed Potato with Sepia and Champagne
Sauce. It seemed easy to imagine a sort of three-dimensional ‘leaning
tower’ layered with the finest wild caught Scottish Salmon and Russian
Caviar in a wispy puff pastry sitting on delicate twin sauces of squid-ink and
champagne. |
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| Thorsten
Buehrmann & Rainer Sigg |
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Also worthy of mention was
Saddle of Wild Rabbit wrapped in Savoy Cabbage, Cranberry Rum Sauce with
Baked Apple and Chestnut Puree of which Arno became a child again
remembering late autumn hunting days with his father. As we were being prepared
for dessert, we noticed the fine Villeroy-Boch china on which the expertly
prepared cuisine was assembled and noted that for our review details, as the
china’s design did not compete with the food displayed upon it.
Our
evening on the wane, we were offered robust Russian coffee before a finale of
Chocolate covered Almond Pastry with a Mini Orange Compote and Tarragon Ice
Cream. Without protest we continued our cuisine evaluation until every last
sweet morsel was removed from the plate. |
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| Quietly Arno and I reflected on all that transpired
during our dining experience and agreed that Executive Chef Sigg will
successfully produce an outstanding cuisine experience for anyone fortunate
enough to visit here. Creative originality, teamwork and leadership are the
mantra that propels Rainer Sigg towards prominence while he guides Baltschug
Restaurant to the pinnacle of gastronomic greatness. He delighted in
challenging me with his words: |
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| “I am 60% there.” ~ Rainer Sigg |
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by
Thorsten Buehrmann & Arno Goudschaal
Editor: Ingrid
Lemme
Editor-in-Chief: John Lomitola |
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| © 2005 ~ Seven Stars and Stripes, Inc. |
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