Solo for six

Once in the second stream, now out in front – in August, Roland Trettl & his team will be cooking “Ikarus” highlights from the last few years at Hangar-7 in Salzburg, Austria.

One thing is clear: here at Hangar-7, everything revolves around the guest chef. This unique restaurant concept was developed for these chefs and our guests and has been running for the last six years, as popular as ever. I, Roland Trettl, have been there from day one and believe me: after 65 guest chefs, I find it just as fascinating as when Gerhard Schwaiger of the “Tristan” kicked things off in autumn 2003.

Once a year it’s “my” month – usually during the Salzburg Festival month of August. This is my chance to show off my culinary skills to the full. Last year, we did a double with Gérard Depardieu. The year before (not in August) I concentrated on truffles with a “black and white” theme. And with my “back to the roots” menus I celebrated my greatest teachers: Eckart Witzigmann and my homeland of South Tyrol. This year, I have set myself a completely different goal.

In order to understand this goal, it should be made clear that we also offer a so-called “Ikarus” menu in addition to the monthly guest chef menus. The “Ikarus” menu is something of a balancing act. Of course, we want the guest chef to form the focal point. But what if a guest finds Thai cooking too sharp or Indian cooking too spicy? Or a chef from Italy includes too much fish on the menu? Guest chefs come and go, but there also needs to be an alternative.

The statistics show that guests opt for this alternative five to ten percent of the time. Of course, the smaller this figure, the more pleased we are. Nevertheless, our “house dishes” should be as top quality as possible. It might sound something of a paradox but each month we devise the best dishes we can think of, always in the hope that the guest will order something else. And what could be better than compiling three “best of” menus from these many dishes. This time, the members of my team are in the spotlight. After all, most of the “Ikarus” menus are their own ideas and recipes.

My head chef Martin Klein, his second-in-command Andi Senn and our head pastry chef Christoph Lindpointner form a team that meets the very highest of standards on an international level. Having seen all the guest chefs and having worked at the side of Eckart Witzigmann for many years, I think I am entitled to make this somewhat pompous claim!

Martin has been at the “Ikarus” from the outset whereas Andi and Christoph came a few months later. From the very start of our collaboration, I made it clear how I like my kitchen to be. Today this goes without saying. There’s no place for potato flakes on fish here. My signature, or rather our signature, is always the same: we want to make a clear and distinct impression on the taste buds. We don’t want any muddle. The guest should know exactly what he or she is eating. We don’t want to go to extremes by introducing too many different impressions.

So how do we achieve this clear line? The key to our cuisine are the stocks for which the finest olive oils are used, without any butter or cream. Herbs are also important and, as Witzigmann puts it, the product is the star. When we offer marinated seafood with olive oil and citrus mousse and olive grissini, we use only the best Sicilian prawns, the most tender calamari from Galicia and the freshest scallops from Norway.

But trusting in our products does not mean eliminating the element of surprise. Our “simply foie gras” includes Red Bull Simply Cola, for example. The spices used to make the cola – cinnamon, cardamom and cloves – go perfectly with the liver parfait which is layered with a lemon confit and topped with a crispy layer of caramel. The cola is made from alginate beads with added fizz and used ice cold as a stock. Before you dismiss it as a joke, drop by and give it a try! The dish is super clear and extremely harmoniously balanced.

The key phrase is “drop by”: whether you try the “marinated tuna fish with avocado”, the “mini polenta dumplings with sautéed calamari” or the “pan-fried salmon with oysters, sour cream and cress stock”: I'm glad I’m not the guest in August. I wouldn’t be able to decide between the three menus. It would not be showing off to say that all dishes from the last six years are highlights.