Vau, Berlin, Germany

I’ve never like Kolja Kleeberg, he was one of the most irritating chefs I’ve ever seen on television. He’d do a segment K3 – Kolja Kleeberg kocht (cooks) and I’d get annoyed. Later I realized that the gentlemen has quite some accolades and runs a fancy place in Berlin called Vau. I show up for lunch and I’m one of the few diners. When I say hello in my swiss-accented, yet otherwise flawless german, the hostess looks surprised and literally asked me wether I spoke English. I laughed at her and told her that I’m swiss and german was fine, which caused her to catch her stride. To mix things up I select dishes from the a la carte menu and the set menu to creat my small lunch. Very quickly do I lose all former disliking of Mr. Kleeberg, his dishes are whimsical, fun and with great care. The best one by far was a play of Stroganoff with fish (halibut). The classic dish was deconstructed and reassembled in a simple brilliant way. I took bite after bite and felt pretty good for myself and my ability to overcome prejudice. Considering it’s 85 Euros for a five course lunch, this is a pretty fair price.