About us
The Lafleur restaurant, which takes its name from the famous Château Lafleur vineyard in Pomerol, is a top international restaurant with two culinary orientations: modern gourmet cuisine on the one hand and a vegan gourmet line since 2014, which was awarded two Michelin stars in 2016. The Lafleur restaurant has been a member of Relais & Châteaux since 2015 and has been part of the international restaurant association "Les Grandes Tables du Monde" since 2017, making it one of the 200 best restaurants in the world. Andreas Krolik was recognised as Germany's best chef by Gault&Millau in 2017 and received 19 out of a possible 20 points in 2019. In November 2022, Krolik was awarded the Ethical Cuisine Trophy by Relais & Châteaux for his values and attitudes.
The Lafleur restaurant is also characterised by the expertise of award-winning head sommelier Alexandra Himmel. Les Grandes Tables Du Monde portrayed and honoured her in 2022 as "FEMME EN VUE" for her successful career in her profession. In July 2023, Gault&Millau named her Sommelière of the Year 2023/2024. "Alexandra Himmel's service attitude, which is as attentive as it is unpretentiously reserved, intuitively recognises every guest and thus almost casually brings them into the enjoyment of a precisely fitting wine accompaniment" - according to Gault&Millau.
2-star chef Andreas Krolik describes his cuisine as contemporary classicism, combined with Mediterranean aspects and regional products. His dishes are strongly characterised by the use of intense essences and are characterised by a balanced interplay between light sweetness and pleasant acidity. Despite his great sophistication, his cooking is uncomplicated and clear, which makes his cuisine so unique. His approach to fish is also unique. Among the best chefs in Germany, he is one of the absolute fish experts and his creations always attract a lot of attention. In February 2014, Andreas Krolik presented his vegan 6-course menu, which was the first of its kind at the time and has been extremely popular ever since, and not just with vegans. Today, Andreas Krolik's expertise in vegan dishes makes him one of the absolute specialists in Germany and Europe.
Designed by Robert Mangold, the Lafleur restaurant offers high-quality food as well as the tranquillity and view of the Siesmayer flower parterre.
The Lafleur wine cellar has a magnificent selection of the best wines in Europe, with a wide range of vintages. These are listed alongside many other first-class wines in our wine list with over 1,200 items. Alexandra Himmel's outstanding selection was named the best wine list of 2023 by Gault&Millau and honoured with the "Grand Selection Award Wine List".
The restaurant has 50 seats and the separate lounge is ideal for private dining or for groups of up to 14 people. For exclusive hire, the restaurant can accommodate up to 80 guests. The Lafleur restaurant conveys a cosy atmosphere thanks to its historic smoked oak parquet flooring and furnishings, which harmoniously combine classic and modern style elements.
Experienced restaurant manager Boris Häbel and sommelier Alexandra Himmel and their team are your hosts at Restaurant Lafleur.
Andreas Krolik is a chef and culinary artisan, awarded 2 Michelin stars and an impressive 19 points by Gault & Millau since 2010. He follows a modern, yet aesthetic, culinary approach with his cuisine. His focus is on first-class cuisine with increasing ecological awareness at the same time.
Since 2014, Andreas Krolik has been the pioneer in the creation of high-quality vegan delicacies. His vegan and degustation menus are characterized by creations from high-quality products, carefully selected with a focus on sustainability and organic products from the region. Andreas Krolik transforms these into dishes full of complex flavors, intense aromas, textures, and colors. For his values and attitudes, Krolik was awarded the Ethical Cuisine Trophy by Relais & Châteaux in November 2022.
With his vegan compositions, Andreas Krolik also inspires internationally - in spring 2022, he was the only top German chef invited to present his vegan cuisine at MadridFusión, the world's most important creative cooking congress. For December 2022, due to the great response from the trade press and industry, he was engaged by the organizers of MadridFusión in Bogotá, Colombia the North & South American counterpart to present his ideas of excellent, sustainable, and extremely tasty cuisine.
Growing up in a small village near Halle an der Saale, the rural environment of Saxony-Anhalt shaped him early on. In his parents' gardens, he came into contact as a child with the cultivation of fruit and vegetables as well as livestock for his own use, and through the fresh, natural products he developed a lasting sense of taste and a deep understanding of high-quality basic products. Krolik's special passion has also been fishing since childhood. His current fishing trips take him to the Norwegian fjords and the islands of the North Atlantic.
In 1998, his way from Vitznau in Switzerland led him to the Tigerpalast in Frankfurt for the first time. As Chef Gardemanger, Krolik solidified his flair for perfectly balanced flavors and creative compositions here. In 2000, Krolik moved to the Park Restaurant of Brenners Park Hotel & Spa, which he took over as "Chef de Cuisine" 4 years later. At Brenners Park Hotel, one of the most renowned hotels in Germany, Andreas Krolik continuously developed his modern-classic cuisine, which the Guide Michelin rewarded with the first star in 2005. But true to his maxim, "He who stops wanting to be better has stopped being good," Krolik showed in the years that followed how much creativity, precision craftsmanship, and, above all, a passion he uses to achieve a balanced interplay between texture and flavors. This consistent process of further developing Krolik's kitchen style was finally rewarded with two Michelin stars in November 2010.
Following his successful time at Brenners Park Hotel & Spa, Krolik delighted guests at Tigerpalast with his modern-classic "cuisine of flavors," which focuses on Mediterranean influences as well as regional products. In November 2012, Krolik's achievements were again recognized by the Guide Michelin with one star and by Gault&Millau with 17 out of a possible 20 points. This was followed in November 2013 by the renewed award of 2 stars for Andreas Krolik's outstanding cuisine. In March 2015, Andreas Krolik then moved within the Tiger & Palms Group to the restaurant Lafleur and from then on inspires here with his culinary art. Gault&Millau named Andreas Krolik "Chef of the Year 2017".
Whoever identifies the wishes of his guests without asking, whoever does not only perform the role of a host but lives it, whoever can perfectly mediate between the culinary philosophy and the demands of the guests, may refer to himself as “Maître:sse”. Boris Häbel and Alexandra Himmel are such Maîtres, a host who conducts the service silently and attentively with fine grandezza and a competent reference person for the guests. The friendly service always acts discreetly and without being hectic, which has already guaranteed fine dining culture at the highest level for many years. It‘s the relaxed calm and warmth that the friendly team radiates, which gives the guest the unmistakable feeling to have reached a culinary refuge of a special kind. The entire service team fills this idea of hospitality with life and gives the guests this feeling. The role of the “Maître” seems to be tailor-made for them; they couldn´t have imagined any different professional life.
Alexandra Himmel, Chef Sommelière at Lafleur and awarded Sommelière of the Year 2023/2024 by Gault&Millau, has had emotional contact with the cultivation as well as the vinification of quality wines since her childhood. After her apprenticeship as a restaurant specialist, she moved to the vineyard Tantara Winery in California for a internship, where her big passion for wines coined. When she came back to Germany, she worked in the prestigious restaurant Tantris as Commis Sommelière, as Assistant Head Sommelière in the Les Solistes by Piere Gagnair and also as Head Sommelière in the Restaurant Storstad. During this stations, she gained new experiences in her specialist field.
Ever since Boris Häbel, the restaurant manager at the Lafleur, graduated high school, he was fascinated by the way waiters operate and were able to recognize their guests wishes without having to ask. When his parents took him to a 1-star restaurant he was delighted by the skills of the waiters: "They remembered everything - without taking any notes". A defining experience, which made him train as a restaurant specialist in the 5-star Hotel “Bareiss“ in the Black Forest, followed by numerous positions for well-known companies in the catering industry. After working in a large number of (Michelin-)starred restaurants, like the "Tigerpalast" in Frankfurt, where he worked as head chef, head waiter and deputy restaurant manager from 1999-2001, he moved to the Middle East in the summer of 2005. He became an Assistant Restaurant Manager in the world-famous Hotel Burj al Arab in Dubai. After a few successful years in the Orient, Häbel who was native in Baden-Wuerttemberg moved back to the Hessian metropolis and worked as the gastronomic director in the King Kamehameha Suite. After eight years in the capital working as the restaurant manager at the Hotel Adlon, he became maître in the Tantris gourmet restaurant in Munich. Since Mai of 2020 Boris has been complementing our excellent service team.
On account of her widespread knowledge and her sensitivity she always has the right wine recommendation for Andreas Kroliks multilayered food creations.
Boris Häbel and Alexandra Himmel form the lead of our Service-Brigade.
Colorful and fascinating, diverse, and difficult to overview – that is the world of wines. No other beverage offers this diversity of flavors. Because wherever vines are growing: a good wine cannot and does not deny its origin; it marks its individual taste, its personality. The wine cellar of the Restaurant Lafleur wants to open you the way to this multi-faceted wine environment. Noble woods, a well-tempered ambient climate, and selected wines – the wine cellar at the Restaurant Lafleur makes the heart of every wine lover leap for joy.
Located between the restaurant and the lounge, the wine cellar offers insights into the core piece of the wine cellar for interested wine lovers. The selection across vintages of around 1,200 bottles, including some rarities, stems from top wine estates in Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Young, fresh wines with current vintages are stored here in an ideal climate, next to the more mature vintages. Well-known names, highly praised vineyard locations, renowned estates, highly appreciated newcomers, and proven vintages: our cellar offers many exciting journeys through time and discoveries in the world of wines. They take center stage when they are perfectly paired with an exquisite dinner by Andreas Krolik.
All around the world, unique in the world!
Since the summer of 2015 the Restaurant Lafleur has been a proud member of Relais & Châteaux and is hence one of the world’s 500 best hotels and restaurants representing partly the best chefs in the world. Relais & Châteaux, founded 60 years ago as an association of outstanding hoteliers and chefs in France, is considered today as a unique benchmark for excellence in the field of hospitality and fine dining. It stands for a unique experience and wishes to enthral every single guest in its own way. The members of Relais & Châteaux commit themselves to the same high demands and want to be the mirrors and promoters of the unbelievable cultural and culinary diversity of our planet. Every single Relais & Châteaux restaurant is unique and cultivates its authenticity taking into account the traditions, with a wish to surprise. A meal in a Relais & Châteaux property is a happy moment of sharing and joy which is individually shaped by each single guest.
The Values and Experiences
Even if every property has its own personality, there is nonetheless a philosophy which is shared by all the members throughout the world and can be summed up in five values or five experiences.
- The soul of the innkeeper – each innkeeper puts his or her highly personal stamp on their place and its surroundings, and on the hospitality, service and cuisine they provide. The entire property beats to the rhythm of the innkeeper’s heart.
- The taste of the land – for our members the local terroir is expressed through architecture, landscaping, leisure activities and the fine dining offered by Relais & Châteaux chefs.
- The passport of friendship – each property is unique, and yet all share the same core values. They all offer our guests the same feelings of belonging, the same desire to get to know other members.
- The celebration of the senses - Relais & Châteaux properties provide a natural setting for the awakening of the senses and feelings of wellbeing, on a daily basis and for a very special occasion.
- An awakening to Art de Vivre – at the heart of the Relais & Châteaux philosophy is a notion that travel should be a journey of discovery into the pleasures of the fine arts of living. The ultimate goal of the Relais & Châteaux innkeeper is to introduce our guests to these pleasures.
In 1954 Jean Barnagaud, André Vrinat, René Lasserre, Claude Terrail, Raymond Oliver and Louis Vaudable founded the association with the original name "Traditions et Qualité". The aim was to defend the values of the gastronomy and the art of life. In 1956 the first restaurant guide was published (19 destinations).The "Les Grandes Tables du Monde" association consists of 178 exceptional restaurants in 23 countries on 5 continents. Only the most passionate restaurateurs with a burning passion for haute cuisine and an excellent service are included in the association. True to the motto "Traditions & Qualité" the members stand for the classical French cuisine, the service and the best ingredients that make your dishes unique. The common goal of all members is to maintain the culinary culture and values of the fine dining gastronomy. The exchange between the best of the best promotes the entire industry and accompanies the gastronomic path into the future while at the same time preserving important traditions. The author Jean Cocteau found the right words: "Tradition is an eternal movement. It moves forward, it changes, it lives. " The admission criteria for new members are correspondingly strict, since only those restaurants are accepted that are completely identical with the values of the association. Therefore, only a few new applicants qualify each year. The admission to the association "Les Grandes Tables du Monde" is made through the address from the circle of the Presidium from Paris.
The Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs is a worldwide community of 25,000 members from 80 countries, dedicated to fraternity, friendship, fellowship and a shared passion for the culinary arts.
We are happy to be part of this community that cultivates a passion for good food, conviviality and friendship.
Its origins can be traced back to 1248 in France, when King Louis IX ordered the creation of several guilds, including that of the "Goose Roasters". Apprentices, tradesmen and master craftsmen were to be taught the skills of their guild. Over many centuries, the guild developed the highest professional and quality standards for the "royal table", as we know them still today.
In 1950, the Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs was re-established and continues to evolve to include, among others, the Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs, the enjoyment of high quality wines, spirits, beers and table water is valued here.
Source:https://germany.chainedesrotisseurs.com/Über die Chaîne/Geschichte
