Tobias Bätz

Chef Tobias Bätz’s culinary philosophy is fundamentally rooted in a profound commitment to team culture and mutual respect. He and Alexander Herrmann deliberately set out to build a kitchen environment free from the traditional "rough tone" and lack of appreciation often found in gastronomy. Bätz emphasizes that a positive, collaborative atmosphere, where team members experience enjoyment and recognition, is paramount and even more critical than any specific culinary style, which he believes naturally emerges from a strong team. This people-first approach ensures that individual contributions and well-being are prioritized above all else. The overarching culinary vision is encapsulated by the philosophy "#grenzenloseHEIMAT" (boundless homeland), which marries deep roots in the Franconian region with a global creative outlook. Bätz is a leading advocate for sustainable, creative, and regionally anchored cuisine. This commitment is evidenced by his dedicated "Foodscout," Jörg Osswald, who actively collaborates with over 70 regional producers, even assisting with harvests, to source hyper-local ingredients. While staunchly regional, Bätz’s kitchen is also "exotic," incorporating ingredients like papayas, passion fruits, guavas, galangal, and ginger from a dedicated "Tropenhaus," alongside unique finds such as Buddha’s Hand lemons, Texan Longhorn beef, buffalo, sturgeon, and dozens of heirloom vegetables. Bätz operates a "Future Food Lab" within the restaurant, transforming the kitchen into a research hub. Here, ingredients are "refined" through an array of sophisticated techniques including fermentation, drying, aging, pickling, and smoking. This systematic approach involves extensive experimental series and taste tests to develop complex, multi-layered flavors. His aim is to create menus filled with balance, clarity, and surprise, ultimately seeking to evoke emotions and memories in his guests. This vision transcends a focus on traditional luxury products, instead embracing a "radical terroir-philosophy" that integrates sustainability and business acumen through in-house production. Chef Tobias Bätz's technical style is characterized by an extraordinary dedication to culinary research and development, treating his kitchen as a "Future Food Lab." Every Tuesday is a "Kreativtag" (creative day), involving rigorous experimentation through cooking, dehydrating, fermenting, curing, and steaming, with extensive test series ensuring each dish is perfected. His in-house refinement processes include fermentation, drying, aging, pickling, and smoking. A prime example is his regional beetroot, which undergoes a 48-hour transformation: punctured, slow-stewed in salt, dehydrated overnight, peeled, wrapped in a moist blend of fermented chilies, pepper, and spices to rehydrate, then dried for two more days, resulting in a complex, deep, and potent flavor. His approach to flavor is defined by clear dishes, utilizing few ingredients to achieve intense aromas and stimulating acidity. Bätz also has a notable fondness for nutty aromas, which are congenially integrated into many of his creations, contributing to a finely balanced interplay of spice, sweetness, and acidity. Plating is implicitly focused on showcasing the intense, natural beauty of these meticulously prepared ingredients. Some of his renowned signature dishes include: - Rote Bete: Prepared with a meticulous 48-hour process involving salting, drying, rehydrating in a fermented chili wrap, and further drying, culminating in a potent, complex flavor. - Lammkeule, Rettich, gerösteter Lammbauch, Kaffir-Limette, Champagner-Roggen. - Ike-Jime-Zander, roh in Scheiben mariniert und als Tatar, Pilze, Calamondin-Salzmandarine. - Stör, geflämmt und lackiert, Kaviar, gehobeltes Dörrfleisch, saurer Kräutersud. - Rosa gebratener Hirschrücken mit Marillen-Miso, gepufftem Pfeffer, Dörrfleisch, erdigen Waldpilzen und fruchtigen Beeren.

Career

• Executive Chef at AURA by Alexander Herrmann & Tobias Bätz, Wirsberg
• Executive Chef at Herrmann's Romantik Posthotel, Wirsberg

Mentored by Alexander Herrmann.