Klaus Erfort

Monday 2 February 2015

GasteHaus
Saarbrücken, Germany
3 Michelin Stars

View Klaus' Menu

Since gaining his third Michelin star at the end of 2007, Klaus Erfort has experienced a remarkable rise.Today, it‘s hard to believe there was a time when Erfort dreamed of anything but a career in cooking. Talking of old times, he says: “I used to find it boring to watch people cooking.” It was mere coincidence that the fascination of gastronomy finally gripped him, during a stint of work experience in a small restaurant in Saarland province. But once infected with the bug, he took off at full speed. He first worked under Claus Peter Lumpp in Restaurant Bareiss and later under Harald Wohlfahrt in the Schwarzwaldstube, the renowned restaurant in the Hotel Traube Tonbach in Baiersbronn.

By the time he was just 21 years old he cooked his way to his first Michelin star working as a chef at the Restaurant Orangerie in the Parkhotel Gengenbach. He repeated this success shortly afterwards in the Gourmet-Restaurant Imperial in the Schlosshotel Bühlerhöhe and it was now clear he was on his way to highest levels of haute cuisine.

The awards continued to accompany him and when he opened his Gästehaus Klaus Erfort in 2002, it wasn‘t long before the Michelin Guide again rewarded him with a star. In 2004, he was awarded a second star and the coveted third followed in 2007. As one of just nine German chefs to have received such a distinction, this put Erfort in a new category.

Erfort has got to where he is without making a big fuss about himself and it certainly says a great deal about the Saarland chef. He‘s completely absorbed by his work in the kitchen. This is where he finds fulfilment and where he creates his uniquely puristic and elegant menus.

“I cook with respect for the products I use and thus prefer to keep them whole and cook them gently,” he says. Regionalism at any price - that‘s not a priority, even though he does of course enjoy using products typical for the Saarland region. “Quality is my priority.”