Ricky Saward as a guest at Tisane

NUREMBERG - For a four-hands dinner, star chef René Stein shared his Chef's Table Restaurant "Tisane" in Nuremberg's Karl August Hotel with Ricky Saward from the "Seven Swans" in Frankfurt. Not only the guests of the evening benefited from the intermezzo of the two chefs, who combined their omnivorous and vegan cuisine to create an exciting menu. During a masterclass, the vegan star chef also gave up-and-coming chefs and those responsible for training an authentic insight into his philosophy and the creative process of his purely plant-based top cuisine.

In the Michelin-starred restaurant "Tisane", guest chef Ricky Saward gave an inspiring talk on vegan cuisine following a four-hands dinner with host René Stein. His audience consisted of around 25 trainee chefs and pastry chefs as well as their trainers from the Nuremberg-based catering company "jb Company", which also owns the brasserie "Nitz" and the patisserie "Talerzier" in addition to "Tisane". "We attach great importance to cross-training learning and are delighted about the growing interest of our trainees and trainers in the new additional qualification for vegetarian and vegan cuisine," explains HR Manager Nadine Böhm from jb Company. "Ricky Saward's talk following the four-hands dinner at Tisane was a valuable in-depth discussion for our team and very inspiring."

Saward, who has been cooking animal-free since 2019 at his fully booked "Seven Swans" in Frankfurt, spoke in detail about his experiences in upscale vegan cuisine and explained his radically regional approach: "I deliberately avoid non-native spices and all exotic ingredients. We even leave out lemons, olive oil, pepper, coffee and chocolate." According to Saward, the decision to switch completely to vegan cuisine came at a time when his career was on the brink. "It was the best decision of my life," he confirms in the lecture. The switch brought a creative boost and led to the success of his restaurant, which was the first purely vegan restaurant in the world to receive a Michelin star. "Limiting myself to fewer foods totally fuelled my creativity," reveals Saward.

As a prime example of his approach, Saward presented one of his most famous dishes. His "Signature Dish" made from various potato components was created in the winter months of 2019 due to a lack of regional ingredients. "Suddenly I was faced with a handful of possible ingredients in winter and was supposed to cook a star menu with twelve courses," Saward recalled. Without further ado, he broke down the tuber into its components, removed the starch and solanine, turned the potato juice into a chip and the charred skin into an umami broth. "I can't really take it off the menu these days, otherwise my guests will complain," says the top chef about his potato dish.

During the talk, Saward also spoke openly about the challenges of running a top vegan restaurant: "I'm often caught between two stools." From guests who are sceptical about vegan dishes to vegans who have extremely high expectations of even the smallest details. "We are sometimes asked absurd things and often have to justify ourselves. For example, whether new wool has been used in the chair upholstery or whether the glue on the wine labels is vegan. Finding the balance is difficult."

Saward also made it clear that sustainability is more important to him than a strict vegan lifestyle: "I'd rather a meat eater who consciously eats a good steak from the neighbouring butcher once a month than a vegan who eats avocado for breakfast every day." For him, it's all about conscious reduction: "For me, it's not about having to make a choice. Sensible, sustainable consumption is a thousand times more important to me."

On the evening before the lecture, the hosts around chef René Stein and sommelier Martina Prenn shared their kitchen in the "Tisane" with Ricky Saward, his sous chef Nadine Penalva-Lopez and sommelier Marcel Kulik for a joint four-hands dinner. "Working with the "Seven Swans" crew was an exceptionally good experience and a great pleasure for us. I admire Ricky's special creativity, but also his uncompromising attitude," said Stein, revealing: "We harmonised perfectly and had a lot of fun surrounded by our guests."

The "Tisane" with its U-shaped chef's table provided an ideal stage for the 18 guests of the evening to watch the dishes being prepared and chat to the chefs. Although the chefs' styles differed, there were also similarities: both share a preference for using no more than one or two ingredients per course, which are utilised in their entirety. Saward's vegan dishes impressed with their sophisticated preparation and deep flavours, while Stein impressed with his purist, omnivorous cuisine. Saward's "Kohlrabi with blossom" met Stein's "Cauliflower with N25 caviar", followed by "Potato with oak leaves and sunflower" and "Pea with pickled egg". Even though vegetarian vegetable courses dominated the menu, Stein served a classic from his omnivorous repertoire in the main course: "Duroc pork" cooked over an open fire with salad, leek oil and wheat.

Like the four-hands dinner, the masterclass also emphasised the importance of sustainable cuisine that combines both traditional and avant-garde approaches. Saward gave the young trainees and their instructors valuable insights into the conception of his dishes and the sourcing of his ingredients from fields, forests and meadows. The vegan star chef encouraged his audience to discover and develop their own creativity: "Don't read cookery books!" Saward advised, warning that inspiration and copies are often very close together. "Instead, look for creativity within yourself. If you find it, you can even turn a simple potato into a star dish."