Interview mit Yannick Noack

At PURS in Andernach, Yannick Noack was sous chef under Christian Eckhardt. After his departure, he took over the kitchen and confirmed the ratings and even improved them in some guides. This made him the youngest two-star chef. At Gotthardt's by Yannick Noack, he achieved another two stars six months after opening. We conducted the interview for this podcast episode before the Michelin Guide was published.

The start in Koblenz: a blank sheet of paper

In December 2024, Yannick Noack opened the restaurant at the Hotel Fährhaus in Koblenz as head chef. The spatial and conceptual reorientation was a particular challenge for him. A restaurant that, according to Noack, was "a completely blank sheet of paper" - giving him the opportunity to contribute his own ideas right from the start. Kitchen planning in particular was a central topic: "I believe that the topic of kitchen planning ... is simply a very special one, because you have of course ... seen the advantages of other kitchens, but also the disadvantages."

Gotthardt's favours an open, transparent kitchen that is designed to make guests feel at home. Noack emphasises: "The idea behind the restaurant concept is to make guests feel at home. That's how the kitchen is designed, it's all very transparent, very open".

The menu design is a reflection of this openness: guests can choose between five and eight courses and customise their culinary experience. Noack says: "We currently always have 11 to 12 dishes on the menu plus a vegetarian menu, but this can only be offered with advance notice. And from these 11 to 12 dishes, guests can choose their own personal menu of 5 to 8 courses, which can be freely configured and customised." Of course, à la carte is also possible: "If a guest only wants to eat one or two courses, they can of course also eat them à la carte."

Creative dishes and the role of nuts

Noack's style is particularly characterised by the use of nuts, seeds and grains, which run like a common thread through the dishes. "We love working with seeds and nuts in our dishes and this is also part of our style," he explains. The creative approach is also evident in the names of the dishes, such as "Best of veal", about which Noack admits with a wink: "If we had written calf's head under the Carabiniero, few people would take it. We only ever tell people after they've eaten the dish."

For Noack, teamwork is at the heart of day-to-day operations: "Everyone in the team can cook, understand and sympathise with each other's jobs. We are a small team with just five employees. And we are simply very close to each other and we support each other." The patisserie is also developed together: "I was already very involved in the patisserie in the past and we discussed and coordinated everything." The dialogue with employees is fundamental to further development: "Two heads always know more than one, thank God, and then it's ... nice to engage in dialogue with employees."

Culinary art as a philosophy of life

Noack's love of the profession has been with him since childhood - it all started with a cookery course with Dieter Müller and his grandmother: "You have a completely different relationship with it. You have a completely different relationship to the job, a completely different relationship to the hours you work or the sacrifices you have to make and, in my eyes, you can only do the whole thing with your heart."