Benjamin Peifer's Omakase at Stories

HEIDELBERG. Over the past few decades, the Palais Prinz Carl in Heidelberg's old town has been the venue for numerous important celebrations and visits, including those by Emperor Wilhelm I and Empress Elisabeth. Since February 2026, however, the historic, magnificent palace has been experiencing its greatest contrast when, on around 50 evenings, it becomes the venue for Japanese culinary art and Far Eastern atmosphere. Until mid-May, the Heidelberg-based Bliss Group will be hosting a new chapter of its pop-up concept "Stories" there. This is the seventh edition – the last one took place in the vacant Springer Verlag building. "Our new pop-up restaurant is inspired by our typical storytelling from the Land of the Rising Sun and, in particular, by omakase," says Swen Schmidt, one of the four managing directors of the Bliss Group. Omakase means "I leave it to you" and in Japan refers to a type of menu where the guest leaves the choice of dishes to the chef, thus placing their absolute trust in him.

Guests at this unusual restaurant will be able to place their complete trust in the chef, as two-star chef Benjamin Peifer is responsible for creating the menu this time. Peifer, who was named "Chef of the Year" by Gault&Milau in 2025, is a great connoisseur of Japanese cuisine. He received his second Michelin star in 2025 for his creations at his own restaurant, "intense", in Wachenheim. Japanese cuisine is an important source of inspiration for Peifer: many of his dishes are influenced by Japanese techniques, flavours and philosophy. In his menu of up to 17 courses, the 38-year-old from Speyer masterfully combines regional and Japanese influences. "I find it exciting that such a venerable building as the palace is being shown in a completely new light, creating something exciting and new. It's also fantastic for us as a restaurant to be able to present our ideas in a completely different location," says Peifer. He wants to introduce guests to the intense lightness of Japanese cuisine. "Our interpretation of the dishes is never too far removed from tradition, but adds a touch of modernity with a wink." Together with the Bliss Group's kitchen team led by Sven Günther, Peifer serves a 5-course menu plus at the new Stories, which is "Japanese in concept and European in interpretation".

Before the launch, the Palais underwent a fundamental transformation. Once again, the design studio glatz&glatz from Heidelberg and Berlin was responsible for the interior design. For the Bliss Group, Stories is much more than a restaurant – it is a stage, a brand and a creative playground all at once. And you can feel that immediately: this pop-up is aimed at people who want more than just good food. It's all about storytelling, about an experience staged down to the last detail. As with previous editions of the pop-up, a great deal of effort has gone into creating an atmospheric backdrop that brings stories to life with new, original interiors, targeted lighting and carefully curated music.

As other events are also planned at the Palais during the Stories season, the Bliss team has to design the entire interior to be flexible enough that it can be dismantled and reinstalled at any time. "But we're used to this," explains Swen Schmidt. "We were at the Palais with Stories in 2019. We also now have seven years of experience with the pop-up and know what works best and how to do it." The last Stories event had a "70s and 80s" theme, the 2024 chapter took place in Germany's largest street art exhibition hall, the Metropolink in Heidelberg, and two years earlier it was even held in a vacant Toys'R'Us toy store. Tickets for the gastronomic experience can already be booked at www.stories-pop-up-kitchen.de.