Born in 1992, the head chef has been in charge of the Michelin-starred restaurant Weinstock in Volkach since early 2024. In the podcast, he talks about regionality being “in my DNA”, classic sauces, and how herbs and fermentation lend his dishes a sense of lightness.

Hendrik Friedrich has been in charge of the kitchen at the Michelin-starred restaurant Weinstock at the Hotel Zur Schwane in Volkach since early 2024. In the podcast by restaurant-ranglisten.de, he describes how he has developed his now “truly established” signature style: based on French sauces, influenced by the herb-based cuisine he encountered in Austria – and with a clear commitment to originality. His menu at Weinstock is entitled “Home and Herbs”. At the same time, he also cooks gently modernised regional Franconian dishes for the Schwane 1404. At the Weinstock, Friedrich sees scope for a clearly structured dining experience: here, he says, one can “work a little more dogmatically”. The fact that the restaurant also offers an à la carte menu does not alter his standards for the ingredients: “The quality is the same”; the difference lies in the craftsmanship and the expectations.

Friedrich describes the kitchen working behind the scenes for two different offerings as a “little game of ping-pong”. Crucial is a system that allows for no interruptions during peak hours: “The secret of the system is that you have to be spot on once the order slip or receipt is in the kitchen.” For the Weinstock, this means that dishes must be conceived with precision not only in terms of flavour but also in their execution – “so that we can get the best possible result”.

For Friedrich, regionality is not a label, but a fundamental attitude. “Regionality plays a very important role for me,” he says – “but that’s not because it’s currently … trendy … but because it’s also traditionally rooted in me.” He comes from North Rhine-Westphalia, where he had already worked with producers; in Austria, regionality is a prerequisite anyway: “It simply doesn’t work there without it.” In Franconia, he now finds the collaboration particularly direct: “I have everyone’s personal number.” If, for example, he needs “Franconian truffles”, it takes “less than two hours” for them to be delivered. This proximity has become “much less complicated, much more accessible” – and it is deliberately highlighted at Weinstock: they list their suppliers on a separate menu, because “we have nothing to hide”.

The chef, born in Coesfeld in 1992, cites a French culinary school and his years in Austria as formative influences. From classical French cuisine, he takes with him “that fundamental mindset” – “to make good sauces or a good liver terrine”. In Lech am Arlberg, a head chef taught him “to use the things I simply have on hand” and to look “outwards”: “Look at all the wonderful things we have right on our doorstep.” His own style should remain unmistakable: “I don’t imitate anyone or try to interpret something, but rather I try to create something entirely my own.” He has had this independent approach to cooking “for about two years”, and it has become “truly established” since he started in Volkach. Compared to before, he now cooks “much more freely” and “much less complicatedly for my mind” – partly because the owners give him “free rein”: “The main thing is that the guests are happy; that is the top priority.”

He calls the menu at the Weinstock “Home and Herbs”. “Home isn’t where I was born,” explains Friedrich, “but home is where I’ve lived, where I’ve worked, where I’ve simply had a meal and felt at ease.” “Herbs” are a reference to Austria, where he “learned to love and appreciate” them. In his dishes, they have a clear function: “Herbs create a certain lightness” and make a dish “more rounded and harmonious”. The aim is for guests to “leave feeling truly uplifted, yet still well-satisfied” – without feeling “overfull”.

Specific examples show how he takes tradition as his starting point and transforms it into his own narrative. In the course featuring “Franconian truffle”, he deliberately recreates an association: “I once tackled the theme of foie gras and I want to have that textural and flavourful association, but in a vegetarian form.” For this, says Friedrich, “simply cooking and mixing” is not enough; understanding texture is crucial. He describes the Franconian Burgundy truffle as a product that “needs a bit of heat” – and as a flavour that should not dominate: “more like a light summer jacket … and not like a big winter fur coat”.

With the cod, classic sauce logic meets unusual seasoning: the base is “a reduced fish stock”, combined with a homemade miso “made from spruce needles”; at the end, “a whole lot of butter goes in, in the classic style”. “The biggest secret is the production of this unique miso made from spruce needles,” he says. He uses fermentation selectively – “not in every dish, but occasionally as a finishing touch or a complement”. The team collects the young spruce shoots in the estate’s own woodland; “but you have to be a bit careful – you can’t just go into the woods and conjure something up”.

In the main course, “Duck Shiso”, Friedrich also combines familiarity with his own distinctive touches. He doesn’t shy away from “bold” flavours: “No, definitely not. That’s actually exactly who I am.” The Peking duck comes “just round the corner”; the fat skin should remain crispy whilst keeping the meat juicy. The cut is also crucial: “You need a relatively sharp knife and you have to know how to cut” – he picked up the technique from a colleague from Japan. “The better you cut … the better the dish can taste.” He prepares the red cabbage “in the classic way … just like you’d have at home”, but reduces it heavily and works it in with duck fat, “which is what gives it that intensity”. The cranberries are lacto-fermented and take on a “salty-sweet-sour note” that “lifts the richness”. He also attaches great importance to using every part: “Everything was used.”

Sauces form the backbone of his Weinstock dishes. Friedrich calls them “100% classic” and refers to a formative period: “I have never eaten better sauces in my life” than back then with Boris Kasprik at the former Petit Amour in Hamburg; he has “internalised that” and “simply enjoys it too much to go down a different path”. He seeks to balance the modern flavour profile through herbs and fermentation: “Through natural fermentation, we create a certain lightness,” but one must “use it sparingly” and “find the right balance”. At Weinstock, Friedrich relies on clear cycles: “Every two and a half months or so” the menu changes completely; “what’s on offer is only available for that period”. The ideas often come to him whilst out and about – he sees a product and “then it starts rattling around in my head.”

(Summary supported by AI)