INGREDIENTS FOR THE FUTURE
With her creativity and dynamism, chef Maike Menzel is shaping the gourmet scene of the future. The youngest ever Michelin star winner in Germany, when she was named head chef of The Schwarzreiter Bar & Restaurant at Munich’s Four Seasons Hotel in 2018, aged just 28, it got the hospitality world talking. And when only a year later she and her team cooked up their Michelin star, it proved what they all knew: Menzel is the chef of the hour – and indeed of the future.
Her ‘Young Bavarian Cuisine’ stands out for encompassing the values that characterise today’s most innovative gastronomy: the joy of experimentation at the highest level, but with strong local roots. ‘Consumer behaviour has changed. People are paying more attention to the environment and sustainability,’ she explains. ‘Our guests are increasingly interested in where our ingredients come from and how they’re prepared.’
That’s why Menzel offers maximum transparency on her menu, places vegetarian and vegan options front and centre, and enjoys experimenting with exciting trends such as regional superfoods. She draws her inspiration from around the world and from time spent in nature – something that’s enabled her to remain optimistic even in COVID times. ‘I have faith that life can take us down entirely new roads to happiness, even in extraordinary circumstances,’ she says. A mental adjustment, she calls it, towards a more responsible, environmentally conscious and thoughtful way of life and working. ‘Now, we have the chance to change a lot, with new ideas and innovative projects for a better future,’ she says. ‘The time is ripe for change.’
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