L2O Welcomes an International Culinary Superstar
When the opportunity to collaborate with a three-Michelin-starred chef from Germany presents itself, you leap on said opportunity. And that's precisely what Matthew Kirkley of L2O did. The chef at Lincoln Park's revered fine dining temple is set to welcome Christian Bau of Schloss Berg in Germany for a special ten-course dinner on October 22. Making the occasion extra special is the fact that Bau is closing his own restaurant for a week to fly to Chicago, a rarity in that Bau seldom does collaborative dinners and this event marks his first in the States. Joined by his sommelier Daniel Kiowski, Bau will be armed with a number of exclusive wines to round out the degustation. Both Bau and Kirkley will cook five courses for the event, which costs $350 per person. Reservations can be made by calling 773-868-0002 or emailing l2oreservations@leye.com. In the meantime, I chatted with Kirkley about this once-in-a-lifetime event.
(Christian Bau - left - and Matthew Kirkley - right)
Matt Kirouac: How did the opportunity to collaborate with Christian Bau come about?
Matthew Kirkley: I have long admired Christian Bau's work through his books and publications. In January of this year, during our annual closure at L2O, my wife and I traveled to Germany to eat at his restaurant. It was one of the best meals of my life. Such detail, such focus. Afterward, Chef Bau was kind enough to sit and chat with us, and somewhere in that conversation, the idea was brought up. We're very honored to have him coming to cook with us.
Kirouac: What do you like about doing collaborative dinners with other chefs?
Kirkley: We do not have a history of these dinners here at L2O. For one reason or another, we tend to just focus on our own cooking. With Chef Bau, I think that it will be a great learning experience for our team, as Chef Bau has twice the experience that I do. We look forward to learning from him. Also, I hope that it will bring exposure to a chef whom I regard as one of the very best in the world and is relatively unknown to us in the States. Chef Bau has focused on continually improving his cooking over the last 16 years at Schloss Berg, at the expense of his self-promotion or celebrity. He is a humble and dedicated man who is truly in love with the cooking itself-- a chef's chef. I hope that we can raise America's awareness of him.
Kirouac: How do Bau's cuisine and culinary style complement yours, and how do you think you will work together side by side?
Kirkley: I believe that we both take similar approaches to our cooking. We both seek to express the components of a dish as clearly and as cleanly as possible. While Chef Bau's plates are more elaborate than my own, there are clear parallels on details, clean lines, etc. in both of our works.
Kirouac: What are you most excited about with this impending dinner?
Kirkley: I'm just thrilled to have Chef Bau and his team here at L2O. This will be his first time cooking in the U.S., and I think it will be a unique and rare glimpse to see Chef Bau cook. Also, Schloss Berg's sommelier Daniel will be bringing wines from the Mosel region that you cannot find in the U.S. that will be equally as exciting as the food.
Kirouac: Any ideas on what you might cook?
Kirkley: I'm waiting to see what the season will shape up to be closer to the dinner to make any final decisions, but it will certainly still be a seafood-based cuisine from us, with six courses from Chef Bau and six courses from L2O.
Kirouac: If you could collaborate with another chef on a future event, who would it be and why?
Kirouac: For me, having Chef Bau coming is about as good as it gets. If I had to fantasize about a future dinner though, I would love to work with Gerard Passedat and Olivier Roellinger. They are the two masters of fish, representing two different coasts in France, and I have always admired both of them. But for now, we're more than happy to host Chef Bau.