Between Pots and Pans

When asked about his childhood hero, Maxi- milian Müller barely hesitates: ‘I’ve always admired Eck-ardt Witzigmann,’ says the 30-year-old. ‘For his ability to create as straightforward as multi-faceted dishes, and for the influence he has had on generations of chefs.’ Be-sides Witzigmann, however, two other characters have influenced Müller. His father, whose cook-ing he meticulously observed as a young boy, and long-time Pavillon chef Laurent Eperon, who gave him the job of sous-chef seven years ago. ‘I was just 23 at the time, and after an exceedingly stressful job on the island of Sylt, I had taken a break from the fine-dining circus not long before Laurent presented me with this great opportunity,’ Müller re-calls. ‘He was a strict boss – but also one who always set a good exam-ple. Above all, he is a great person, smart, skilled and empathetic.’

And what will happen at Pavillon after Eperon’s departure from the Baur au Lac in November after more than a quarter of a century? ‘There will be no break. We have created the upcoming menu together,’ says Müller, who steps up as head chef of the renowned restaurant lauded with two Michelin stars and 18 Gault Millau points. Furthermore, the long-time companions speak a clear and somewhat similar culin- ary language. ‘Last but not least, Laurent and I share a soft spot for butter. So Beurre Blanc will remain one of the pillars of the kitchen at Pavillon,’ Müller adds.

Piment d’espelette again and again

The same goes for the use of spic-es. ‘They are a culinary playground for me. I must have a few hundred of them at home. Piment d’Espelette, a fruity-sweet, slightly smoky and relatively mild chilli variety from the French Basque country, makes practically every dish a little better. I also experiment passionately with special curry mixtures. For exam-ple, Durban curry-based chilli, co-riander, curry leaves, cumin, carda-mom, Ceylon cinnamon, fenugreek, ginger and cloves. I don’t mind a lit-tle flight of fancy when it comes to spices.’ And then there’s one flavour Müller can't resist. ‘I have a bottle of Maggi seasoning sauce at home. Guilty pleasure or not, Maggi tastes good to me.’

The power of being grounded

When Müller won the renowned marmite youngster competition five years ago with his creation Arc-tic char – footed crayfish – greaves, he described his culinary philos-ophy as follows: ‘Classic, peas-ant-like but refined, not overload-ed, reduced and simple.’ That has changed in the meantime, he says and laughs. ‘In a restaurant like Pa-villon, whose guests regularly sa-vour the most exclusive dishes at the best addresses worldwide, you can hardly serve peasant-like cuisine.’ However, Müller will undoubted-ly incorporate some of the products that lend the more grounded dishes their magic into his menus as part of Pavillon’s gentle reorientation. ‘I love horseradish very much, for example. And I am convinced that an unexpected, down-to-earth ele-ment makes guests with an exten-sive international background par-ticularly happy,’ he says. ‘A product can be a bit simpler as long as the implementation meets the demands of haute cuisine.’

Sounds a lot like Hans Haas, who was part of Eckardt Witzigmann’s brigade at Munich’s Tantris back in the 1970s, and later shaped the iconic restaurant’s cuisine for al-most three decades. ‘I like this loose-ness and focus on taste that Haas has always stood for. My intern-ship with him is one of the most im-pressive experiences I’ve had as a chef to date,’ explains Müller, for whom Tantris was ‘one of the best restaurants in the world’ during Haas’ time. ‘When I arrived in Mun- ich, apricots were in season – and the entire kitchen was covered with the sweet fruit. We were ordered to cover all surfaces with plastic foil before preparing the famous apri-cot jam Haas distributed to special guests.’