Culinary Excellence in Germany’s Black Forest
By SouthWest Germany Tourism
The Black Forest National Park region in SouthWest Germany is home to 11 Michelin stars, 11 Bib Gourmands, extraordinary hiking, and nature.
SouthWest Germany is one of the special places in the world where you can get world-class food and meaningful outdoor experiences in nature that together offer a perfect antidote to the post-pandemic world. Outstanding gastronomy and the diverse natural landscape of the Black Forest make Baiersbronn and the Black Forest National Park region a desirable and delicious destination. Not only can you hike off every worthwhile calorie but also numerous nature experiences will enchant you from the lookout tower and the wild animal park to the rushing waterfall and the mysterious lakes.
The Black Forest National Park, Baden-Württemberg’s first national park, was founded in 2014 in the middle of the Black Forest. Around 25,000 acres, the Black Forest National Park region includes 27 towns in three districts. The goals of the Park and the Region are to increase enthusiasm among locals and tourists for the mix of culinary excellence and nature that appeals to adventurers, nature lovers, exercise enthusiasts, connoisseurs, and those looking for relaxation at any time of year.
At the heart of the Black Forest National Park region, the town of Baiersbronn is ground zero for the gourmet excellence that is multiplying with new restaurants and culinary developments. The new Michelin Guide 2022 highlights the region around Baiersbronn and shows that it is one of Germany’s culinary hot spots. The Schwarzwaldstube in the Hotel Traube Tonbach, managed by Torsten Michel, and the Restaurant Bareiss in the Hotel Bareiss of the same name, with chef Claus-Peter Lumpp, are once again part of the league of German three-star restaurants. This means that the two traditional restaurants are among the best restaurants in Germany once again this year.
Only nine restaurants in Germany can look forward to the highest award of three Michelin stars. The Baiersbronn Michelin stars are rounded off by Restaurant 1789 (formerly Köhlerstube) under the direction of Florian Stolte in the Hotel Traube Tonbach (1 Michelin star) and Jörg Sackmann’s gourmet restaurant Schlossberg in the Hotel Sackmann (1 Michelin star). But not only the Baiersbronn restaurants can look forward to the renewed awards.
In the Black Forest National Park region, “Le Pavillon” in the Hotel Dollenberg in Bad Peterstal-Griesbach (2 Michelin stars) and Werner’s Restaurant in the Hotel Schloss Eberstein in Gernsbach (1 Michelin star) were once again awarded the coveted stars. In addition, the “Bib Gourmand” was awarded to restaurants with good food for everyone. Of the 297 Bib Gourmands awarded, 11 go to restaurants in the Black Forest National Park region.
In the heart of the national park, visitors can experience up close how nature is left to itself on a guided hike with a national park ranger. Dense forest areas alternate with wine-growing areas. The so-called cirque lakes are typical of the region. They are called the “dark eyes” of the Black Forest, which often have a mystical and mysterious effect. Cirques are the low depressions carved by glaciers that fill up with water and become lakes or tarns.
The national park center itself also invites you to discover everything to do with the forest with an interactive permanent exhibition. Visitors are guided by none other than the forest itself, which stimulates reflection. In the exhibition, the forest seems to come alive and tells of complex relationships such as growth and decay, the variety of species and habitats, the duration of a life like that of a mayfly or a fir tree. The exhibition introduces visitors to the secret communication between trees, plants and other creatures in the national park, and it takes them into an exciting world deep underground that is otherwise hidden from humans.
Cuisine and nature go hand in hand in the national park region. Gourmands who also enjoy running can literally enjoy the local nature with all their senses. On hikes through the vineyards, you get to know the work of the vintners and their wines. Trained wild plant guides bring all kinds of native wild plants and their use in the kitchen closer to you on a wild plant hike. You can join foraging hikes with a chef or an experienced nature guide and find the herbs, produce, and ingredients that go into the plentiful regional products.
For more information, check out the websites for SouthWest Germany and the Black Forest region.
(Photos courtesy of Restaurant Bareiss and Schwarzwaldstube)