Heinz Winkler
Maître de Cuisine
Germany
"Youngest three-stars chef in the world". "First Italian three-stars chef". "Chef of the Year". Heinz Winkler has received many awards in the course of his life.
Heinz Winkler
Maître de Cuisine
Germany
At the age of fourteen, the youngest son of a family of 13 mountain farmers began his apprenticeship as a cook. After this training, he (* 17 July 1949, Brixen/Italy) worked in various hotels and restaurants in Germany, France, Italy and Switzerland. One of his stations was Paul Bocuse. In cooperation with the "father of nouvelle cuisine", who was praised as the "chef of the 20th century", the books 'My Masterpiece: Bon appétit' and 'Masterful Cooking Made Easy' were published.
Shortly after Heinz Winkler was hired as head chef of the Munich restaurant Tantris in 1979, the perfectionist was named "Chef of the Year" by the Guide Michelin. Three years later, the South Tyrolean can rejoice in being the world's youngest Maître de Cuisine whose cuisine has been awarded three Michelin stars (in 1981, being just 31 years old!). Since 1991 he has been the owner/chef de cuisine of the Hotel Residenz Heinz Winkler in Aschau, Upper Bavaria. There, a global gourmet clientele enjoys his light, minimalist, elegant and tasteful "Cuisine Vitale". It unites tradition and modernity. The culinary art typical of the influential teacher is characterised - beyond changing fashions - by a reduction to the essential, the concentration on a main product, which is enriched by his famous sauces, but never alienated.
Awarded top marks in restaurant guides and numerous prizes, Heinz Winkler has achieved a rating of three "Michelin" stars twenty times and thus ranks second in Germany in terms of receiving this distinction. His services to the reputation of German gastronomy abroad earned him the Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon. Heinz Winkler, thanks to his support the Jeroboam in the Ritz Carlton in Moscow was awarded the title of best restaurant in the Russian capital three times between 2007 and 2009 and the Las Dunas in Estepona (Spain) received a Michelin star, has published various books. These include 'Gourmet Cooking at Home: Tips and Tricks from the Master Chef', 'Vegetarian for Gourmets', "'ucky Menus', 'Highlights of the Art of Cooking: Magic with Herbs and Flowers', 'Cuisine Vitale - Indulgence for all the Senses' and 'Medicinal Plants for Connoisseurs: Natural Gourmet Cooking'.
The father of two sons lives with his partner in Aschau im Chiemgau (Germany). He died on October 29th, 2022.
Interview September 2015
Star-spangled banner: youngest son of a family of 13 becomes no. 1 chef
"Never cling to old structures, always move forward." Heinz Winkler sums up his credo to this denominator. For him, the initial spark to look for something new is "usually dissatisfaction and not wanting to stand still, but always moving forward". He considers it impossible to sit down in such a situation and consciously tap the source of intuition. "This only arises spontaneously." Winkler considers neither rest and relaxation nor deadline pressure to be good stimulants. "The best thing is the mood of departure". His ideal place to be creative: France. The master chef is generally inspired by "people who do something better than I do." If he has an extraordinary idea, "I first go pregnant with it and think about it. Because one should think every path through to the end before taking it. The maturing time in a development process is important." In doing so, he finds great appeal in "venturing into the unknown."
Whether an idea has the substance to become something outstanding "is not felt. On the contrary, ideas to which no special attention is paid often become quite great!" Until that happens, the following applies: "Theory is the impetus, practice is the life!" Decisive prerequisite: qualification true to the saying "art comes from skill". But inspiration "is also very important in such a phase". Irrelevant, on the other hand, is the generation. Age-related knowledge or youthful freshness - "both are good in their own way". Even though in his line of work there is a lot of teamwork and it is therefore "possible" to compensate for one's own deficits in cooperation with other people, "in the end you always decide for yourself". Winkler knows that no one is flawless. This is shown by his saying "All great people also retain doubts". In his case, when a new dish is created, emotion, intellect and commercial intent play an equal role. The master makes no secret of what he is primarily concerned with: "Self-realisation," is the honest answer.
He affirms that routine supports creativity. Remaining true to one's specific style and yet being innovative is a realistic goal if "you only do what you yourself think is good and right". It is definitely worthwhile to be ahead of one's time, "but not too far. Ten years is okay". A work is never finished anyway: "Improvements will always be necessary, because people's views and tastes change.“
In order to enjoy widespread popularity, "you have to grasp the spirit of the times", anticipate the wishes of your potential audience or, at best, even know them more or less precisely. Heinz Winkler considers it important to have a big goal in mind, "because everything good is worth striving for". Once a personal masterpiece has been achieved, "success is the reward for good and correct work; the confirmation that the path taken is the right one. Perhaps it will then be possible to be among the top ranks in the long term and to enthuse guests and critics alike. There is a good tip for such a stroke of luck: "Never give in to the thought" that this series could break and the crash could follow, "but simply let it all become!" If, however, despite all your efforts, you don't receive any encouragement, it would be wrong to act like a driven person, always hoping that the next time you will achieve what you had hoped for. Winkler's advice in case of failure: "Hang in there!"
Incidentally, the gastronomy professional bridges a creative dry spell by looking into an archive of ideas. However, during his decades-long international career, Winkler has of course also been in the situation where he had to deliver and nothing new came to him. His spontaneous recommendation: "That's when you hand in the tried and tested." Has the multiple award winner actually given his blessing to something mediocre from the kitchen, something with which he himself was dissatisfied? "Yes. I was lucky, though, that no one recognised it!"
MY FAVORITE WORK
"My most popular/representative work is ‚The Heinz Winkler residence‘, as I had it built according to my own ideas. The inspiration for this was Italian architecture."
