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Because of her alone, many can hardly wait for the restaurant-free time to come to an end: Then Ilona Scholl persuades the first date to the second bottle of wine and the birthday party to the big menu, and everyone understands that eating out is so much more than just eating.

The 38-year-old, who likes to wear clothes with a jungle pattern, is the host in the "Tulus Lotrek", a system-relevant gourmet stand in the tidy part of Berlin-Kreuzberg.

The slightly overused metaphor of the public living room, here it applies.

Stucco, velvet, creaky floorboards and wallpaper in the same pattern as the outfits of the service team - guests who have eaten here once have been coming back with pleasure since 2015.

Of course, this is due to Max Strohe's Francophile, Michelin-starred culinary treats that skimp on butter and love, for example in the form of a “fried egg royale” with celery puree and scallops or truffle cacio e pepe served in a mini pan.

But this is also due to his business and life partner, who, after half-heartedly studying literature, music and media studies, decided wholeheartedly for gastronomy.

Scholl originally comes from near Schwäbisch Hall, although Swabian is neither expressed in their tongue nor in their way of life.

While working in a neighborhood bar in Berlin, she met Strohe, whose bird, as she says, can sing wonderfully in a duet with hers.

Together they not only dared the monogamy model, but also that of self-employment, which is why Scholl repeatedly has to answer journalists' questions about work-life-love-balance.

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She does this with the same eloquence that distinguishes her in the evening service.

The trained sommelier also pours pure wine in a figurative sense by campaigning for women in the catering trade - for example, in a conversation with the equally admirable Claudia Steinbauer from the Hamburg “Klinker” - and the appreciation of her profession, which goes far beyond the one "Plate taxis" goes out.

Cooking for medical staff and firefighters

She is a mood sensor and menu mediator, food intolerance manager and head of a six-person service team, which, as she always emphasizes, contributes enormously to the success of an evening, including an intoxication counselor.

“We're taking care of tomorrow's hangovers today” is the headline of “Tulus Lotrek”, and the gibberish spelling of the French painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, after whom the restaurant is named, makes sense when it comes to the digestif.

Like everyone else, it is affected by the Corona crisis.

Out of consideration for the health of staff and guests, Scholl and Strohe closed the doors before the first lockdown - only to open their kitchen to those who deserved it the most.

“Cooking for Heroes” is the name of the initiative founded in March this year to provide hospital staff and firefighters with food.

Duck curry, improvised from cold store leftovers, caught on.

Over a hundred restaurants are now taking part in the campaign, across Germany.

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Perhaps it was also this form of compassionate commitment that prompted the “Gault Millau” to award the woman with the averna-brown hair the title of “Host of the Year”, as the association “Berlin Master Chefs” did in 2017.

In the statement of the French gourmet guide, it says: "While her partner Max is implementing his vision of a fearless kitchen, in the designer furniture-free living room in an old building in Berlin, she ensures that her guests feel cared for and welcome like hardly anywhere else."

Not that you have to explain it to anyone who has been her guest before, but the award is further proof that Scholl is never just “the wife of”, but a wonderfully headstrong, clever and passionate host.

We can only hope that she will soon be able to help her guests to leave their resolutions for one evening, or even better for a whole year.

And that on a gloomy November evening that was not lit by any guest room, she found a moment to toast herself with a glass of champagne or, better still, a whole bottle.

Further awards from "Gault & Millau" for 2021:

Chef of the year:

Thomas Schanz from the Schanz restaurant in Piesport on the Moselle.

Away from the metropolises, Schanz has developed a contemporary and complex style based on classic French product cuisine.

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Gastronom of the year

: Vincent Klink from Wielandshöhe in Stuttgart.

Musician, painter, publisher and author, he has turned his restaurant into a cultural place for free spirits and connoisseurs.

Newcomer of the year:

Mateo Ferrantino from the "Bianc" in Hamburg.

The jury praised his tasty and filigree Mediterranean cuisine in Hamburg's Hafencity.

Discovery of the year:

Max Goldberg from the "Oxalis" in Schluchsee.

Glodberg impressed the testers of the restaurant guide with the connection between regional products from the southern Black Forest and the culinary philosophy of Japan.

Sommelière of the year:

Nancy Grossmann from “Rutz” in Berlin.

According to "Gault & Millau", she succeeds without vanity in accompanying chef Marco Müller's complex plates in a congenial way.

Pastry chef of the year:

Hannes Radeck from the "Ox und Klee" in Cologne.

At first glance, Radeck creates almost simple desserts of high precision and finesse that round off a multi-layered menu, without any showmanship.

Life's work:

Hans Haas from the “Tantris” in Munich.

Probably the most influential top chef in Germany is retiring after more than 30 years in the Schwabing gourmet temple.

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