Today, top German gastronomy has every reason to celebrate – except for that chef, of all people, who has done more for them than almost any of his colleagues.

327 restaurants have been awarded stars by the Guide Michelin restaurant guide in its edition just presented in Hamburg for the year 2022, more than ever before.

The number of two-star establishments has grown by eight to 46, the number of one-star establishments by 31 to 272, while nine three-star establishments have remained.

Jakob Strobel and Serra

deputy head of the feature section.

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Behind this, however, lies a generation change that is as painful for some as it is triumphant for others: Joachim Wissler from "Vendôme" in Bergisch-Gladbach, one of the inventors of the new German cuisine and, at fifty-nine, the oldest three-star chef to date in the country, has lost its third star, while Thomas Schanz, who is seventeen years his junior, has been upgraded to the highest category by the restaurant of the same name in Piesport on the Moselle.

In the east only two stars

After instructive years of traveling in the Traube Tonbach in Baiersbronn and with the three-star chefs Klaus Erfort in Saarbrücken and Helmut Thltges in the Eifel region, Schanz set up his own restaurant in his home town in 2011 and has been doing it with impressive determination year after year since then improved - without a sponsor or patron behind him, but completely on his own in his family business.

If he were a soccer player and not a chef, his skills would be comparable to those of a Lionel Messi, said Ralf Flinkenflügel, the editor-in-chief of the Guide Michelin Germany, to the FAZ. He cooks at a world-class level, his style is expressive and full of finesse, with his outstanding talent he prepares memorable experiences for guests.

At Wissler, on the other hand, according to Flinkenflügel, Michelin has noticed a continuous drop in quality and a dissipation in the kitchen style, which ultimately led to the loss of the third star.

Flinkenflügel leaves no doubt as to how much he regrets this and how urgently he hopes that Wissler will soon return to the circle of the very best German chefs.

In addition to Schanz, as in previous years, this illustrious round of table consists of Torsten Michel ("Schwarzwaldstube", Baiersbronn), Claus-Peter Lumpp ("Bareiss", Baiersbronn), Christian Bau ("Victor's Fine Dining", Perl), Marco Müller ("Rutz" , Berlin), Kevin Fehling (“The Table”, Hamburg), Christian Jürgens (“Überfahrt”, Rottach-Egern), Clemens Rambichler (“Waldhotel Sonnora”, Dreis) and Sven Elverfeld (“Aqua”, Wolfsburg).

Of the eight new restaurants with two stars, three are in Munich alone, and all three chefs earned their awards from scratch just a few months after taking up their duties: Tohru Nakamura in the “Schreiberei”, Anton Gschwendtner in the “Atelier” and Benjamin Chmura in "Tantris".

The other new additions to the two-star chain are Essenz in Grassau, 100/200 Kitchen in Hamburg, etz in Nuremberg, Louis in Saarlouis and the Speisemeisterei in Stuttgart.

They are all located in the western part of the country.

East Germany thus remains a diaspora in top gastronomy - the Michelin Guide 2022 only awarded two stars to the new federal states, for the "Speiseberg" in Halle and the "Alte Überfahrt" in Werder an der Havel.

A gender drama is still the low presence of women among the top chefs.

Sigi Schelling from the "Werneckhof" in Munich, who cooked up a star right away, confirms the rule as an excellent exception.

But one can console oneself with the certainty that top German cuisine is more diverse than ever.

It ranges from excellent Japanese restaurants with a Michelin star, such as the "Masa Japanese Cuisine" in Frankfurt, to houses with virtuoso avant-garde cuisine such as the "Votum" in Hanover, to bars with a classic regional style such as the "Schwarzer Hahn" in Deidesheim.

The pandemic has brought to light a beautiful paradox that is reassuring for every gourmet: it has not become the gravedigger of top gastronomy, but a kind of fountain of youth, even though the restaurants were closed for months.

Many chefs have used the lockdown period to rethink their kitchen styles and, also due to the lack of staff, to say goodbye to superfluous elements on the plates, says Ralf Flinkenflügel.

Cooking is now less technical, but more straightforward and concentrated, and the guests are more interested than ever in excellent cuisine, often filling the restaurants to the last seat and willingly spending a lot of money for this pleasure.

This is an insight that gives hope.

Now all that remains is to hope that the earth will continue to rotate for a while longer.