Martin Klein gave up a job on a private island in the South Pacific to take up the opportunity to manage the Ikarus Restaurant at Hangar-7 in Salzburg, Austria as Executive Chef from January 2014.
For the management team led by patron Eckart Witzigmann, it was the first and logical choice. Not only because the native-born Alsatian made a name for himself in international haute cuisine a long time ago, but also because he is familiar with the guest chef concept like no other. After all, Klein was Chef de Cuisine at Ikarus Restaurant for nine years from 2003 until 2012. Add to this his childhood in Alsace, a family which has always valued good food, his training at the School of Hotel Management in Strasbourg or his rapid development at some of the best restaurants in Germany.
Klein’s culinary philosophy is product-conscious and honest. He greatly values fresh ingredients and shortcuts in the kitchen are inadmissible. The preparation of each individual dish should – and must – be difficult, according to Klein. Guests will be able to sample this each year in August when the Ikarus Team, and for once not a guest chef, takes control of their own kitchen during the Salzburg Festival.
Pictures © Helge Kirchberger, Gerald Rihar/Red Bull Hangar-7