Press release

A culinary memory for the future: SLUB and TU Dresden adds unique documentations of taste from the pinnacle of culinary art to the German Archive of Culinary Arts

How can taste be recorded? How will we know in 100 years what the "Gefüllte Kalbsbrust" (stuffed veal breast), prepared by the executive chef of the hotel "Bareiss", tasted like, or what complex thoughts three-star chef Jan Hartwig had about his creations? In order to create a culinary memory of the period from 1970 to the present day, the Saxon State and University Library Dresden (SLUB) and Dresden University of Technology have joined forces with food critic Jürgen Dollase to launch an unprecedented series of documentations of taste.

On October 23, 2023, Jürgen Dollase handed over the first five documentations to the German Archive of Culinary Arts in Dresden in the presence of top chefs Jan Hartwig***, Claus-Peter Lumpp***, Eric Menchon**, Oliver Steffensky and Michael Sauter. Thanks to the funding of the Christian C.D. Ludwig Foundation, high-class culinary creations and dishes typical of the time of these chefs will be documented so precisely that their preparation and gustatory perception can be reconstructed comprehensibly by later generations.

"The enjoyment of a superbly prepared meal is, unfortunately, a fleeting affair. We smell, we taste for the moment." Jürgen Dollase's idea of precisely documenting and thus recording the fleeting event of tasting and the exact preparation, the selection of products, as well as the historical, regional, and personal context of a dish convinced us immediately," says Katrin Stump, Director General of SLUB Dresden. “The documentations of taste are an enrichment for the German Archive of Culinary Arts and offer scholars unique sources for the study of German culinary arts of the late 20th and early 21st centuries."

Prof. Dr. Ursula Staudinger, Rector of TU Dresden, comments:  "With the launch of Jürgen Dollase's unique documentation of tastes, we are taking the next step in the development of the German Archive of Culinary Arts together with the SLUB. The documentation of tastes allows for a new kind of "archiving" that will enable future generations to better explore and relive the respective creations. In the future, we hope to add other scientific forms of recording the experience of taste to these documentations."

Christian C.D. Ludwig for the Christian C.D. Ludwig – Foundation: "The collaboration with Jürgen Dollase is to be expanded and deepened over the next years. I hope that my foundation can continue to be active in promoting and preserving the culinary knowledge of top chefs together with a critical spirit."

Initially, Jürgen Dollase created five documentations around outstanding and dishes typical of their time from the top of very different branches of the culinary arts for the German Archive of Culinary Arts:

  • Lamm  von der Älbler Wacholderheide (Lamb from the Älbler juniper heath) created by Claus-Peter Lumpp***, Restaurant Bareiss at Hotel Bareiss, Baiersbronn
  • Details and additional information about 76 recipes fromthe book "JAN" by Jan Hartwig***, Restaurant JAN, Munich
  • Breton red mullet grilled on charcoal, served with:
    Champagne fennel sauce and mojito-style lemon gel, couscous millet with orange blossom water, horseradish crème and bottarga of mullet, langoustine mousse, Sicilian caponata, Parmesan chip, polenta and ricotta, cider and trout caviar created by Eric Menchon**, Le Moissonnier, Cologne
  • "Sole meunière" created by Michael Sauter, Fischereihafen Restaurant, Hamburg
  • Stuffed breast of veal "Baden style," root vegetables, veal cream sauce, created by Oliver Steffensky, Executive chef at Hotel Bareiss, Baiersbronn

The documentations include detailed step-by-step instructions for preparing and serving the culinary creations, tasting notes, comparisons and discussions of examples from national and international cookbooks, as well as summary ratings and classifications. In addition, Jürgen Dollase has conducted in-depth interviews with all the chefs, which are also part of the documentation.

Jürgen Dollase states:  "Based on the insight that we have almost no idea what the mostly barely documented dishes of earlier times tasted like, and from the realization that today authentic taste is increasingly being altered, overlaid or even already replaced by industrial products such as products from parts of the catering industry, I have tried to develop a system for documenting culinary excellence in very different areas of the culinary arts. These documentations should make it possible, now and especially in the future, to practically reproduce and comprehend in a gustatory way the taste of outstanding creations of our time."

Jürgen Dollase is considered one of the most important food critics in Germany and has been publishing culinary texts and gastronomy reviews since 1999. Born in Oberhausen in 1948, he first studied art, music and philosophy at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf (Art Academy) and later in Cologne. From 1971 to 1983 he was the head and keyboardist of the art rock band Wallenstein. Not until he was 35, and with the help of his wife, did he come to enjoy finer food and cooking, which he explored with increasing intensity in the years that followed. His texts in magazines, newspapers, and journals such as FAZ (since 1999), Feinschmecker, Kunstzeitung, Port Culinaire, his blog "Eat-Drink-Think", as well as his essays and books - most notably "Geschmacksschule" ("School of Taste") - have become standard works of food and gastronomy criticism, theory and practice of cooking and eating.

For more information on the German Archive of Culinary Arts, please visit www.archivderkulinarik.de.

You can download free-to-use press images from the October 23, 2023 presentation and from the documented dishes here: www.slubdd.de/pressebildergeschmack

 

Contact
Thomas Stern
Head of Unit - Manuscripts and Rare Prints at the SLUB Dresden
Tel.: +49 351 4677-510
Email: Thomas.Stern@slub-dresden.de

Annemarie Grohmann
SLUB Dresden Press Officer
Tel: +49 351 4677-342
Email: Annemarie.Grohmann@slub-dresden.de

 

The Saxon State Library – Dresden State and University Library (SLUB Dresden) and TUD Dresden University of Technology founded the German Archive of Culinary Arts at SLUB Dresden on October 10, 2022. The extensive culinary publications collection including manuscripts, books and journals as well as menu cards, commercial graphics, photographs and audiovisual media is one of the most significant of its kind in Germany. Its highlights include the collections of Ernst Birsner, Walter Putz and Wolfram Siebeck. It forms the basis for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research in the humanities, cultural studies and natural sciences regarding culinary art, table culture and nutritional science and their impact on culture and society over the ages, as already successfully established at TUD. SLUB and TUD invigorate the scientific and societal discourse related to nutrition and culinary arts by organizing events, exhibitions, participatory formats, and publications, thus establishing the German Archive of Culinary Arts as a pivotal player in research, teaching, and the transfer of knowledge to society.

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