Putting ideas on your plate
Johannes Zapf is the new Executive Chef at the Madison Hotel Hamburg
Red beet carpaccio, prawns on minted pea puree and coconut spume or a variety of heirloom tomatoes are now pairing up with tender steaks, aromatic wok vegetables, market-fresh fish, the best burgers and crisp salads. For the future gastronomic orientation of the restaurant at the Madison Hotel, owner Marlies Head was able to win over a new creative and quality-conscious Executive Chef. With his ingenuity, Johannes Zapf (32) will now be shaping the gastronomy of the Four Star Superior Hotel near Hamburg’s Landing Bridges. Thereby further developing the successful profile of Marley’s Restaurant which focuses mainly on Californian inspired cuisine and the versatile use of fresh, seasonal and light ingredients.
Long-stay guests enjoy the diversified dishes, travelers from around the world the international flair of the kitchen, business professionals especially appreciate the quick service at lunch and families the relaxed atmosphere at any time of day. Marley’s Restaurant is the culinary and communicative heart of the Madison.
»Because of the Madison’s central location between the harbor and the city center our restaurant is just as popular among the citizens of Hamburg as it is among our guests from around the world,« says Marlies Head. »Our kitchen is characteristic for the atmosphere of our hotel: it’s casual, light and fresh. This clarity is well-received by our guests. Now, we would like to show them how much potential and how many surprises we have in store for them. I am pleased to have Johannes Zapf at my side, who with his creativity, quality-consciousness and a dedicated team, will be serving our guests our classics as well as our new cuisine.«
Marley’s: Freshness, light ingredients and surprising culinary highlights
The 32 year-old Austrian Johannes Zapf, originally from Wartberg, Styria, trained as a cook and started work in the autumn of 1998 at the international caterer DO&CO, responsible for the Casino Baden near Vienna. He was then drawn from the Alps to the high seas and onto the cruise ship MS Europa, where he spent the next five years. In this time he gained experience at the various restaurants on board from entremetier to 1st cook and Sous Chef. Afterwards he went ashore in Hamburg and worked from 2005 to 2007 in the metropolis as Sous Chef or Executive Chef at various renowned restaurants (Rive, Momento di, Silo 16, Panetteria). Thereafter it was professional independence that intrigued him. This lead to working for Kofler & Kompanie, Raven, Empire Riverside, Hotel Hafen Hamburg and Gerresheim Serviert among others. Since July 1, 2011 he, as the new Executive Chef, has been responsible for the kitchen at the Madison Hotel with its 166 rooms, Marley’s restaurant, five conference rooms and the Bar.
»The character of the kitchen at the Madison with fresh, light ingredients of the highest quality and with Californian inspiration through vegetables, steak, fish and seafood will continue to be our main focus. This is the basis upon which we will create new dishes and imaginatively complement the menu with surprising highlights,« is how Johannes Zapf explains the future gastronomic orientation of the Madison cuisine. »To this end we will, for example, be combining flavors anew or incorporate innovative methods of preparation from molecular gastronomy. I am especially committed to using seasonal and regional products and thereby discovering once again traditional, but at the same time rare vegetable varieties, such as parsley root or black krim tomatoes. The presentation is also important: the colors must complement each other, ideas must be visible on the plate and appealingly presented to the guest.«
Madison: 700,000 euro invested, 83 percent occupancy
New dishes and the further development of the culinary classics can now be experienced at Marley’s. The popular restaurant will continue to contribute to the success of the Madison Hotel. Further, Marlies Head has invested 700,000 euro in constructional and technical improvements in the current fiscal year, for example in the renovation of the entire fourth floor, on which special business suites were created, in the renovation of the corner rooms and the suites as well as in new flat screen TVs, a new cooling system and a beverage station for the restaurant. The Madison has once again achieved an excellent occupancy rate of 83 percent and has also increased its earnings per room.
