For us, hospitality means much more than offering a room or cooking a meal. Rather, it is about evoking the feeling of being at home even when you are far away.
Because of this, we attract people with the same true, honest belief that running a restaurant is much more a matter of artistry than business. People who recognize and truly appreciate the many small details we put into our daily work to create an incredible and outstanding culinary experience and a deep and lasting connection to the region and its products.
After dedicating years and years to discovering, learning and improving our craft and with finally ending up in this small village surrounded by farms, orchards and vineyards, we have made it our mission to connect techniques and culture from all over the world with the unique flora and fauna of the Markgräflerland.
It was The Peat Inn*, a small restaurant in one of Scotland’s friendliest and most delightful towns, St Andrews, where Daniela and Brian first met. Two people from both ends of the world, both driven by the passion to dedicate their lives to one idea: to become extremely good at one thing – and a little bit better every day.
From there they continued their journey together and moved to Oslo’s world famous Maaemo *** for two exciting and instructive years, followed by La Vie *** in Osnabrück in Daniela’s homeland, Germany.
With a wealth of experience and accumulated knowledge, they finally decided to turn their common vision into reality and took over the restaurant and hotel Traube in Blansingen.
And there, in the middle of the pristine landscape of the Markgräflerland, things came full circle, because here Brian was able to realize what had driven him since the beginning of his career in the kitchen of chef Rod Butters in his homeland Canada: the idea of a strictly regional cuisine driven only by the changing seasons and inspired by the elements of fire, water, earth and air.
Our love for the region is visible through the products we use. We have a clear focus on Markgräflerland and refuse to import products from any corner of the world. By this, we cannot only help to conserve the partly centuries old tradition of agriculture and winegrowing, but also directly connect to the world around us. This deep respect for ingredients, profession and nature becomes the benchmark and guideline of our actions.
We cook spontaneously, with creativity, soul and intuition, sometimes slightly different from table to table. The tasting menu we serve is inspired by the elements, earth, air, water and fire, the staples of our kitchen. We employ qualities of these elements to define our cuisine and start our creative process.
Earth represents culture, our roots, the terroir of the region we live in. Air is purity, reflection and the idea of simplicity we try to give to every course. Water stands for the characteristics delicate, fragrant and refreshing. And last but not least fire, the element we connect with hunting, smoke and the idea of wildness.
In a framework formed by these characteristics, we create a menu consisting of six larger courses and additional smaller bites served before and after. The menu changes often – with the elements, the season, the products available this day and also with Brians mood or the weather – offering an engaging culinary experience that plays to multiple senses and emotions.