Shanghai newcomer Ansgar Schlemmer has worked in a variety of kitchens, from the Savoy Hotel in London to the Kempinski Airport Hotel in Munich. Now, as executive chef for Kaefer by the Binjiang One, he discusses crazy Sweet 16 parties, staying calm in the kitchen and getting “back to basics.”
Why did you decide to go into cooking?
I decided as a little boy. I helped my mom around the kitchen and loved it. Also, my surname ‘Schlemmer’ means ‘enjoy your food’ in German. So it was destiny.
You worked at the Kempinski Airport Hotel for five years, what was that like?
It was different from other hotels. There were no casual guests; most of them were coming in for one day on business. That meant we really focused on things like breakfast and business luncheons. The other really interesting thing was the flight layovers. Within half an hour you could have 300 people walking into the hotel, which meant you had a half an hour to prepare a buffet. For a regular airline, this could just mean simple sandwiches and drinks. But if the airline was like, Lufthansa, you had to prepare a whole buffet in that same time frame.
What do you think is the most over-hyped luxury ingredient you’ve worked with?
Wagyu beef. If you eat Wagyu beef raw, there’s not a big difference to other good beef. It’s fine but it’s not my favorite. I’ve never tried the real Kobe from Japan though, which might be a bit different. But I like all the other luxurious stuff like lobster, caviar, foie gras…
You source a lot of your vegetables locally. What are your favorite Chinese ingredients?
We don’t use real Chinese ingredients from Chinese cuisine. We don’t do fusion here. But you do get really nice mushrooms, often nicer than in Germany.
How do you feel about fusion cuisine?
It’s popular. I like to eat the stuff because the different combinations are interesting. But it’s not my style. It’s nice, but it’s trendy.
Your own menu is described as Modern European cuisine, what does that entail?
For me, it’s very simple. You use European or European-quality products. You have good quality on the plate. You produce the dish in the right culinary manner. It’s the old French cuisine with all the old dishes, but lighter - not too heavy or fatty. It’s more like back to basics.
Have you found a difference between European and Shanghainese palates?
I’ve had to reduce salt a bit. When I salt dishes, it’s too much for Chinese tastes.
What is the craziest event you’ve ever cooked for?
It has to have been at the Savoy. It was a birthday for a 14-year-old girl, and it was exactly like that MTV show Sweet 16. The menu wasn’t weird; it was more the whole event. There was a boy band there singing and they had Alice in Wonderland in one corner and Disney characters in another. It was a really expensive event. In total there were like 350 people there, plus all the actors and the boy band and the security teams. I think it was for a celebrity. We never did get the real name of the customers though, so I don’t know which one.
Do you have a secret to dealing with pressure in the kitchen?
I always keep cool when we get busy. I learned this in my career as a chef and as a manager. I’m actually very, very quiet.
Worked under any crazy chefs?
No, not really. Nothing like Gordon Ramsey on TV. Maybe my head chef at the Kempinski. He was like the Duracell bunny.
Tell us about a big mistake you’ve made in the kitchen…
There’s only one that stands out. I was making the soup of the day and I used sugar instead of the salt by accident! This was a really famous hotel in my area, I was 16 and it was the first week of my apprenticeship. I was very scared.
What happened?
Nobody noticed actually. I knew as soon as I tasted it, but my chef didn’t try the soup so he never found out. But it was my dream to work in this hotel, and I had made such a mistake! Every other error since then has been very small.
What’s the weirdest food you’ve ever eaten?
A lot of really exotic meats like alligator, snake, zebra and camel hump.
Camel hump?
That was during a special buffet for Egyptian guests. I didn’t cook it though, that was up to the specialists. I just tried it. It wasn’t my favorite.
Any guilty pleasures when it comes to food?
I like desserts. I think the dessert is the final business card of the chef. Plus, I’m such a sweet person! I like ice creams like a good vanilla with hot raspberry sauce. It’s perfect. I don’t need big, weird stuff. At the end of the day, I need only sugar.
If you were cooking a romantic dinner, what would be on the menu?
It’s would have a lot of aphrodisiac ingredients like vanilla, chili and artichoke. But the most important thing is that all the dishes are shared.
Listing for Kaefer by the Binjiang One
