New Opening with innovative Concept: Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa Gastronomy in LA 8
04-14-2009
"LA 8" - stands for the Lichtentaler Allee 8 building complex and the latest attraction in Baden-Baden. Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa bears the responsibility for the entire gastronomic concept there.
The LA 8 project, which includes the new Museum for Art and Technology of the 19th Century, is sponsored by the GRENKE Foundation. The complex provides Baden-Baden with a new attraction combining old and new, with the former having been completely renovated and the latter designed to merge in with the existing building in keeping with traditional lines.
Brenners at the LA 8
Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa is responsible for providing the catering facilities for an area of no less than 500 square metres, whose heart is the fundamentally "Rive Gauche" Bistro Restaurant which as been devised from the bottom up. In addition Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa has taken over the exclusive event management for two historic function rooms on the ground floor and on the second upper storey.
Frank Marrenbach, the Managing-Director of Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa, has this to say about his House's involvement: "One really has to work towards success in the future especially in difficult times, which is why the opening is taking place now at the proper point in time. I should like to express my thanks to the initiator, Wolfgang Grenke, who has made everything possible with his grandiose involvement".
"Rive Gauche": the Bistro Restaurant
"Rive Gauche", the restaurant on the left bank of the River Oos, offers young cuisine with front cooking in an exciting ambiente, Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 7 pm - during the hours the Museum is open. Inside the "Rive Gauche" there is room for 60 guests with a further 80 finding seats outside.
"It was our intention," Frank Marrenbach says, "to create a conception complementing the Brenner gastronomy. A restaurant with a new approach has been set up here".
The cuisine of the "Rive Gauche" offers innovative dishes, for example the 3 S Menu consisting of soup, sandwich and something sweet, which the guest can compile from the current range of choice available. In addition, there is a "Museum wine" from the Spanish Bodega "Museum Crianca" as well as 2 LA 8 House labels with a Riesling and a red wine cuvée from the Klumpp Winery in the Kraichgau. The prices correspond with those usually encountered in bistros when it comes to the Museum breakfasts with such attractive names like "Louvre", "MOMA" and "Guggenheim".
The Members of the Brenner Gastronomy Staff at the LA 8
Alexander Bosch is the manager of the Brenner gastronomy at LA 8. The trained chef studied tourism economics and tourism management and previously was engaged at Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa during 2006/07 as a trainee in the F & B sector (Food & Beverage/Gastronomy). He drew attention to himself through his commitment and perception so that Frank Marrenbach invited the young man - following a stay in Ireland - to become gastronomy manager in November 2008 charged with setting up and preparing for the opening of the LA 8 project.
Oliver Simmes is the head chef of the "Rive Gauche" restaurant, who returned to Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa in 2006, where he was sous-chef at the "Wintergarten" restaurant. The banqueting rooms will be catered for by the Brenner central kitchens under the direction of Executive Chef Rudolf Pellkofer; Brenner members of staff will be responsible for the cuisine and service for the banqueting rooms.
Altogether the Brenner gastronomy at LA 8 will provide twelve new jobs, with roughly half the staff moving from the Hotel to the other side of the River Oos, where they will find themselves faced with a new challenge and assure customary Brenner quality.
For Fests: Spiegelsaal and Kristallsaal
The Spiegelsaal and the Kristallsaal each accommodating 100 to 120 guests can be booked for exclusive social events with a gastronomic indulgence programme. Frank Marrenbach: "In this way we can offer our guests highly attractive facilities for elegant festivities in close proximity to our House with the customary Brenner service quality".
For exclusive Parties: Club Twenty One
Club Twenty One is located in the basement of the historic Palais and is reminiscent of the style adopted by Parisian bars. Here guests become immersed in a world, which starkly contrasts with the ambiente to be found elsewhere in the complex. The dance floor with disc jockey across from the Bar, ultra-modern music and light technology, the design so rich in ideas and the intimate club atmosphere assure exclusive evenings at an out of the ordinary venue. The series of black-and-white photographs by the artist Esther Hase dealing with the subject of Argentinian Tango form a tasteful pendant to the colours provided by the walls and furnishings.
The Design Concept
The character of the 19th century building has been retained thanks to the renovation work that commenced in 2007. In the 19th century for instance a Wintergarten or conservatory was en vogue and today too the landscape has been integrated in the concept.
Gräfin Douglas, who also takes charge of design within Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa, is responsible for the interior architecture for the gastronomic areas. The interior designer explains: "The "Rive Gauche" is intended to possess a certain light feeling as a bistro in contrast to the Brenner ambiente, which invites you to linger for a while. In this connection it has to exude warmth but provide a modern effect." As a consequence walls in khaki-cream colours, wooden floors as well as plain tables and lamps were chosen.
The central element is the chair in Louis XV style, which recalls the traditional manner of the furnishings. The fireplace and the stucco work have been retained as they originally were.
Two loans from the Frieder Burda Museum as well as the chance to browse through the exhibition catalogue here provide the link to the Museum Mile, in which the LA 8 is integrated
