About Nils Henkel
An architect of gourmet cuisine with a natural intuition for fine trends
A new chapter has begun for three star cook Nils Henkel (40): The gourmet restaurant “Dieter Müller” has been re-named “Gourmet Restaurant Lerbach”. Nils Henkel already took over as Chef-de-Cuisine from Dieter Müller very successfully in February 2008.
The star chef is still closely tied to his mentor’s cooking style, but with Nils Henkel's new concept of "pure nature" he is setting his own new tone for the restaurant. He is “modernising” the gourmet kitchen of the Schlosshotel Lerbach and has brought in his own handwriting. In doing so, he makes use of the wide spectrum of available herbs and has a special liking for fish and seafood. His arrangements are a perfectly balanced interplay of various aromas and textures. The refined creations truly are like little works of art.
But despite the love of optical detail, "nature and naturalness" and the intrinsic flavours are Nils Henkel's top priorities at all times: “I wish to provide my guests with a maximum amount of quality as well as pure, genuine pleasure”, explains Nils Henkel.
“To take new paths and to reinvent myself in order to give guests a lasting gourmet experience” is how the passionate cook describes his professed aim. He has thus managed to do no less than to take the “Gourmet Restaurant Lerbach” to the forefront of the modern culinary art. Numerous awards such as by "Der Feinschmecker" (five points) and “Gault Millau” (18 points) are a clear appreciation of the pure, natural direction which he has taken.
Curriculum Vitae
Nils Henkel, born 1969 in Kiel, did not actually want to become a cook from the very beginning. At first, he preferred to take up an apprenticeship as a carpenter, after which he wanted to study architecture. However, after he had finished a rather less inspiring traineeship, he decided to take up his second passion of culinary art. “After a few days I was sure that cooking really was the right thing for me”, explains Nils Henkel.
He completed his training to become a cook between 1986 and 1989 in the “Vosshaus” in Eutin.
The passionate cook continued his career in “Le Jardin” and “Landhaus Scherrer” as well as in "Il Restaurante” as Chef-de-Partie and Demi-Chef in Hamburg.
He worked as Sous-Chef in the “Valkenhof” (Coesfeld) and “Averbeck’s Giebelhof” (Senden-Ottmarsbocholt).
From 1997 onwards he received his final polish in the Schlosshotel Lerbach in the Restaurant “Dieter Müller”, where he first had the position of Sous-Chef and later, in 2004, became Chef-de-Cuisine and Dieter Müller's deputy.
Nils Henkel became sole Chef-de-Cuisine in 2008 and has been hugely successful since then. In the year 2009 he was awarded the highest accolade for his astounding culinary works of art: a top rating of 3 stars in the Guide Michelin.
