“I wanted to tell my story, my DNA, where I went to get there. And also all the past of Kasbuer , this great adventure started by my great-grandparents. I wanted to leave this mark, ”explains Yves Kieffer.
The opportunity also to mark the occasion of 20 years of Kasbür , (re) opened in 1999 with his wife Béatrice, whom he never forgets to mention and thank for her commitment to his side. But still to pay homage to his great-grandmother Marie-Jeanne, the one who was at the origin of the affair by opening, a few hundred meters from the “Kasbürhof” (literally, the farmer’s house) of the great-grandfather Joseph, the restaurant initially called “Bellevue”, on the edge of the D421 which connects Saverne to Hochfelden.
A great human adventure
Yves Kieffer’s grandmother, Marlyse, will keep the restaurant for a few years, before closing in 1978. The Kasbür will remain dormant until Yves – supported by his wife Béatrice – takes over the reins. 1999, after a training course in beautiful houses such as La Tour d’Argent, the kitchens of the Hotel Matignon, the Hotel Cosmos in Contrexéville or with the three-star Marc Meneau, who recently passed away.
The administrative hassles, the various developments, the arrival of the star in 2013 – learned through the surprise visit of a journalist and a photographer from DNA ! – then the dramatic collapse of the restaurant wall the same year, the hopes, the anxieties and the consecrations, until the recent confinement and the need to reinvent oneself , the book tells with sensitivity and emotion this beautiful gourmet adventure, enthusiastic, but above all human.
More than 40 recipes classified by seasons
The book is also an opportunity to learn the secrets of the chef’s best dishes, throughout the seasons. For each of them, Yves Kieffer offers an aperitif, an appetizer, two starters, two fish, two meats, two desserts and a mignardise. Modern recipes, “which evolve regularly and are intended for both amateurs and professionals”, emphasizes the chef. As well as some emblematic dishes of the house, permanently on the menu, such as wild Madagascar prawns wrapped in peasant bacon, wasabi sauce, passion fruit, warm avocados and arugula salad; the traditional Kasbür-style pike perch, with its scallop mousseline, learned at the Tour d’Argent; or the Picon beer, orange marmalade, ice cream and Meteor-style spoom.
Yves Kieffer does not forget to mention his teams of yesterday and today as well as his loyal suppliers, like the chocolatier Jacques Bockel, the market gardener Marthe Kehren, the butcher Patrick Janes or the pastry and baker Christian Boistelle.
Gourmet seasons – Yves Kieffer invites you to his table , texts by Maurice Roeckel and photos by Karine Faby, éditions du Signe, 140 pages, € 20.
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