"Seven Swans" hopelessly fully booked: Ricky Saward is the only vegan star chef in Germany
Created: 01/11/2022, 15:50
By: Eric Sharp
Star chef Ricky Saward gets the maximum out of the ingredients, even without spices.
Arne Dedert/dpa (3) © Arne Dedert/dpa
The "Seven Swans" not only offers a view of the Frankfurt Main bank, the dishes are prepared by the only vegan star chef in Germany.
Frankfurt – Guests will look in vain for sweetbreads and quail eggs on their plates at the “Seven Swans”.
Because the restaurant with a view of Frankfurt's Mainufer only serves vegetables - but not just any kind.
At the stove is the only vegan star chef in Germany, Ricky Saward.
The kitchen of the 33-year-old is very far away from tofu sausages or other substitute products, as reported by fnp.de.
Vegan is not the only maxim that the "Seven Swans" has set for itself.
Saward also only uses regional products, the only exception being salt from Berchtesgaden, as he says.
The restaurant has been vegan and therefore completely free of animal products since 2019, before it was vegetarian.
He was breaking new ground, and until then, vegetables were more of a side dish for him, says the chef, who has been awarded a Michelin star.
Frankfurt: "Seven Swans" offers "a pure, creative and complex vegetable cuisine"
Now he creates dishes in which there is not only no meat and no fish, but also no avocados, no cocoa, no lemons - and, apart from salt, no spices.
A course consists of a maximum of two to three components, which Saward wants to get the most out of.
The aim is “a pure, creative and complex vegetable cuisine”.
It is dried, grilled, smoked, fermented and powdered.
For example, he puts a carrot in front of him and looks at the roots, the skin, the green, the juice and the consistency, Saward reports about his brainstorming.
The ingredients come from permaculture.
In addition, Saward collects water pepper, taps birch water, picks wild cherries, herbs and blossoms.
The goal: to show his guests that a wealth of taste is practically waiting on their doorstep.
Frankfurt: "Seven Swans" is fully booked until July next year
The "Seven Swans" is fully booked until July next year.
A menu with 15 dishes costs 169 euros, 59 for the accompanying wine.
A maximum of 16 guests can be seated in the restaurant.
The decor is minimalist.
There are no tablecloths, the crockery is self-designed.
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Guests are mostly young, between 25 and 35, Saward says.
In the meantime, it very rarely happens that someone is surprised by the vegan concept.
Once he observed a man who secretly pulled sausages out of his pocket and bit into them.
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Frankfurt: Chef Ricky Saward wants to make a difference with vegan options
Saward is now vegan himself.
There are rare exceptions, such as when he eats with a colleague.
At home we have pasta or just a salad.
"Back to fish and meat, I probably won't be able to do that for the rest of my life, I've decided on a clear direction and I'm staying true to it," says the 33-year-old.
Everyone can decide for themselves what they eat.
He associates animal welfare and sustainability with vegan nutrition.
If less meat was eaten in general, that would be a big step.
"You just have to deal with it and look reality in the eye," says Saward, also with a view to the climate crisis.
But he has no desire to go on a mission.
If a guest stands up and says they recommended the menu as an enrichment, they are satisfied.
“I try to make an impact and change something,” says the chef.
He also wants to be an inspiration for young chefs.
(Isabell Scheuplein/dpa)
Frankfurt holds a top position in the Germany-wide gastronomy ranking.