"In April, together with a good friend, I visited the “Gourmet Department” of the “Krone” in the tobacco village Hayna near Herxheim for the first time. The generic brand known far beyond the borders of the Palatinate has always been at the top of my “to-eat list” and as “real Herxheimer Kenner” one should have been there. We would say: “I have to go with mere chin.” The “Crone” is also a very popular hotel address and can be referred to as one of the most important institutions of the upscale Palatinate cuisine. The owner of the “crown” enjoys a supra-regional level of the public. It is a star chef Karl-Emil Kuntz, who has received high ratings for his gourmet cuisine for decades in all restaurant guides and has already made many statesmen from George W. Bush, Jacques Chirac to Helmut Kohl. In his second restaurant, the so-called "Pfälzer Stube" there is something more casual. Kuntz is increasingly dedicated to an ambitious regional cuisine without saving quality and aspiration. The Haynaer “Krone” is a real family business. Their roots go back to 1908 when the grandparents Augustin and Katharina Kuntz have managed a village economy and the largest court Hayna. After the reconstruction in 1960 (a fire had attacked the property, the parents of Karl-Emil Kuntz took over the operation and put more and more on gastronomy. When in 1982 the son of Karl-Emil, after a cooking training with Bravour, his wife Martina, who is self-learning hotel expert, entered the parental institution, there was a two-part: with the gourmet restaurant and the "Pfälzer Stube" two locals were now accommodated under one roof. In 1986, Michelin-Stern, who had many more awards and the expansion of the “crown” came to an impressive estate with 66 rooms and all comforts. We were the first on Thursday night and were warmly welcomed by the Service Brigade. The dining room for the visitors of the gourmet restaurant looks like a noble separée that immediately lets you forget the stress and the hectic of everyday life. The focus is on the arrival and well-being of the guests. Behave music from the speakers, warm candlelight paired with pleasant indirect lighting. Decorative art on the walls, a classic elegant cover of the tables (of course with fabric napkins and silver shiny coasters as well as comfortably upholstered armchairs in Baroque look. The whole plant radiated a wonderfully dense atmosphere that we could not escape. We were curious, how starved Michelin testers, the treats would enchant the marathon man Kuntz today on the plates. For technical reasons and given the fact that we will certainly enjoy a good bottle of red wine on the menu for this special food, I have practiced to reproduce an aperitif. The alcohol-free aperos are honestly not my thing. To get a good insight into the Kuntz cuisine, my colleague ordered the large tasting menu (8 courses plus a whole range of culinary “Gaumenkitzler” as an amuse and sweet snacks afterwards for 124 euros, while I had the small “joyed” (for 116 euros). What is “small”? The “Lightversion” was only a small gear and had on the front in the form of numerous (it was approx. 8, if I am really mindful!!! Amuse taps, which were gradually served on small plates. A true pleasure ride that comes across us before the first appetizer. The Turkish choir with avocado and curry gamberoni made the beginning. It followed a mini-North-Sea-Cabburger, a chorizo muffin with pepper fresh cheese and a small piece of pickled beef with pumpernickel and red wine shading. The aromatic spices of the smoker aal went into an exciting aroma composition with the acidic cucumber and the salty fly fish caviar. On the other hand, the Nori Lachssushi with tapioka vinaigrette gave fresh taste accents. In addition to a glass with finely spiced cappuccino from the parsley root, there was a mini-saumagen on creamy herb, an absolute amuse classic from “Krone”-Wirt Kuntz. Here you can see that the Mastro seems to have grown up with Palatinate dishes, because he knows the traditional wort and keeps his basic structure with every sophistication. Well, so far these were all greetings from the kitchen and every little thing stimulated our taste friends in a wonderful way. “Let the menu begin!” The beginning made a perfectly dressed plate with all kinds of quail. Kross-fried Wachtelbrust, a small club in crispy panade, a role with Watchtelleber, which was processed into a kind of farce, a mini-brosche filled with delicately spiced “Wachtelslein”, as well as a Guardian mirror were accompanied by Walldorfsalat and Mandarine-Tupfern congenially. It's a first step where everything was right. A dish that can undoubtedly be understood as a German adaptation of the Nouvelle Cuisine and in which a basic product (wax, which has been placed on the plate in different textures, produces a complex taste whose individual parts are related to each other. Why such an avancated kitchen “only” deserves a star, probably only the Michelin testers know. Gang 2 approached. An imperial grenade rolling in Pancomeal, the really tasty “granate mode”, throne on an escape Vitello Tonnato variant, a kind of tuna cream in the calf bowl and an acidic and fruity tomato gel, which in turn on crispy Thai-Pagel. Wow! Now I had to take a walk because my colleague had one more for his big tasting star. I already saw a little jealous of his pink fried pigeon, which was a real eye-catcher with trumpet mushrooms, Vadouvan (Pfeffersack Sauce and Crème de Cassis). My third “strong” was a piece of screed that was perfectly fried on the skin (winter cadry, which was on smoked apple marks, and a fine connection, along with the bloodworm and the lynge vegetables. This court was also extremely successful. Apple and blood sausage are always a good combination. And the fish was a sensational product quality. It went in round four that gave the main course. A lamina baked in the bread biscuit à Point, in which the clear meat taste was in the foreground, lay on an oriental-Mediterranean bow made of couscous, oven paprika and poweraden (Artichoke type). Here Kuntz has really used very best material and thus the main course of the worthy tip of the menu. Time for culinary baptism created a glass of champagne bowl, refreshment with sea buckthorn and buttermilk. The jelly and mousse of apple, mint and coriander came as a Pré dessert and agreed the deconstructed Caipirinha à la Karl-Emil Kuntz, which was the actual dessert of the menu. From the point of view, this dessert – just like the Rhabarber-Butterkeks landscape my colleague had – was a real eyewitness. A wonderful lime freshness shaped this elaborate dessert composition, consisting of a cake slice, a sorbet, a truffle chocolate, a foam and a glass of caipirinha cocktail. In short, a spring dessert that awakens feelings. The sweet nasty (homemade truffles finished at the end of our marathon menus and let us pappsatt and pull very happy from then. A few more words to the service. It is attentive to a star place, but never intrusive. We felt very well and very well served and advised. The friendly Sommelière brought us the 5cm thick wine Bible, in which the whole Palat Who-is-who was represented. All known wineries and some underdogs are located in this encyclopedia. There are also many French, Italian and Spanish drops to discover. We chose a red wine from the Palatinate this evening, namely the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon “Kirchenstück” from the Stachel winery from the Maikammer (48 euros the bottle). A dream of a Cabernet with a wonderfully integrated wood note and neat volume behind it. Nevertheless, it is not plump or badly loaded, but velvety and rich in fines. Only to my lamb main course, this “Super-Pfälzer” made a formidable figure. Finally, note that both menus were really worth their money. There was no single weak point. This perfectly prepared menu sequence just swallowed my language. So much that I could not even write about this culinary experience. Last time I sat with my GG colleagues, who are known here under the name “Durationesser”, with the star chef Norbert Dobler and told him about my Gastro highlight 2015 in the crown, I was thrilled to write this review (a good half year later). She's a little longer and you need to read a little more time. But this fits the menu of Karl-Emil Kuntz and his team we enjoyed on April night."
