Culinary Ah-Experience

Alexander Herrmann’s culinary home and workplace is the Posthotel in Wirsberg, Bavaria. The hotel has been family-owned since 1869, now it is already the fifth generation of the Herrmann family in charge. Alexander Herrmann decided quite early on to continue this tradition and learn the trade of cooking. He attended the Bavaria Altötting hotel management school and then completed an apprenticeship. He gained experience in the Michelin-starred restaurants Schweizer Stuben under head chef Fritz Schilling, Scholteshof in Belgium and Karl Ederer’s Glockenbach in Munich. In 1994 he passed the examination for his German master chef certificate top of his class, before finally returning home in 1995 and taking over the helm at the family-owned Posthotel Wirsberg.

Soon he is accepted into the circle of the renowned Jeunes Restaurateurs – an international association of young top chefs – and from 2007 to 2010 even serves as president of the German section. Over the years, the Upper Franconian gradually expands his sphere of activity. In addition to the hotel and the Restaurant Alexander Herrmann, AH-Das Bistro and a cooking school complement the cosmos of enjoyment in Wirsberg. Furthermore, the multi-tasker runs another two restaurants in Nuremberg: Imperial and Fränk‘ness.

In 2008, the legendary Michelin Guide awards Alexander Herrmann’s gourmet cuisine one of its coveted stars. The following year, Tobias Bätz joins the team of Posthotel Wirsberg as head chef, striving to defend the outstanding success. He shares Alexander Herrmann’s philosophy:

The culinary duo presents a cuisine they call “fine dining in Franconian” – unique, without airs and graces and always with the right pinch of serenity and humour. Regionality is important to them – but off the beaten track. The two full-blooded chefs have built up a network of around 60 farmers in the region from whom they also source produce that at first glance is not typical of the Franconian region. Supposedly exotic ingredients from regional cultivation open up almost limitless culinary possibilities. The success proves their approach right. In 2019, the Michelin Guide rewards the work and creations of the two top chefs with a second star. Their fruitful collaboration is now also reflected in a new name: Restaurant Alexander Herrmann by Tobias Bätz. Gault Millau awards 17 points to the gourmet cuisine of the well-coordinated team.

In addition to his restaurants, Alexander Herrmann also plays at other culinary venues. The 50-year-old has already published several cookbooks and regularly appears as a guest chef or judge in successful TV cooking shows such as Kitchen Impossible, The Taste, Kochduell or Topfgeldjäger, where his humour and likeable dialect quickly became his trademarks.

In October 2021, Franconian will be spoken in the kitchen of Restaurant Ikarus when it comes to perfectly staging the menu of Alexander Herrmann and Tobias Bätz. Contrasts will play a major role – the delicate play with textures, products and visual presentation. The “Off – OhneFischFleisch” (no fish, no meat) concept will also be integrated into the menu with relish, imagination and aroma. Look forward to a graceful cuisine, but without airs and graces – to a true culinary AH-experience!