Welcome Party at the former Villa Kennedy
On a mild May evening, we are on our way to Frankfurt. Following 2025, Frankfurt is once again hosting the Michelin Guide Ceremony this year. Around the awards ceremony, the city has created an exciting supporting program for food lovers. We managed to secure tickets for the Welcome Party and are heading to The Florentin – formerly known as Villa Kennedy – with great anticipation.
Since the end of 2025, The Florentin has also been home to the restaurant ‘the dune’, led by chef Niclas Nußbaumer – the youngest two-star chef in Germany and Chef of the Year 2024 – who relocated to Frankfurt for this opportunity. With this, our region has gained a very exciting new restaurant, one that I had been eager to visit ever since it opened.
The Welcome Party, part of the ‘Stars over Frankfurt’ event series, provided the perfect opportunity to sample Nußbaumer’s cuisine, alongside culinary creations from four other renowned Frankfurt chefs: André Großfeld (Villa Merton), Jochim Busch (Rausch, formerly Gustav), Tobias Wollscheid (Lafleur), and Anton de Bruyn (Emma Metzler).
As we enter The Florentin’s beautiful courtyard, we are immediately welcomed with a glass of sparkling Riesling wine from Eltville. The cooking stations are already set up, surrounded by standing tables, a few seating areas, and a small stage. The evening begins with a welcome speech and the official opening of the event series. To conclude the introductions, the five stars of the evening take the stage. We learn a little about their cooking styles and the dishes they have prepared before they head to their stations, accompanied by applause.
The guests waste no time forming lines at the various stations. We begin at André Großfeld’s stand, where we have the chance to watch the chef personally plate his dishes.
He has brought two creations: a classic bouillabaisse served with ciabatta and sauce rouille, and veal brisket with radishes and a stuffed egg. Accompanying the latter is a scoop of Vadouvan ice cream – the secret star of the dish, adding an exciting twist to this classic preparation. For anyone wondering what Vadouvan is: it is a French curry spice blend with roots in Indian masala curry.
It’s a flavorful start to the evening. Overall, we get exactly what Großfeld had promised beforehand: classic French cuisine.
Afterwards, we can no longer contain our curiosity and head straight to Niclas Nußbaumer’s ‘the dune’ station, where the chef personally hands us his creations.
Nußbaumer has also prepared one fish and one meat dish. The yellowtail mackerel is served with a sesame vinaigrette and topped with French radish. The gently cooked short rib comes with onion and white pepper, resting on a rich jus and covered with a thin slice of beef.
These are two dishes that sound classic on paper but taste modern and vibrant, clearly leaving us wanting more. In our minds, we’re already planning our visit to the dune.
Our next stop is Jochim Busch’s station. He describes the name of his restaurant, Rausch (“intoxication” or “ecstasy”), as a culinary state of mind. We are more than happy to indulge in that kind of intoxication. Busch has brought a fish dish and a vegetarian creation.
The ike-jime Arctic char with Frankfurt herbs and caramelized horseradish cream is, alongside Nußbaumer’s dishes, one of our highlights of the evening.
For those wondering whether ike-jime refers to a particular type of fish: ike-jime is a traditional Japanese method of dispatching fish as quickly as possible, reducing stress and thereby improving the quality of the flesh.
The vegetarian course initially looks like pasta but turns out to be steamed king oyster mushroom cut into strips, served with mountain cheese, fermented pepper, spinach, and roasted beech nuts. Another tasty and impressive dish.
In addition to the culinary delights, we are also exceptionally well supplied with drinks, all included in the ticket price. Alongside wine, beer, and soft drinks, there is a mocktail bar offering a variety of creative alcohol-free drinks. We opt for the Tokyo Spritz (lychee, yuzu, lime, egg white, sparkling water) and the Smooth Operator Spritz (guava, dragon fruit, lavender, lime juice, sparkling water).
After this refreshing break, we move on to the fourth and final savory station of the evening, hosted by Anton de Bruyn. Here, a vegetarian dish and a meat course await us.
In keeping with the season, grilled white asparagus is served on a cashew cream, garnished with rhubarb and freshly foraged elderflowers.
The second plate features confit pork belly from Biohof May, accompanied by turnips, Roman sorrel, and lemon verbena. The dish is completed with a thin air-dried slice of pork belly.
By now, dusk has settled over the courtyard, and we make our way to Tobias Wollscheid’s dessert station. Turns out we are just in time. For the strawberry and rhubarb dessert with Frankfurt herb espuma, some components had already run out.
Fortunately, the iced lemon tart with buffalo ricotta ice cream and shortbread crumble on an olive oil emulsion with basil broth was still complete. Without a doubt, it was my personal dessert highlight – not just of the evening.
To finish the night, we enjoy another round of mocktails under atmospheric lighting and candlelight. Just as we empty our glasses, the first raindrops signal that it is time to leave. Happy and satisfied, we begin our journey home after an enjoyable evening filled with exciting culinary impressions.
Final thoughts
A fantastic opening event for ‘Stars over Frankfurt’! The only minor drawback was the limited number of tables, which occasionally made it difficult to find a place to eat. From a culinary perspective, however, the evening left nothing to be desired. The samples from the dune in particular have only increased our anticipation for a full visit in the near future. We are already looking forward to the next Welcome Party in 2027!
Leave a Reply