14
again and again. I’ve recently just
tried out a new dish, for instance:
a basil waffl e with pine kernels and
Carabinero prawns, combined with
a prawn mayonnaise, basil cream,
and preserved lemons from Capri.
It was great – and became truly
magical when I discovered how
well it all works with olive broth!
FF: How do you learn to cook like you
do?
MF: I was never short on ambition,
energy, or – I guess – talent. What
is more, I throw myself into every-
thing I do because I love it. My
career started back when I was
nine and helped out in a pizzeria;
I soon became the chef – and that
had been my plan all along. Later
on, Eckart Witzigmann said to me
that I didn’t need a teacher because
I had enough talent to get my
Michelin star by myself. Hearing
that motivated me greatly.
FF: Bianc is the fi rst restaurant with
your name above the door. Why did
you decide to open up in Hamburg?
MF: Because this is where my investor
lives. We knew each other from
Dieter Koschina’s Vila Joya restaur-
ant on the Algarve, where he was a
regular during my nine-year
tenure as chef de cuisine. He made
me an off er: come to Hamburg
and you can fulfi l your dream of
having your own restaurant.
I came, saw the city – and saw my
future here, too.
FF: Don’t you miss the warm weather?
MF: I come from a very hot, sunny
part of the world; on the Algarve,
too, it can often get up to 40 or
42°C, and that makes the kitchen
absolutely unbearable. So actually,
I quite like the cold.
FF: Are you gunning for a second
Michelin star?
MF: A second? I want three! Every
chef on the planet wants three
Michelin stars – every last one.
And I’m no diff erent.
»Every chef on the planet wants three Michelin stars –
every last one. And I’m no diff erent.«
PORTRAIT
