Joachim Wissler

The Path

At Vendôme in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany, from 2000–2025, the Head Chef role has been the place where Joachim Wissler has steadily refined a style of cooking that favours clarity over noise. The result is a line of work that aims to let flavour arrive cleanly, with each element placed for a reason.

The Work Today

The current role at Vendôme is still Head Chef, and the cooking is framed by a simple brief from Wissler himself: “I want to express memories, experiences and imaginations that really excite me on the plates or dishes.” In practice, that puts the work on the page as a translation exercise: memory into form, experience into composition, imagination into something that can be served. In his kitchen, those collected impressions are treated as working material, not sentiment. They become part of how flavour, texture and balance are ordered on the plate.

Signature

Joachim's signature dishes include marmorated mascarpone-ravioli with parsley spinach, Calf, Crabs, Maccaron, and Stomach of Porc. The range points to a kitchen that holds refinement and substance in the same frame, with pairings that rely on precision and composure rather than volume. The names themselves suggest a chef working with contrast, but keeping the composition under control.

In Their Words “My claim is to work out the flavour of the product and to cook in a reasoned and pure way – every ingredient has to play a main part in the composition that I make.” “I want to express memories, experiences and imaginations that really excite me on the plates or dishes.”