AURA by Alexander Herrmann & Tobias Bätz

Memory set against the pass

Schäufele and dumpling sit behind the work of Tobias Bätz, Chef at AURA by Alexander Herrmann & Tobias Bätz in Wirsberg. He has led the kitchen since 2019, holding a station where Franconian ingredients meet technique without losing their first accent. Bätz speaks of the classic Sunday roast from childhood as a direct connection to his region, and of his grandmother’s schnitzel with sautéed potatoes and hollandaise sauce as a standard often copied and never reached. Those sentences matter because they give the kitchen its measure. Memory is not decoration here; it is a working reference.

Alexander Herrmann, Chef, owner and co-founder, gives the house its wider frame. His work in Wirsberg is tied to Franconian regional cuisine and to the Posthotel Alexander Herrmann, the family-run property behind the restaurant. Herrmann’s role extends beyond the pass into the rhythm of hospitality in the house, while Bätz brings the daily pressure of head-chef discipline to AURA. The partnership holds authorship and execution close together. One sets the line of regional conviction; the other sharpens it service by service.

ANIMA as the kitchen’s second bench

The technical center is the ANIMA Lab, where the kitchen uses fermentation, drying, maturing, pickling and smoking as part of the method. These are not flourishes added at the end of a plate. They let the kitchen stretch seasonality, concentrate flavor and keep local produce in motion after the first harvest or delivery. Franconian sourcing gives the work its ground, while international technique supplies pressure, contrast and finish.

The restaurant works with over 70 local producers, farmers and small-scale makers, a network that includes less expected regional partners such as a tropical greenhouse and a longhorn ranch. A dedicated food scout helps identify and develop ingredients before the kitchen moves them through the lab and onto the tasting menu. The structure can run through 4, 6 or 8 courses, with vegetarian and non-vegetarian paths. In a dish such as Zander mit Haxe, pike-perch meets pork knuckle broth, Bamberg Savoy cabbage, kale, pimientos, sriracha, garlic cream, brown butter notes and black lemon powder. The plate keeps one foot in local memory and one in controlled transformation.

The room while the method moves

The room is modern, formal and close to the action, with a composed elegance that suits a kitchen built on presentation as much as preparation. Chefs often carry dishes themselves, bringing the plate to the table with small cards that name ingredients and ANIMA processes. The gesture shortens the distance between the bench and the guest without turning the meal into theatre for its own sake. It lets the method remain visible.

At the pass, the work has a regional center of gravity: cabbage, fish, pork, preserves, smoke, broth, heat, acidity. AURA holds 2 Michelin stars and a Michelin Green Star, and local produce is moved through preservation, memory and finish until Wirsberg is legible in Zander mit Haxe.