Oversum VELTINS Lounge
The best place to linger in the OVERSUM is in the VELTINS Lounge with a fresh pilsner.
First things first: no, there is no egg in today's gastronomy story - even though the architecturally striking exterior of the Oversum Vital Resort would certainly suggest this. Head chef Christoph Kuhs took us into his realm, where delicacies large and small are prepared for the hotel restaurant, the "Veltins Lounge" and the bistro in the hotel's adjoining wellness area.
Opened in 2012, the Oversum Vital Resort with 76 rooms, a sauna, swimming pool and spa area covering 3,000 square meters as well as rooms for large conferences and celebrations is a conference and wellness hotel with international guests. According to Christoph Kuhs, the cuisine also focuses on this: down-to-earth with regional ingredients and an international touch. He has been head chef here since February 2017.
While he grates white cabbage for the day's four-course à la carte menu, cuts roast beef into thumb-thick slices and decoratively arranges the dessert on slate plates, he explains how he got into cooking. The desire and a lot of basic knowledge came from his grandmother. The 36-year-old then trained at the Alte Klosterschänke in Chorin near Berlin. From Chorin, Christoph Kuhs went to a Bavarian brewery. After further stations - including at Andechser, the Bundeswehr, in Switzerland and Austria and on the Kahler Asten - he learned in South Tyrol via the Winterberg Köche-Stammtisch that there was a need for good chefs in Hochsauerland. That was almost seven years ago. At the Oversum Vital Resort, he now manages a staff of twelve in the kitchen, with a further ten employees working in service.
Meanwhile, sous-chef Ralph is frying salmon and preparing Jackson potatoes for gratinating. The Dutchman's surname is van Drogen - but the name is not his program, as he laughingly assures us. There is a lot of laughter in the kitchen, the atmosphere is relaxed, although every handshake has to be right. This is because at large events, which are not uncommon in the congress hall, which can hold up to 700 people, several hundred guests have to be fed in a very short space of time.
It's much quieter today. A business conference group is here for lunch, as well as several hotel guests and a few locals. The restaurant in the basement seats up to 120 people plus an outdoor terrace when the weather is nice. There is also the "Veltins Lounge" next to the reception in the entrance area, where the regularly changing four-course menu as well as all other small and large dishes from the menu are served, with another 50 seats.
The restaurant continues the hotel's unusual architecture. The leather-covered armchairs and upholstered benches are inviting. The spacious, long room is divided by light organza curtains that can be pulled aside with just a few handles. An interesting idea to visually reduce the size of the room if required or to use its full size! Exciting contrasts in the otherwise very modern style are the nostalgic photo canvases with typical Winterberg landscape and sports motifs.
Fanny Grüning and Dorothee Schütte serve the guests' plates and drinks with practiced handles, have an open ear for special requests and also have a tip or two for things to do in the area.
For dessert, there is a change of scenery in the "Veltins Lounge" one floor up. Dimmed lighting, cozy plush armchairs and Art Nouveau-style sofas at low tables, a long bar - you can linger here 24 hours a day, seven days a week, longer than anywhere else in Winterberg. And here, too, the clientele is very diverse: a group of young mothers and their toddlers indulge in delicious waffles with cream and hot cherries, two hikers fortify themselves after their tour by the open fire with a roasted whitefish and a beef roulade as well as a mug of freshly tapped Grevenstein country beer. A woman sits at the window with her laptop, concentrating on her work, a glass of latte macchiato next to her. The elegant, leather-bound menu also promises a surprisingly large number of beers, spirits and cocktails - it's a shame that it's only afternoon. Because bar manager Jörg Sygulla is also famous beyond the Oversum for his colorful creations from the mixing cup. His special recommendation: Oversum Strawberry Daiquiri with strawberries, Bacardi and lime juice. Instead, a coffee flavor specialty - with a non-alcoholic shot in seven different flavors - is probably more suitable for the early hours of the day.
Christoph Kuhs comes by and asks if everything tasted good. What a question! His credo is: "Cooking has a lot in common with art. Picasso and Michelangelo could both paint. But who is better is ultimately decided by the taste of the beholder."
Perhaps you can also let a completely objective voice speak, for example from the reviews of the Oversum Vital Resort: " Excellent hotel. Well-maintained wellness facilities. Restaurant offers unusual dishes that are very tasty in a pleasant atmosphere."
Text: Rita Maurer
Photography: Steffi Rost
Video: Jannik Fischbach