Words Imogen Smith

There is an obvious sense of pride in how Marc Haeberlin, the acclaimed Michelinstar chef and gastronomic stalwart describes his family’s business, L’Auberge de l’Ill: ‘I am the fourth generation of chefs working in the restaurant and we already have a few members of the fifth generation, including my niece and son-in-law who have joined the team.’

By today’s standards, this sounds like a remarkable feat for any business, but the unique family spirit is one of L’Auberge de l’Ill’s defining characteristics. It infiltrates every facet of the restaurant, from the service to the recipes, the likes of which include mousseline de grenouilles, made using the centuriesold French delicacy: frogs legs, and Pêche Haeberlin – a dessert that encapsulates the sweetest tastes of summer, created as an homage to Marc’s maternal grandmother.

Intertwined within the Haeberlin family tree, the original site of L’Auberge de l’Ill dates back 150 years, when Marc’s great-grandparents opened a village inn offering accommodation and delicious home-cooked meals, prepared by Marc’s great-grandmother. Flash forward to 1950, when Paul and Jean-Pierre Haeberlin joined forces to rebuild L’Auberge de l’Ill – a temple of gastronomic excellence, which would go on to win three Michelin stars and a very loyal following. ‘We have guests who come once a week who are the third generation of the family and have been regularly dining with us for 20–30 years’, describes Marc.

Stepping into the kitchen at an early age, Marc was ten years old when he first started helping his father: ‘What excited me was working with people who were practically the same age as me and I always enjoyed being in the kitchen environment’, says Marc, who effortlessly moves around the kitchen gathering garnishes and seasoning for the steamed vegetables he’s cooking in the Gaggenau Experience Centre. When he was 14, Marc announced to his father that he also wanted to be a chef, so he enrolled at the l’École Hôtelière in Strasbourg before going on to work as an apprentice for esteemed chefs, such as the Troisgros Brothers, René Lasserre, Gaston Lenôtre and, most notably, Paul Bocuse, who was a prominent force in the nouvelle cuisine movement and a mentor to Marc throughout his career.

Talking about another relationship close to his heart, Marc reflects back to when he started working with Gaggenau: ‘It was about 30 years ago. I partnered with Gaggenau on the launch of the combi-steam oven in 1999, which was the first one of its kind and size to be used in a domestic kitchen.’

The new redeveloped combi-steam oven is set to launch in 2020. This latest iteration, of which Marc is an admirer of, offers more precise cooking results, whether in the domestic or professional kitchen.

Leading the trend on steam cooking, the Haeberlins were early adopters of this technique, preferring to use steam as a way of preserving the true flavours and nutritional value of their ingredients. ‘Before the combisteam oven, we would cook “en papillote”, using parchment paper as a parcel to create steam and cook whatever is inside. We also took inspiration from Asian cooking techniques, as they are the masters of steaming’, explains Marc, and this couples with the family’s decision to expand the L’Auberge de l’Ill name to Japan, where there are now three restaurants in Tokyo, Sapporo and Nagoya.

Despite constant developments and new techniques in the food world, Marc advocates for simplicity and practicality as the two essential ingredients in any kitchen. ‘Cooking with steam is very important for a modern-day chef in terms of practicality, as you can prepare different ingredients simultaneously at a base temperature and you can also use steam for sous-vide cooking, which helps to preserve the texture and flavour of an ingredient’, describes Marc who says his advice for young chefs today is: ‘be curious, respect the products and never underestimate how difficult it is to season your dishes well’.

Back in the kitchen and plating up his creation, Marc finishes the steamed vegetables with a fine grating of black truffle, salt and pepper. ‘My favourite dish to cook with steam is truffle with cabbage’, says Marc, ‘the combi-steam oven helps preserve the colour of the cabbage so you have a vibrant green leaf contrasted by the deep brown of the truffle.’

Regarding the chef at work, it’s clear to see how every element of Marc’s practice is rooted to the idea of respect – whether it’s respect for the produce or the deep-rooted respect for his father’s legacy and work, plus the boundless respect he places on family.