Eckart Witzigmann is an Austrian chef.

Training

After his chef-apprenticeship in the Hotel Straubinger in Bad Gastein (1957–1960), Witzigmann moved on to numerous positions in prestigious restaurants around the world, among others as a student of

Paul Bocuse Paul François Pierre Bocuse (; 11 February 1926 – 20 January 2018) was a French chef based in Lyon known for the quality of his restaurants and his innovative approaches to cuisine. Dubbed "the pope of gastronomy", he was affectionately nick ...

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, France.

''Tantris''

His work in Germany began in 1970 at the

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

restaurant ''Tantris'' designed by the architect Justus Dahinden.

Michelin Guide

On 19 November 1978, he became the first German-speaking chef and the third outside France to receive the esteemed three stars from the French

Michelin Guide The ''Michelin Guides'' ( ; ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The ''Guide'' awards up to three Michelin star (classification), stars for excellence to a select few restaurants ...

for his Munich restaurant ''Aubergine'' which he had opened one year previously.

''Aubergine''

In 1994, he sold the ''Aubergine'' after its licence was revoked following Witzigmann's conviction for cocaine possession. In the same year, he received the rare award ''chef of the century'' from the

Gault Millau Gault et Millau () is a French restaurant guide. It was founded by two restaurant critics, Henri Gault and Christian Millau in 1965. Points system Gault Millau rates restaurants on a scale of 1 to 20, with 20 being the highest. Restaurants given ...

guide. Only three other chefs have been awarded this title:

, Joël Robuchon and Frédy Girardet. Since then, Witzigmann has published many cookbooks.

References

Austrian chefs Living people 1941 births Head chefs of Michelin-starred restaurants {{Austria-bio-stub