After only a few minutes, the dark green of the forest clears and opens to a clearing. Alexander Heitkamp, a Munich native with a sense of good food and an idea, has given us egg-loading: he wants to organize an insider dinner in the forest every month. An experiment that should at best entail a new and unusual event location in the forest. We are curious. And are hungry ...
Chef and organizer Alex, dressed in leather pants, black apron and goggles, stands next to a blazing fire and greets us with a firm handshake and a laugh. A hut stands in the clearing, on the terrace of which a guitarist sits and enriches the evening mood with his play. To match the mood, we get a "Wild Tonic" pressed into the hand, a variation of gin and tonic, flavor and visually embellished with berries and herbs. In front of the terrace, the slope drops off slightly, below you can imagine the Isar. Behind the cabin is a long table, made by Alex and the operators of the location, decorated with berries and herbs and stylishly set with everything you need to eat. All around, chairs and benches can accommodate up to 18 people. A pavilion placed above offers protection from the unfortunately not so loving weather today.
As the dusk settles on the forest, the evening party, a motley assortment of people who did not know each other before, gradually goes to the table. The conversation stops short when Alex announces the first course - "plank salmon", salmon grilled on wooden beams over the fire, on mango-quinoa salad. For the vegetarians there is the same basis, equipped with grilled Melanzani. Guests are hungry for the delicacies that taste even better than they sound, while Alex, full of action, serves the next course: handmade pear ravioli with lemon and herb butter, melted over the fire. The ravioli literally melt on the tongue, one would like to dive in. And the wines are well received, selected red and white wines, as well as the ice-cold craft beer.
It's the best of two worlds that come together here: stories about wild boars that sometimes drop by and the Burrow, which is below the cabin, make the rounds. The fire crackles, and all around is dark, deep forest. You feel a bit back in your own youth - campfire evenings, adventures. Only the food would not be expected in such an environment. The third course consists of Hanging Tender with Jus, for the vegetarians potato schnitzel, in addition there are spinach dumplings and stewed cherry tomatoes. You have rarely fed so well in youth.
But Alex continues to gas on the campfire, armed with knives and spits, because the end of today's culinary path is waiting. It consists of sweet arancini with plum roast from their own garden, plus an invigorating espresso. Fortunately, the end of the culinary delights is far from over the end of the evening. Because Fabian Mägel, the guitarist, who played on the terrace earlier, is now strengthened by the brilliant meal. With a soft, smoky voice, he performs all the songs that come to him and the guests. And so, until now, strangers are still sitting together in the middle of the night, without the hustle and bustle of city life, having lively conversations, listening to handmade music and feeling this unlikely, beautiful, delicious evening.