Franziska Seidel
A passionate cook and piano player
Cooking or playing the piano – they were Franziska Seidel’s career aspirations.
The 30-year-old is now not just a cook, but even a master chef and wine waiter – and has been a self-employed businesswoman with her “food & specials” in Rodewisch since 2011 – and she plays the piano for her guests.
“You need a sense of passion for both,” she emphasises.
Franziska Seidel grew up in Schönheide. After successfully completing ten years of schooling, she began her training as a cook at the Kempinski Hotel Airport in Munich. She then spent the next few years “travelling around”. This included spells at the Grand Hôtel des Bains in St. Moritz, The Lanesborough in London and the Residenz Heinz Winkler in Aschau / Chiemsee. She completed her training as a wine waiter in Hamburg and became a master chef in Chemnitz. “My last stopover point was in France; I had to decide there whether I wanted to continue pursuing my travels or return to my family after a period of being away for ten years,” the open-minded young lady recalls.
She opted for her family; they live on a farm on the edge of Rodewisch.
“I could certainly have cooked at various top hotels, but I wanted to make my dream come true and have my own business” she recalls. As a result, a junk room in the former stables was turned into a top kitchen and later extended with a conservatory for use as a room for guests. This is where people can attend her cookery courses, for example, “Burger & ribs in full” or “Pasta & gnocchi”. She also invites people to special tasting sessions – e.g. “Wine and cheese” or “Whisky and cigars”. She offers a high-quality catering service and packs her knives into a bag and creates a menu in her customers’ kitchens. “I have plenty to do,” she says, summing up her life, with a real glisten in her eyes.
She makes no secret of the times when she wanted to throw in the towel and move away again.
“But my family live in the Vogtland region, I’ve found many friends here, who help me, and I’ve got to know my boyfriend. If I travel now and again, I enjoy coming back here,” she says, owning up to her life in Rodewisch in a likeable and self-confident manner.
Her guiding principle is preparing everything so that it is absolutely fresh. She obtains the necessary ingredients from regional producers. She does not prefer any special type of cooking and does not have a favourite dish either.
“I like preparing fish – you need plenty of sensitivity to ensure that everything turns out perfectly,” she says, commenting on the particular challenge here.
She is convinced that she has selected the right place for her unusual business here in the Vogtland region – and the right time too. “People enjoy cooking for themselves again, or doing so together.” They do not just want to eat well, but also enjoy excellent service, they want to be able to converse and learn something. Word has got around that Franziska Seidel offers all this – and not just in the Vogtland region. Guests come from Chemnitz, Dresden or Leipzig. When those attending the courses prepare the menu under the watchful eye of the master chef and have eaten it with a good wine at the festive table in the conservatory, she is often asked to show off her musical skills.
She sits down at the piano with a smile and her guests experience the unique combination of “food & specials – Franziska Seidel”.