With Ben Weber, naysayers and cynics fall onto deaf ears. Despite the doubts that some people expressed about his ability to succeed, this resolute young chef, who knew that he would become a chef from the age of 7, has never given up. On the contrary, whenever he faces difficulties or scepticism, he redoubles his efforts to realise his dream and to prove them wrong. What good fortune for us!
“As a child, I also wanted to be a comedian and an actor! Finally, by choosing the profession of chef, I managed to combine these three passions,” Ben Weber confides to us with a smile. We are dealing here with an artist, who skilfully expresses himself in the kitchen and likes to meet his customers after dinner, with his amicable and humorous demeanour!
After training at the EHTL, the young chef started working at the Mosconi restaurant. “There, I learned the simplicity of cooking and respect for the product.”
Then, 12 years ago, after one year in the kitchen of Mosconi, Ben Weber decided to set up a café-restaurant at the Camping Relax, a venue owned by his parents in Haller in the Müllerthal. “There used to be just a simple chip shop! So I decided to create a brasserie-bistro where I offered traditional and simple but delicious dishes, which were quickly praised by the customers!”
Accordingly, through perseverance, hard work and a passion for cooking that runs through his veins, Ben Weber opened his restaurant “Gudde Kascht” next to the campsite in 2016. A place as much to his liking as to his likeness: raw, simple, and very professional, in which the products grown in his own garden and those of local producers build the foundation. “I look at what the soil provides and offer it to my customers.” An apparent simplicity that can be found on the plate.
“I always tell my customers: don’t say you don’t like it without first trying it. At least give me a chance to disappoint you!”
The tasting menu, composed of 7 dishes, aims to surprise by giving a bare minimum of information about the ingredients that will be on the plate, so that people go into the experience with an open and curious mind. “I always tell my customers: don’t say you don’t like it without first trying it. At least give me a chance to disappoint you!” That way, he offers his customers the opportunity to dare to eat differently and widen their culinary horizons.
The restaurant has a small team for maximum efficiency, both in the dining room and in the kitchen. Ben Weber is alone in the kitchen with his wife, a pastry chef, and they cook for up to 25 seats each evening. In the dining room, two waiters are busy accommodating their customers.
“I have worked as a waiter, so in the dining area everything has been thoroughly thought through and optimised to organise their work as smoothly as possible.”
Beyond his already busy schedule, this young and passionate entrepreneur has no intentions on leaving it at maintaining his own restaurant. Quite the contrary. Sharing and passing on his knowledge is essential for him. A member of the Luxembourg national cooking team since he was 16, the chef has taken part in a series of international culinary competitions as a pastry chef, cook, team leader and finally as coach for the younger generations.
“These experiences have taught me a lot, and my cooking has been influenced by the different culinary traditions
I have encountered.”
Recently elected president of the Vatel-Club, the Luxembourg professional chefs association, making him one of the youngest chefs in the world to head such a club, he has taken his role to heart to promote the national cuisine, its terroir and above all to help future generations find their way in gastronomy. The club is composed of volunteers, all passionate about their work, which has led to the inauguration of many initiatives. “I am particularly proud of our Minikäch programme, which helps young kids (aged 9 to 13) to learn more about the restaurant business from an early age, so that one day, they might be interested in making a career of it! “I wish I had been able to attend this programme when I was their age.”
It is clear that Ben Weber likes a challenge, and creating his restaurant is certainly one of the biggest he has faced and mastered thus far. “I created everything from scratch, and as entrepreneur today, I feel lucky to have acquired other skills beyond cooking!”
And given that this fast-paced chef, aged only 35, is bubbling over with creative ideas, he is certainly not about to stop surprising us. Some might say that it’s too much and that he won’t make it… but that will only encourage him to prove them wrong soon enough.
Gudde Kascht
20, Rue Henerecht — L-6370 Haller
Tel. +352 / 83 67 48