The next generation

“I’ll save that one for Dad,” whispers Max Rüssel, who scans the wild meadow with his binoculars. A rogue bock has been spotted this morning. Max doesn’t even consider setting up his weapon for the shot. Once the knight-like creature with its rustic-looking horns has disappeared from sight again, it doesn’t take long until a yearling deer takes his chances out in the open. “That’ll do,” says Max. He sets up his S 404, pushing the cocking lever forward. Seconds later, the red mammal does not survive the shot.Geed-up by the events, Max Rüssel loads the yearling into the car and drives it to his parents’ business, where it can be prepared. “This is what makes our family business different,” he tells us. “Not only is roe deer my absolute favourite type of game, but it is also the main species found in our hunting grounds. What’s more, we use every single part of the animal at our country home. It doesn’t get fresher than this!” The premium cuts such as saddle and tenderloin end up in the gourmet restaurant at Rüssels Landhaus. Joints and shoulders are stewed and pan-fried in the sophisticated country style-cooking Hasenpfeffer restaurant. Off-cuts are used to make traditional venison sausages, which the Hasen-pfeffer menu pairs with fried egg and fried potatoes. It is widely considered the Hasenpfeffer’s classic dish, and the restaurant prides itself on its locally sourced cuisine.Together with his father Harald Rüssel, Max runs the Rüssels Landhaus boutique hotel and Hasenpfeffer, the sophisticated country-style restaurant, near Trier, nestled between the Moselle river and Hunsrück uplands, in the heart of the family’s hunting grounds.

We use every part of the animals we hunt back at our hotel and restaurant. It doesn’t get fresher than this.

Style is a matter of attitude. In the words of Coco Chanel, you can’t buy it like you can fashion. You either have it or you don’t.

Almost 30 years ago, Michelin-starred chef Harald Rüssel made his lifelong dream a reality by buying the hotel and restaurant (see Passion no. 19 / 2017). Today he is bursting with pride that both his sons, Max and Frederik, have followed in their father’s footsteps. And not just professionally: All three hunt together in the leasehold grounds that border on the family-run hotel. If you join the family behind the scenes at the hotel and restaurant for a day, you soon realise everything runs seamlessly here. Values aren’t just words; they live by them. Harald Rüssel is a family man. You can see and feel that he has passed this, along with his hunting and pro-fessional passion, on to the next generation in every way. The left hand knows what the right is doing at all times here. Nothing happens without discussing it first, and every-thing is done with a sense of pro-fessional poise. The passion for hunting and hosting can be seen and felt in every nook and cranny of the hotel. And not just because of the trophies, which could also hang in any other guest house or hotel.

At Rüssels Landhaus, everything is one-of-a-kind, right down to the smallest of details. Antlers, horns and wild boar tusks are presented in a unique way, and the Forest View (Waidblick) and Forest Clearing (Waldlichtung) themed rooms in particular reflect the family’s passion. Whether it’s the sensational diorama on the room door portraying the country house’s motto or the room’s design with custom wallpaper and modern yet stylish hunting motifs, everything matches and has its own individual and special charm. “We treat our guests like royalty. They need to feel at ease here,” Max and his father Harald emphasise independently of one another – once again, it’s all seamless. Style is a matter of attitude. In the words of Coco Chanel, you can’t buy it like you can fashion. You either have it or you don’t. Max Rüssel embodies this style, just as his father does: “Ultimately, our parents were always major role models for us. Not just in terms of career, but in hunting, too.” Harald Rüssel adds: “Although I found hunting at a late age, it was always an ambition of mine as a family man to share my passion – after all, hunting is more than a hobby for us – with my family and be a role model for my children out in the forest and the field, just as I am privately and pro-fessionally.” The Rüssels live by their family hunting culture, which it’s not just limited to basic values such as acting ethically during hunts, having a gamekeeper’s mindset and respecting your fellow hunter.

“For me, for example, there is no better or more beautiful weapon than my S 404,” Max gushes. He began hunting just under ten years ago with his father’s SAUER 202. At some point he “upgraded” to an S 404 – his own words. For the Rüssels, hunting is a fundamental component of family life and thus the family business. “Just like the business, our hunting land is managed by several generations,” Max tells us. “For me, there is no other hobby with such a strong generational mindset as hunting. Older hunters can get help from us young whipper-snappers with groundskeeping, which is often an arduous task. And we young hunters can benefit from the experience of our father’s and grandfather’s generations. Just like how I learned much of the fundamentals of gourmet cuisine from my father at a young age.” When asked about his future hunting and career dreams, 27-year-old Max Rüssel has got it all figured out: He wants to run and develop Rüssels Landhaus with his brother one day and continue hunting in the family grounds with his father and his father’s hunting buddies.

Saddle of venison poached with three kinds of pepperr
in foil, served with mirabelle compote and mashed potato with savoy cabbage

1 | Mirabelle compote
250 g ripe mirabelle plums
30 g butter
50 g sugar
100 ml grape juice
1 tbsp acacia honey
1 pinch vanilla pulp
½ tsp coriander seeds
4 cardamom pods
5 allspice berries
½ natural lemon, grated
20 ml white wine vinegar
20 g cornflour
1 sprig of rosemary
2 cl mirabelle plum brandy
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 | Mashed potato with savoy cabbage
8 savoy cabbage leaves
4 large potatoes
75 g softened butter
1 pinch ground cumin
1 pinch ground nutmeg
40 g freshly grated horseradish
75 ml game stock
25 g fried bacon lardons
Salt and freshly ground pepper

3 | Saddle of venison
4 saddles of venison, without fat, roughly 200 g
1 tsp Madagascar pepper
1 tsp cubeb pepper
1 tsp pink peppercorns
½ tsp acacia seeds
50 g clarified butter
Salt butter

1 | Deseed the mirabelle plums. Caramelise the butter and sugar in a pan and deglaze with grape juice. Add the honey, vanilla pulp, spices, grated lemon and white wine vinegar. Reduce this mixture to two thirds of the original quantity and stir frequently until a velvety consistency is created. Pass through a sieve and pour over the mirabelles while hot. Pick, chop and add the rosemary. Lightly pepper and add a pinch of salt to taste. Finally, add the mirabelle plum brandy.

2 | For the mashed potato with savoy cabbage, separate the cabbage leaves from the stalks, blanch in boiling water and refresh in ice-cold water. Then chop the savoy cabbage into 1 cm diamonds. Boil the potatoes, peel them while hot and then mash them. Work in the softened butter and season this with the salt, pepper, cumin and nutmeg. Then add the fresh horseradish and stock (this keeps the mash juicy!). Then add the savoy cabbage and fried bacon lardons.

3 | Season the saddle of venison well with the freshly ground peppercorn and the acacia seeds. Now wrap in transparent film, then in aluminium foil. In a wide, not too high pan, heat water to 82°C and poach the saddle of venison in the foil for around 8 minutes until it reaches a core temperature of 58°C. Then rest for around 5 minutes, unwrap it, fry in the clarified butter and sprinkle with plenty of salt. Slice lengthways to serve.