Wintergreen's Chef Bernard

Wintergreen’s Master Chef Bernard Herrmann is one of the world’s top 100 French chefs, was knighted by the French premiere for his culinary excellence and helped launched Julia Child’s career by serving as one of her sponsors for admittance to Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. He has worked at some of the most exclusive restaurants in the United States. So what’s a guy like this doing spending his winters at Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge and his summers at the 24-seat Mantel House restaurant at the ‘end of the road’ in Ely?

“I came here for the good life,” he says. “People here are down to earth. There’s no showing off. They don’t come up here to shine and be flashy. My telephone recording says, `I’m either hunting, fishing, skiing or hiking and God knows when I will be back.’”

Chef Bernard Francois Herrmann comes from a long line of family chefs: His grandfather, father, brother, sister, nephew and cousin all were chefs. He was born in 1942, in the back of a restaurant in Alsace, France. “I was born at quarter to 12. Dad was upset because it was just before lunch.”

At age 14 he apprenticed with master chef Pierre Gaertner at the Armes De France Restaurant, a two-star Michelin restaurant in Ammerschwir, Alsace, France. After a stint in the French army, he continued his apprenticeship under his father, then owner of the l’Hostellerie d’Alsace in Cernay.

After moving to the United States in 1965, Herrmann first took a job cooking at the Plaza Hotel in New York. A few years later, he accepted a position as head chef of the Le Cygne Restaurant, which, under his direction, became a three-star New York Times restaurant. He then moved around, running kitchens at a private club and a luxury resort and eventually landed a position as
executive chef of the Carlyle and Meridien Hotel in Houston, where he worked with Jacques Maximin, one of the world’s greatest chefs. From there, Herrmann went on to Dallas and started working with Pam Freeman. Her
husband’s great grandparents had come from Finland to settle in Ely and their homestead had become a summer cabin for Pam and her husband Fletcher. They in turn introduced Bernard to the ‘good life’ in the beautiful northwoods.

In fall 1997, Bernard decided he’d had enough of the frenetic corporate cooking scene and retired to Ely. After getting settled in, he began looking around for something to do. As Paul Schurke explains, an amazing bit of serendipity took over from there:

“Just a month or so before our dogsled trips were to begin, we learned that our seasonal cook of many years had been offered a year-round position at the Grand Ely Lodge. We were happy for her but it left us in lurch. We tried our luck with a ‘help wanted’ ad in the local paper although we didn’t expect much response. An hour or two after the Ely Echo came out that Monday, our program administrator Kate called me from our office in town to say that some guy with a strong accent had stopped by to apply for the job. Furthermore, she said, he had this incredible resume. She suggested I come in and talk to him myself to see if this was all for real. Well it was and Wintergreen and Ely have been very blessed that he’s been here ever since!”

A few years after arriving in Ely, Bernard and Pam opened their Mantel House restaurant in a beautiful old home in the middle of town. It’s been closed the past few summers but they’re pleased to announce that it’s re-opening this summer and will be offering 4-course gourmet dinners with French wines every Thursday, Friday and Saturday June though August. If you needed an excuse to visit Ely this summer, this is it! Call 365-7659 for reservations.

For Bernard, food is key to living a good life. One of his missions at Wintergreen and at the Mantel House is educating people about good food and taking the time to enjoy it. “When I go to France, we sit there for four or five hours eating,” he says. “And while you are eating, you talk about what you are going to eat the next day.”

Herrmann’s passion for food doesn’t mean that he is always four-star serious. He has a delightful sense of humor, and it’s obvious he’s happy to be doing what he loves; cooking great food and enjoying the great outdoors.

Chef Bernard's Blueberry Salad

He finds the lifestyle in Ely what he’s been longing for. “All my life, I work for the customer, but you don’t feel the customer,” he says. “Here people are my friends. And I finally have my dream of simplicity. I can have a pickup truck, I can dress in jeans on my day off, and I can go fishing whenever I like.”

So what will you enjoy for dinner on your Wintergreen dogsled vacation? Here are a few of the entre options Bernard offered our guests last season: Chicken Basquaise with Roasted Vegetables, Sautéed Beef Tenderloin Filet in Merlot Sauce, Baked Walleye with Shrimps & Tarragon Sauce, Vegetable Medley according to market. Dessert options included: Chocolate Mousse, White
Chocolate Bread Pudding with Raspberry Sauce, Floating Islands, Creme Caramel. Bon Appétit!

Related posts:

1. Adventure Travel Tour/Dogsledding – 2010 Guest Testimonials