Verena Leister is back in town - and that's a good thing. She has appeared time and again (sometimes here - sometimes there) and delighted guests with her creations. Now she has opened her own Foodlab - together with her husband Philipp - and is really getting going there as part of the Kochsternstunden. Framed by her specialty, food on a spoon, which she has made famous since taking part in The Taste in 2016, she sent out a top-class menu from the kitchen.
We were at the address seven years ago - back then still upstairs in the two protagonists' living room. The move to a former office and the extensive renovation of the same have paid off: the new rooms are practical, spacious and elegant. What regular guests (there's always something to complain about) found a pity: the kitchen is now - unlike in the private apartment - behind a closed door. So you can no longer disturb the chef while she is preparing the next course - but of course Verena still answers all your questions. Even if the answers are sometimes more confusing than helpful, as the explanations to the question: How does the liquid egg yolk get into the potato praline? Let me translate: it's complicated, but that's exactly why you go out and enjoy the result instead of getting bogged down in the minutiae of the kitchen.
Salmon trout as a greeting from Amselsee
Instead of the usual greeting from the kitchen, Verena Leister brought a greeting from Amselsee at the start of the evening - as a small advertising block, so to speak, for the Wanderrast am Amselsee, which she runs together with Philipp. However, we didn't have the very popular chips with truffle mayonnaise and parmesan, but rather the by-catch of the snack station: Philipp also breeds salmon trout there - and of course they are perfect for a double spoon greeting! One was a smoked salmon trout with horseradish, gherkin and mango and the other was salmon trout marinated with chili mayo, crunch and cress. A great way to set the mood, not only for the whole menu, but especially for the first part, which promised more delicacies from the water with oysters and tuna. The Gillardeau oysters - Philipp had shucked them fresh (and accident-free) when the guests arrived - were not pure, but flavored, which made them even more exciting. The fact that they were accompanied by Bonnet-Ponson champagne from a magnum bottle was also a sign that this evening was not about spilling the beans, but about being charming.
What started out sparkling continued with handcrafted wines from South Tyrol, Saxony and Piedmont and ended with a ten-year-old Tawny Port from Niepoort. For the wine presentation, the team - which included Verena and Philipp as well as Johanna in service - had come up with something special: specially recorded short video clips of the winemakers were played in which they briefly introduced the wines. A great idea (and a very sensible use of the large monitor and sound system)! If anyone asks for a favorite wine: there wasn't one, because they were well chosen. But if only one, then perhaps the champagne for the whole evening (plus the Niepoort for dessert)...
A hundred-year-old classic as the main course
The answer is similarly difficult with the dishes, every course of which actually had something worth remembering, and that's what it's all about when the taste still makes your mouth water days later. So I praise the wasabi sorbet and try to copy the idea for my own tuna tartare (knowing full well that it won't be so subtle), so the egg yolk remains in the potato praline, so the tenderness of the veal cheek remains. Only when it comes to the fillet Wellington do your thoughts wander for longer. After all, where else can you get this classic, which is over a hundred years old? Who still goes to the trouble of coating the fillet with a puree of mushrooms and spinach, then wrapping it in puff pastry and cooking it to perfection in the oven? Who dares to add two suitable additional flavors to this sauce-free dish: a very concentrated red wine jus (was added on request - the woman collects plus points wherever she can!) and a tarragon emulsion reminiscent of Bernaise sauce, which differed from the classic sauce above all in its lightness. In other words: a menu to get stuck into. But you don't do that...
Menu
Two spoons in advance
Oyster duet
- Vodka | apple | celery | crème fraiche
- Passion fruit | lime | jalapeño
Tuna | avocado | seaweed crackers | harissa | wasabi sorbet
Potato praline | truffle & Egg yolk | Porcini mushroom sauce
Calf cheeks | Brioche espuma | Tapioca
Filet Wellington
Tarragon emulsion | Parsnip puree | Red wine jus
Raspberry-Trilogy
Crème brûlée | raspberry gel | iced raspberry | raspberry crunch
Spoon
Chocolate meets pistachio
Wine pairing
Champagne Bonnet-Ponson - Cuvée perpétuelle Inédite
Non Dosé - 1er Cru - MAGNUM, France - Champagne
SUMM Vino Bianco 2022
Thomas Niedermayr - South Tyrol - Italy
Weissburgunder-Chardonnay Saxony dry 2024
Winery Schuh - Saxony - Germany
Barbera d'Alba Superiore DOC 2023
Podere Gagliassi - Piedmont - Italy
Barolo DOCG 2021
Podere Gagliassi - Piedmont - Italy
10 Years Old Tawny Port DOC Vinho do Porto
Niepoort - Porto - Portugal
Info
Menu incl. Wine accompaniment or non-alcoholic beverage accompaniment and water 189 €
Verena Leister Foodlab | Dinnertable | Lounge
Robert-Matzke-Straße 52
01127 Dresden
Tel. 0151-41639966
verenaleister.de
[Visited on February 21, 2026]
