l’Auberge chef had the recipe for a good life

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By D.L. Stewart, Contributing Writer 3:50 PM Friday, October 16, 2009

The best measure of a person’s life may be the way in which it is remembered.

For Chef Dieter Krug, all the reviews have been glowing.

When the co-founder of Kettering’s l’Auberge restaurant died Oct. 10, he was praised as a culinary legend and a gentleman, a friend and a mentor.

“He was more than a boss to many of the kitchen,” a former employee declared. “He was like a father.’

“He was so happy to be in the kitchen,” his daughter recalled. “He loved cooking for people. When he had that chef’s hat on, he was so, so happy.”

Longtime Dayton Newspapers food editor Ann Heller recalled the “gentle passion” he brought to his profession. To make bouillabaisse, she related, he would go to the expense of flying in bony rascasse, a type of Mediterranean fish required for the authentic dish.

I wouldn’t recognize a bony rascasse if it jumped out of the bowl and bit my nose. But it was Dieter’s hearty smile — and his lobster bisque — that helped make l’Auberge a part of our family’s lives. A place we chose for an anniversary, a celebration, a special birthday.

For each of my kids, it was their traditional introduction to dining, as opposed to merely eating out. On their 16th birthdays, their present from Dad was dinner at l’Auberge, a dress-up event where they could discover that not all restaurants consist of customers wearing baseball caps, a wall full of televisions showing football games and servers whose credentials consisted of being able to say, “Hi, my name’s Tiffany and I’ll be your server tonight. Have you guys eaten here before?”

It was a tradition that started with my daughter and her first taste of the restaurant’s lobster bisque, which she instantly loved. But when the check arrived at the end of the meal, I noticed an adjustment had been made on it.

“What’s this?” I asked the waiter.

“We have deducted the price of the lobster bisque,” he explained. “Chef felt it was not up to par.”

That taste of Chef Dieter Krug’s gentle passion may have cost the restaurant the price of a cup of bisque, but it earned a family of lifetime customers.

It was more than the food that kept us coming back, though.

Because sometime between the appetizer and the dessert, Chef Dieter invariably would emerge from the kitchen, wearing his apron, his chef’s hat and his hearty smile, going from table to table to say hello to his customers and make them feel welcome. It always made a special evening more special.

It was, to be sure, smart public relations. But I think it was much more than that.

I suspect it was the action of a man who loved cooking for people. A man whose gentle passion made him “so, so happy” and who wanted to share that happiness with others.

How do you rate a life like that?

I’d give it five stars.

Contact D.L. Stewart at dlstew_2000@yahoo.com

D.L. STEWART

That’s life

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