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André Rieu Dishes Up Good Food Like a God in France.

Melodies in "Ess-Dur". (Pun with: "eat"(B)-Major)

When the big hunger comes, Marko Schmidt jumps into action. 

The kitchen manager makes sure they are all content.

Bild Stars Magazine: The Waltz King dishes up good food like a God in France. André Rieu considers it of greatest importance that his employees and he eat the best and healthiest food. And that is Marko Schmidt's responsibility when on tour. The skilled kitchen Chef hails from Querfurt in Sachsen, Germany, leads a team of 5 persons, and takes care of the catering while on tour. During a one tour-day he has to prepare six meals.

The meals have to be fresh and healthy. Schmidt mostly buys at the local markets.

This is Schmidt's daily-schedule:
9:30 AM: A hearty breakfast with scrambled eggs and bacon for the crew.
12:30 PM: Lunch, we only offer one meal, often pasta or lean meat.
3:00 PM: Soup. For orchestra members who arrive in the afternoon.
5:00 PM: Dinner, buffet style, with more variety to choose from. We prepare fish-, pasta-, vegetarian and also two meat dishes. Always with fresh salads.
9:00 PM: During the concert intermission backstage we serve coffee with homemade cakes and cookies.
11:00 PM: After the concert we have snacks available. They are healthy bites, like deviled eggs for instance. And there is always cheese and fruit available. We dispense with deep fried snacks at this late hour.

For Schmidt the day mostly starts at 7 AM. Because he has to gather all the ingredients. No matter where Rieu is on tour, in Australia, China, Singapore, USA, Chile, France ..... "In those places we mostly use a so called runner. Which is often an employee of the local production company who knows the surroundings and knows where to find the closest markets. It is important that he has a car and can drive me." The kitchen is always there with us on tour. It is transported by truck and set up in the venue. Except in the USA, where that is not allowed. There we have to set the kitchen up in a tent in front of the concert hall".

Does Rieu personally determine the menu?
"No. It must be healthy food. He has, however, forbidden coriander. He does not like it, and neither do I. The Rieu chefs are all freelance workers, and with 100 concerts per year they are in his service for six months. The other times they have to find other jobs. For instance I have cooked for James Last or I did the catering for Stefan Raabs WOK-World Championship".

Which dish do the orchestra members prefer?
Something typical Dutch, like "stamp pot"
(Hodgepodge). That is mashed potatoes with endive and carrots. Or "Zuurvlees", a kind of goulash prepared with vinegar, apple syrup and gingerbread to give it the sweet and sour taste. And so Marko Schmidt serves them "a piece of home", although far away.

Rieu's Little Kitchen Music

Not only is the violin André Rieu's passion. Even in his kitchen he composes many top hits.

"A good steak and French fries" I indeed find that superb. But sometimes it has to be more refined. I love Italian cuisine. Especially "Ossobuco". Ossobuco means "Bone with holes", because of the hollow bone, which runs through the calf's shank. There are several recipes for Ossobuco. Here is André's personal recipe: the way he and his family like it best.

Ossobuco With Spaghetti:
Ingredients: 200 gram onions, 200 gram celery, flour, Chile powder, 8 slices veal shank, olive oil, salt, pepper, 30 grams of butter, 200 ml white wine, 300 ml veal stock, 1 clove of garlic, 8 stalks of parsley, grated lemon zest, and of course spaghetti.
1. First of all I chop the onions and the celery.
2. Then I mix three tablespoons of flour with the Chile powder and coat the shank slices on both sides in the mix.
3. I heat 5 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan, fry the slices, two at the time,. Salt and pepper them take them out.
4. Then I heat the butter in a frying pan, add the onions and celery, clear with white wine and add the veal stock. I let the shank slices stew for about two hours while covered. Please turn once.
5. Next I chop the parsley and garlic and add grated lemon zest.
6. Half of the mix I add to the sauce 5 minutes before the meat is ready. The rest I sprinkle over the dish.
7. Many like to eat Ossobuco the Milanese way with rice. But we prefer to eat it with spaghetti.

Translation by Ineke and John