At the edge of the sky, in Bartholomä, a climatic health resort on the Ostalb, lies a 250-year-old farm: the realm of »Barn Cook« Renate Lieb, who runs a microcosm alongside her husband Günther Saiger. With good food and drink – that goes without saying.

But how she does this does not go without saying. She creates Swabian cuisine in a caring and resolutely sustainable organic way – so basic and yet so cosmopolitan that it has to be called hypermodern and, in some respects, downright revolutionary. The principle of the Barn Cook is: from the field to the plate, as regional as possible. Her universe includes so much more than just the kitchen: the bakery, the workshop, the laundry. The chickens are part of it, the bees, the herb and vegetable garden, the trees on the meadows bearing old varieties of fruit, sheep and woolly pigs. And guests from near and far who celebrate weddings, birthdays and other festivities in the three large halls.

In 80 recipes, the Barn Cook reveals the secret of her simple, simply refined cuisine and gives tips on sustainable farming.

The new Swabian cuisine: from traditional Maultaschen from the Bruderhahn to vegetarian oven tomatoes with lentils, vegan three-type pumpkin carpaccio and beyond.

Renate Lieb grew up on the 250-year-old family farm in Bartholomä with five siblings, her parents and grandparents. She and her husband Günther Saiger have been running the farm in an extended family structure where everyone has their place for 23 years. In 2021, she was recognized as an organic top chef. Like her grandmother, she cooks »with what’s available«. Her philosophy is: organic, from the field to the plate and as regional as possible.

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