History
Preamble
True to the motto of this iconic house:
< A picture with 3 generations of cooks.
Mariella Kieny welcomes guests from Alsace and elsewhere with a generosity that is matched only by her determination to carry the colors of this family house.
Alongside Laurent Kieny, Jean-Marc’s brother, and Chef Naïn Gamboa, Mariella Kieny combines the Kieny legacy with the future.
The genesis
5 children, Farmer
PHILIPPE KIENY – born in 1786
10 children, Farmer
MARC KIENY – born in 1825
3 children, Cafetier
In 1850, he acquired the property located at 7 rue Basse, now rue de Général de Gaulle, and transformed it into the “Café du vieux Château”, in reference to the Counts of Thierstein and Lords of Besenwal. In this same building, the Kieny family ran the first post office in the community from 1881 onwards. Towards the end of the 19th century, the café “Zum Alten Schloss” became the café “Zur Post” and later the “Restaurant de la Poste”.
JOSEPH KIENY – born in 1871
1 child, Innkeeper of the “Café de la Poste
Thanks to his wife Anne-Marie (née Schaller), an excellent cook, he transformed the café into a well known restaurant. He was simultaneously the receiver of the PTT and a grocer in two rooms on the first floor of the house.
MARCEL KIENY – born in 1899
2 children, Cook
With the efficient support of his wife Alice (née Mendele, who died in 1944), he turned the restaurant into a renowned table. He had received excellent culinary training in renowned restaurants. He himself became a remarkable apprenticeship master, President of the Jury of the CAP Cuisiniers and advisor of the technological education. His daughter, Marie-Louise, affectionately known as Marlyse, worked behind the counter with great care until her death. André, his son, took over the business in 1954.
2 children, Master-Quideman
After studying at the Lycée Hôtelier de Strasbourg, he did internships in various great restaurants: Etretat, Plombières, Uriage, Aix-les-Bains, Versailles and in England. He took over the family business in 1954. His wife, Liliane (née De Bernardo), assures with smile and courtesy the tasks of the Housewife.
Like his father, André Kieny was very involved in training and professional organizations:
– President of the Jury of the CAP Cooks
– Technology Education Advisor
– Member of Prosper Montagné
– Culinary Advisor
– Chevalier des Palmes Académiques
– Knight of Agricultural Merit
– Silver medal for technological education
JEAN-MARC KIENY – born in 1962
2 children, Chef of the Restaurant de la Poste
6th generation, heir to the recipes & culinary joys of his father and great-grandmother. Jean-Marc was elected 1st Hope of French Gastronomy in 1988 by the magazine Le Chef. He is married to Mariella (née Pidala). He is an alumnus of :
Pierre Gaertner, “Armes de France” in Ammerschwihr, 2 Michelin stars
Jacques Lameloise, “Lameloise” in Chagny, 3 Michelin stars
Louis Outhier, “L’Oasis” in La Napoule, 3 Michelin stars
Emile Jung, “Le Crocodile” in Strasbourg, 2 Michelin stars
Hans Stucki, “Le Bruderholz” in Basel, Switzerland, 2 Michelin stars
LAURENT KIENY – born in 1966
2 children, Master pastry chef-chocolatier-glacier
Twice finalist in the Best Worker of France competition. He is married to Martine Bader. He has built a solid reputation as a Master Pastry Chef, Chocolate and Ice Cream maker, his establishment is located next to the restaurant.
1st MICHELIN STAR – in 1990
MARIELLA KIENY – takes over the Kieny house – in 2017
The values of Maison Kieny
EXCELLENCE
A tradition since 1850, the foundation of the Family’s heritage.
Tradition and modernity
In the heart of the Grand Est, to make the Alsatian territory shine through a cuisine revealing the talent of the best producers, by shaping each gesture in the capacity of artisan cook and pastry chef.
The transmission
The ambition to bring to the highest level each Woman & Man who participates in sublimating the experience of the customers.
The new team
Mariella Kieny
The mistress of the place
More than a professional experience, it is a life experience that Mariella is building.
With Jean-Marc, then a young cook working alongside her father, Mariella learns, is moved and falls in love.
Together, they are going to pursue a perpetual quest for excellence, she in the dining room, and he in the kitchen.
Their generosity is quickly rewarded with a star.
Today, Mariella lovingly watches over this historic house, and signs a personal card, both new and faithful to the values of this emblematic House Kieny.
With grace, Mariella orchestrates a service in her image: generous, delicate and refined.
To assert itself without denaturing this 1850 House, such is the mission that Mariella has entrusted to herself for the next few years.
Naïn Gamboa
SECOND OF KITCHEN
Naïn’s first stop was in the Drôme Provençale, at the Clair de la Plume, the starred restaurant in Grignan. From clerk to half chef de partie, the young man who is interested in everything begins his learning of the language of Molière and at the same time of French gastronomy.
His gluttony for learning then took him to all the regions, a true tour of France of taste and specialties, from Brittany to Vaucluse, through Burgundy and Occitania.
Each new experience is an additional pretext to feed his curiosity a little more. Seafood, butter, olive oil, wine, in his lesson book, the chapters have the taste of French lands and traditions.
When he brought his young talent to Alsace, as head pastry chef at Maison Kieny, Naïn had already understood what makes the charm of the fine houses. He likes well-ordered brigades and meticulous service, he likes the rigor imposed by the stars and also the warmth of real living spaces.
For more than a year, he immersed himself in the gastronomic Alsace of the Maison Kieny: inspired by the best of the past and turned towards the future.
Florian Felix
CHEF PATISSIER
Pastry chef at Maison Kieny
Adrien Stoffel
The butler
It is with his grandfather, a pastry chef, that Adrien discovered his passion for cooking. At the time of the big choices, Adrien naturally enrolled in a Hotel and Restaurant Technology Baccalaureate and continued for 2 years in a BTS.
Shy, it is during a training course at the Clos des Sens in Annecy, that he reveals himself in room.
In 2006, with his diploma in hand, he joined the Ecomusée d’Alsace in Ungersheim as a supervisor. In 2008, he joined St Hippolyte, at the foot of the Château de Haut-Koenigsbourg as a Chef de rang. In 2011, while looking to evolve, the Kieny restaurant recruits a Chef de rang.
The agreement is immediate. After his interview, the young man is hired and performs his first service a week later.
Curious and passionate, he expands his knowledge of wines every evening, after the service. In 2014, the position of Maître d’hôtel became available, and he immediately applied.
For the Kieny family, transmission is a key value. Developing the talent that makes up their team is essential. The position is entrusted to him.
The Kieny experience
The atmosphere
The historic location combined with a refined and contemporary decor, gives the Kieny experience a character worthy of the great meals of yesteryear, and the freshness of a first date.
The place
The restaurant is composed of two large dining rooms, and the discreet and thoughtful wait staff contributes to a timeless and exceptional experience.
