Cologne · Germany
Wasserturm Hotel Cologne
Choron sauce instead of hollandaise, avocado instead of ham: bold, beautifully plated and almost perfect.
Notebook
The Eggs Benedict
Eggs Benedict with Choron sauce and avocado. Great presentation; with a little salt to balance the sweetness of the sauce, really, really good. Yolk perfect, white a little too runny. Avocado, notes of paprika and a light heat from the sauce go very well together. The average bagel spoils an otherwise perfect picture.
Translated from my German notes.
The Wasserturm Hotel is now part of the Curio Collection by Hilton and, as the name suggests, occupies a historic Cologne water tower. Breakfast that morning is in the sun, and the plate looks exactly as you would hope in a place like this.
On the plate
This one departs from the classic twice. Avocado replaces the ham beneath the egg, and instead of hollandaise there is Choron sauce on top, a béarnaise with tomato. Its colour is bolder, its flavour sweeter and spicier. Notes of paprika and a light heat go very well with the avocado, and with a pinch of salt to balance the sweetness, the whole thing becomes really good.
The yolk is perfect, the white a little too runny. The bigger deduction goes to the base: the bread is merely average and can’t keep up with the rest of the plate.
Who it’s for
For anyone looking for a variation that is more than decoration. If you insist on the classic with ham and hollandaise, this isn’t for you, but you’d be missing something.
Guide text written with AI assistance, based on my notes.