Caveau Morakopf
7 Rue des Trois Épis
68230 Niedermorschwihr
Tel. +33 3 89270510
The dishes
Snails with garlic and parsley butter (six)
Onion tart, mixed green salad
Boiled calf’s head, potatoes and vinaigrette
Tripe with Riesling sauce, sauteed potatoes
“Kougelhopf” french toast-style served with ice cream
Founded in the 1960s by the Guidat family, the Caveau Morakopf has been serving highly traditional Alsatian food in the postcard-pretty village of Niedermorschwihr, made famous all over the world by the presence of Christine Ferber and her gastronomy shop (Ferber may well be the world’s best fruit jam producer). Céline Fidrie and Lukas Edl took over running Niedermorschwihr’s other foodie institution, the Caveau Morakopf in September 2014. Edl trained with some of Alsace’s greatest chefs, including Jean-Yves Schillinger (JY’S à Colmar), Olivier Nasti (La Table d’Olivier Nasti, then Le Chambard, in Kaysersberg) and Bernard Leray (La Nouvelle Auberge à Wihr-au-Val).
The name of the restaurant means “tête de mauresse”, or morakopf; in English, that translates to the “head of the Moorish woman” (mauresse can also, less commonly, be taken to mean a female inhabitant of the historical region of Mauritania; and while I am at it, did you know it is also the root of the names Maurice and Morris?). Apparently, the Moorish woman in question was initially a slave who was brought back to the area by crusading templar knights, but began performing miracles and so, no fools they, soon became a hero to the inhabitants and a symbol of the town (her profile is included in a stained-glass window of the restaurant).
