Eating Brutally Local in Berlin

Taking a culinary trip around the German capital’s most progressive restaurants is a political act.

- VICTORIA BURROWS

Berlin is known for being Germany's edgy, arty alter ego. So, too, is its culinary scene, with the city forming an enclave of progressivism in a generally conservative country about what it eats.

The new generation of Berlin's chefs is rising up in defiance of the predominant classic haute cuisine imported from France and is defining the city's culinary identity based on local flavours. Their choices are political community before capitalism, fairness over greed, real food rather than industrialised agriculture. They are sourcing radically fresh produce directly from producers as close to the kitchen as possible and serving it stripped of fuss and fancy.

One restaurant in particular has shaped Berlin into the gastronomical powerhouse it is today. Nobelhart & Schmutzig, opened in 2015 by sommelier Billy Wagner and chef Micha Schäfer, brought to Berlin the minimalism, and more crucially, the obsession with hyper-local sourcing, reminiscent of the Nordic approach spearheaded by chef Rene Redzepi of Noma in Copenhagen.

You will not find any olive oil or black pepper at Nobelhart & Schmutzig, nor lemons, tuna, or chocolate. Only naturally growing raw ingredients sourced directly from people within the greater Berlin region make their way into Schäfer's kitchen, in what is known as their "brutally local" approach.

"I consider us the most southern part of northern Germany - here we grow grain and make beer; we're not a wine region like Tuscany or Madrid. I thought what all the Nordic chefs were doing was interesting, showcasing their identity and their area," says Wagner.