Never get around to prepping your meals? Time for a glass-jar-shaped shortcut from food delivery service Essglas, whose airtight containers hold tasty vegetarian and vegan meals which can be heated up at home or work in no time. And because the preserved food lasts up to three weeks in the fridge, you can plan dozens of lunches and dinners with just one bulk order. The project was started by passionate cooks Max and Sofia, who have come up with recipes that echo the kind of honest home cooking you might remember from your childhood. Each jar contains a generous one-person portion that you can easily reheat in the oven, microwave or by bain-marie, which takes longer but results in evenly-cooked, succulent food. As for the cuisine, the selection changes with the season, with eight different options available to choose from including Käseknödel and moussaka – two classic dishes that we wouldn’t normally cook ourselves. You also won’t miss the meat in these veggie versions since they are packed with multi-layered flavor. Ordering is easy: just pick your jars online and choose either home/work delivery or pick them up yourself from the Mitte kitchen. To top it all off, if you return the glasses after use you will get a discount on your next order. Lunch and dinner: done!

Text: Annika Hillig / Photos: Benny Golm & Saskia Memmer

Essglas, Wilhelmine-Gemberg-Weg 14, 10179 Berlin–Mitte; map
Mon–Fri 10–15h
You can order the dishes for delivery or pickup online.

@essglas

Your scent is one of the most unique attributes you carry, and this is something the team at online perfume store Apotheke understands. The brand brings together psychological and emotional approaches to perfumes to create scents that perfectly match your personality. The site’s founder, former fashion editor Jessica Hannan, spent five years researching and selling essential oils, room mists and scented sanitizers out of her window in Neukölln before launching a full line in September 2020. To find your perfect fragrance, all you have to do is complete the eight-step “perfume tarot reading” which asks you about your favorite perfumes of the past, the word associations you have with smells and more intimate questions such as your wants and desires. Once complete, the site will suggest one of four fragrances, all of which are vegan, cruelty-free and made in small batches.

The perfumes are designed in Berlin by Jessica in collaboration with Marie Le Febvre and produced in the French town of Grasse (the perfume capital of the world) using natural oils. The Thinker for example comprises bergamot, cedarwood, fresh cucumber and green tea while The Traveller is a meditative fragrance with notes of almond and coconut accompanied by touches of incense, amber and patchouli. These fresh aromas are intrinsically emotional: as founder Jessican puts it, “to smell is to breathe and to breathe is to meditate.” Me? I got matched up with The Dreamer, a romantic scent with sweet and clean notes of rose which, I am told, is my spirit flower. Your turn next! 

Text: Lottie Mac / Photos: Zoe McArthur, Tarot & Label Design: Alex Sullivan, Model: Sung Kim

Apotheke

@apothekeperfume