Open lasagne topped with smoked paprika foam, Brandenburg-inspired pepper and kohlrabi risotto, and Oberhavel peaches served with honey ice cream and plum jelly. If dishes like these get your palate stimulated and your stomach rumbling, this year’s Berlin Food Week (20–26.09.2021) is not to be missed. After a Covid-enforced break last year, the food festival is back with a program of dining, events and markets that focus on the most pressing of topics: sustainability and regionality. A highlight is bound to be the Küchentausch series, where prominent chefs swap their kitchens for the day. On 21.09 Sebastian Junge – from Hamburg’s Wolfs Junge – will be heading to Kreuzberg to take over Lode & Stijn for five courses of experimental cuisine. The same night, Lode van Zuylen and Remi Stijn will be serving up their modern seasonal dishes at Wolfs Junge. If you want to follow the Berlin pair to the Hansestadt, you might also want to make a few other reservations: Hamburg has long been a favorite among gastro connoisseurs with its honest Nordic-inspired cuisine. In fact, the city’s restaurants have been awarded seven Green Stars in the Michelin Guide – a record in Germany for sustainable fine dining.
There is plenty to enjoy back in Berlin, not least the Stadtmenü which will see 50 of the city’s restaurants serving special climate-friendly menus. Among them is the locally-sourced brunch from Frühstück 3000 and a hearty vegetarian three-course meal at the revived Clärchens Ballhaus. Don’t miss the House of Food at Bikini Berlin where you can sample the likes of Nordic Oceanfruit’s seaweed-based treats. Much like the rest of the program, they’re sustainable, experimental – and tasty.
Text: Benji Haughton / Photos: Thilo Bendig Beck & Bonvivant / Visual: Sarah Illenberger
Berlin Food Week (20–26.09.2021)
Links to table reservations can be found on the individual event pages. To help you plan your Hamburg visit, check out the city’s tourism portal.
@berlinfoodweek
