Germany wakes up to the fry-up as British cuisine takes off in Berlin

Berlin has seen an explosion in traditional British cafes as Germans fall in love with bacon butties and clotted cream teas “My friends think I am a total freak,” said Christina Franz, as she washed down her full English with a mug of milky tea on Tuesday. “They cannot understand why I like British food so much – Sunday roasts, scones and clotted cream, cooked breakfasts of course.” Even white sliced bread, she added cheerfully, to the visible disgust of her boyfriend, Kai. The 33-year-old German was delighted when she heard that a cafe serving British cuisine had opened up in Berlin in May. She had been suffering withdrawal symptoms following a two-year spell in the UK when East London – subtitled God Save Brit Food – started serving scotch eggs, bacon and egg butties and steak and ale pies in the trendy Kreuzberg district. Franz has become a “Stammkunden” – a regular – and is one of a growing band of Germans who see British cuisine not as a bad joke but a treat. Until recently, homesick Brits in the German capital had to fill their suitcases full of baked beans and proper tea whenever they returned home – or scuttle off to the niche shop, Broken English, which recently expanded to include a third branch. Now, though, there is an increasing number of bars and cafes in Berlin offering British produce as their USP. East London is no greasy spoon, but a high-end caff touting British food as an upmarket delicacy. A full breakfast costs an eyebrow-raising €9.50 (£8.30) and a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale will set you back €4.50 (£3.90). A humble cup of English breakfast tea is €2.90 (£2.50). Nadine Sauerzapfe, the 31-year-old German owner, said she chose the name because “East London is the most hip part of London”. While many fashion-following Shoreditch and Dalston hipsters consider Berlin to be their spiritual home, it seems the pull works the other way around too. Anyone craving Irn-Bru can head to Das Gift, a new pub in the rapidly gentrifying Neukölln district run by Barry Burns, a musician in the Glaswegian band Mogwai, along with his Scottish wife, Rachel. Popular bar snacks include salt’n’vinegar crisps and Tunnock’s Caramel Wafers. Das Gift offers a large range of Scottish ales from breweries such as Williams Brothers and Brewdog. “The majority of customers who buy them are German, and they are very enthusiastic about trying them since they aren’t very common in Germany at all,” said Rachel. The beer is authentic but for one crucial difference. “I know some Scottish ales are recommended to be served at room temperature but summers in Berlin are sometimes just so hot and humid that a cold beer is necessary.” Back in Kreuzberg, Jim Hudson spends a good part of each day explaining to curious customers exactly what clotted cream is. “As I understand it, it’s like a cross between butter and cream,” said Annekatrin Trautmann, a dancer and actor, after polishing off two scones lathered in the mysterious dairy product. “Anyway, it was delicious.” Hudson’s, the corner cafe Jim runs with his wife, Katie, specialises in British baking. Encouraged to set up the business after Katie’s cakes were so well-received by their German neighbours, Hudson’s is now so popular that tables for the famous cooked breakfasts on the weekends must be booked ahead first – a relative rarity in laissez-faire Berlin. Katie says she sees herself “a little bit” as an ambassador for the much-maligned British cooking. “Every time we are interviewed by a German journalist they always say that British food has a terrible reputation, but that’s usually because they once went on a school exchange and were served beans on toast every night,” she said. “Jim always says, well, no one exactly says ‘I’m going out for a German tonight’, either.” Deborah Gottlieb, an editor at Der Feinschmecker, Germany’s top food magazine, said British chefs were to thank for the improving reputation of British cuisine. “Jamie Oliver – and not only him – has helped increase the popularity of British cooking,” she said. “For German gourmets, London has long been a favourite destination because of the large selection of top-class food from around the world.” Fergus Henderson’s “Nose to Tail” philosophy of eating has also been adopted by many top German restaurants, she added. Oliver is a big star in Germany: three years ago the Essex chef even endorsed a Jamie Oliver cabaret show , which sold tickets for €89 (£78) a pop. But his recipes are nowhere to be seen in Kreuzberg’s East London. “Delia we are influenced by,” said Sauerzapfe. “Gordon Ramsay too. But not Oliver. His dishes are too Mediterranean for us.” Germany Food & drink Jamie Oliver Delia Smith Gordon Ramsay Europe Helen Pidd guardian.co.uk

Posted by on September 20, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.