Hotel Berlin, Berlin is not only one of the largest capital city hotels, but is also well known by gastronomists for its excellent cuisine. This reputation has grounds - after all, the culinary offerings of the restaurant are thoroughly geared towards seasonality as well as regionality. Even the decoration of the rooms is inspired by the colours of spring, summer, autumn and winter. And in the kitchen too, the seasons provide the stimulus, which finds its way to the professional stove - here seasonal and regional products are always first choice.
The culinary concept is a matter for the (kitchen) chef. The Executive Chef, André Klode-Purat, is, like the restaurant manager Michael Diez, a self-confessed Slow-Food devotee and a member of the society of the same name.
"Slow Food for me is a belief and is in no way simply a trend. The foundations of this movement are fair trade, organic farming, sustainability and the quality of the products and in this way, the divulgence of great taste," explains the Executive Chef. "For our hotel and our kitchen, that means, in concrete terms, that we buy a proportion of our products from organic farms." So for example, fish come from the Müritz, meat comes from Brandenburg and milk and cheese come from the region. "We use these valuable products effectively in all areas of the hotel kitchen."
However, Slow Food also means saying a clear No to products which are not actually in season. Strawberries which taste of nothing are therefore not allowed to be consumed in December. "I am concerned about making this idea more accessible to the guests with a regionally and above all seasonally coordinated menu in the restaurant, and with fresh vegetables from the market at event buffets," says André Klode-Purat. His aim is to create a real awareness of nutrition, to take time for it and to choose fresh ingredients.
Thus it is self-evident here that the participants of "After Work Cooking" who are invited to Hotel Berlin, Berlin every two months, help themselves to the herb garden belonging to the hotel, so they can work with real freshness.
However, it is not only the hotel guests who enjoy the Slow Food: The ambitious Executive Chef also knows to convert the hotel staff to the cause. Four times a year the hotel staff are able to stand at the stove themselves and get to know the story of a dish and experience where the food to be processed comes from. Every time a new restaurant menu is created, employees from all areas have the chance to cook up the entire menu. In the end though, it is not only the fresh ingredients and the open manufacture of the products that counts, but also enjoying the meal together at the end of each cooking course.
The culinary concept is a matter for the (kitchen) chef. The Executive Chef, André Klode-Purat, is, like the restaurant manager Michael Diez, a self-confessed Slow-Food devotee and a member of the society of the same name.
"Slow Food for me is a belief and is in no way simply a trend. The foundations of this movement are fair trade, organic farming, sustainability and the quality of the products and in this way, the divulgence of great taste," explains the Executive Chef. "For our hotel and our kitchen, that means, in concrete terms, that we buy a proportion of our products from organic farms." So for example, fish come from the Müritz, meat comes from Brandenburg and milk and cheese come from the region. "We use these valuable products effectively in all areas of the hotel kitchen."
However, Slow Food also means saying a clear No to products which are not actually in season. Strawberries which taste of nothing are therefore not allowed to be consumed in December. "I am concerned about making this idea more accessible to the guests with a regionally and above all seasonally coordinated menu in the restaurant, and with fresh vegetables from the market at event buffets," says André Klode-Purat. His aim is to create a real awareness of nutrition, to take time for it and to choose fresh ingredients.
Thus it is self-evident here that the participants of "After Work Cooking" who are invited to Hotel Berlin, Berlin every two months, help themselves to the herb garden belonging to the hotel, so they can work with real freshness.
However, it is not only the hotel guests who enjoy the Slow Food: The ambitious Executive Chef also knows to convert the hotel staff to the cause. Four times a year the hotel staff are able to stand at the stove themselves and get to know the story of a dish and experience where the food to be processed comes from. Every time a new restaurant menu is created, employees from all areas have the chance to cook up the entire menu. In the end though, it is not only the fresh ingredients and the open manufacture of the products that counts, but also enjoying the meal together at the end of each cooking course.
