Best foodies tips with Nicole Hofen

Nicole Hofen is a well experienced chef based between Berlin and Uckermark. She has recently published a cook book, Mein Jahr in der Uckermark. It tells you all about cooking delicious recipes with seasonal and regional vegetables. Nicole cooked the first 3 recipes for Benoo, to show us that it is possible to cook a meal with local and seasonal vegetables.

We have asked her a few questions…

What is your favorite restaurant in Berlin/Brandenburg?

in Berlin I rarely go out to eat, I mostly cook at home. In Brandenburg I can recommend der großen Garten in Gerswalde. There is the smokehouse “Glut&Späne” and the “Café zum Löwen” where Brandenburg cuisine meets Japanese influence and the Paradise, a bar. All these great places are in a permaculture garden. Großer Garten – Dorfmitte 11 – 17268 Gerswalde

And then there is the Weinschänke Kraatz in the North-West of the Uckermark with its homemade fruit wines and musty juices. The tavern is worth a visit, especially on Saturdays, when the Uckermark menu is served. Nicole is a chef at Kraatz owned by Edda Müller.

Kraatz – Weinschänke – Schloßstraße 7 – 17291 Nordwestuckermark

What are your favorite farms?

Den Regenbogenhof in Augustfelde and the Milchschafhof on the Fuchsberg

What is your favorite world food?

Potatoes always go…

What is your pêché mignon (or little weakness) when it comes to food?

Traditional German cake Brioche und Bienenstich. You can find a recipe in English here

Which tip would you like to share when cooking local and seasonal produce?

Start fermentation and marinating of fruits and vegetables now at the latest, because at some point there will be a shortage of domestic fruit and vegetables.