hundreds of thousands of people from the middle East fled 2015/16 to Germany, and barely a year later, shot in Berlin, dozens, maybe even hundreds of Syrian shops and Restaurants from the ground. On the Sonnenallee in Neukölln, the “Arab Ku’damm”, with rows of today’s Syrian, Lebanese or Iraqi vegetable and spice merchants, butchers, pastry and snacks like a piece of string.
most of The eateries offer a little more than a claim-free Oriental Fast Food, the majority for an Arab-born Berlin-based customers and interested tourists. The well-known culinary classics such as Falafel, Shawarma, Hummus, or Baklava, the menu is rare.
Meanwhile, Syrians worry spread all over the city – but also with a more ambitious kitchen a splash: the confectionery Damascus, about the Syrian sweets to lovers in Germany of the Restaurant, Lawrence, provides, at the Oranienburger Strasse (which also has a gallery which exhibits images of fugitive artist) or the schöneberg Local of the well-known Syrian TV-cook Malakeh Jazmati, the Berlin picks up as a Self-actor, and entrepreneur.
The most Intimate – the kitchen
The cross-Berger sky, in turn, is unique in other ways. Berlin initiated the Restaurant with high expectations and operate it together with refugees – as a project linking gastronomy and Integration. Young Syrians, Afghans or Iraqis to rise here to work, be educated or move on to other Jobs. “Anwärmstube” is called the Initiator Andreas Tölke. At the same time, the new arrivals share the most Intimate with their new home, they have left from the old: your kitchen.
On a Saturday night that is filled Locally to the last place, many of the visitors to wait patiently until something is free. At the large tables, several small groups to sit together mostly, so easy to talk to. The rooms are large, bright and furnished with style, and, fortunately, without any Oriental Kitsch. The kitchen is tiny, it’s the Empire of Othman Achitis, the Syrian chef is.
What leaves his kitchen, tastes the majority of wonderful. The traditional appetizers demonstrate the same Strengths. Mild and precisely seasoned, unfold the ingredients to your own taste: the delicious spinach with lemon, coriander and pomegranate (Sabaneh) as well as the spicy beans (Fasuela) or the fruity-delicate, Baba Ghanoush, this is not a clumsy mash as is often the case, but rather a sort of finely cut eggplant Tartare.
Heavenly delicacies such as the Syrian Hummus salad Andreas Tölke in the “Kreuzberger sky served”. Photos: Nils Hasenau
The main dining Fatteh Makdoush, one of the typical dishes of the Syrian cuisine is a poem, crispy and creamy at the same time: chicken in a Sauce of tomatoes, tahini, yogurt, Hummus, eggplant on fried bread chips with fresh pomegranate. Similarly, fine and delicate with minced lamb meat stuffed Zucchini. The dish with the filled Dumplings (Kibbeh) falls off easily. The Desserts, features the same quality as the starters: The pastries taste very fresh and not too sweet, so the spices really Shine.
The waiter from Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, and Iraq all wear the same black shirts and radiating friendliness, accompanied by a natural, amazingly soft English. The compensate for some glitches: Once, the pita bread falls when Serving on the floor, a fork is missing, a mocha is too much, the bill threatens to mess up the course of rates. The “sky”, it noted, is also a training company.
A “Hybrid” is the name Andreas Tölke be a Restaurant, a “holistic thing”: You can eat here good to very good, at the same time, it was operated by people who come and ask in Berlin just right. The Initiator of self-travelled life as a Journalist by the world, for high-gloss magazine, he wrote about Design, stayed in large Hotels. The refugee crisis threw his life over the heap. He was active in the relief, housed in his Berlin apartment over the months, more than 400 refugees, founded a club that strives for Integration. When the opportunity arose to take over a vacant Restaurant, he created the “heavens”.
The cross-Berger sky is unique in other ways. (Photo: Nils Hasenau)
16 former refugees now work in the Restaurant, four of them apprentices. Only two employees were present at the opening little more than a year. The “first round” had been hard, says Tölke. You don’t have all of the know properly, how to run a Restaurant successfully. After three-quarters of a year he had been with the forces at the end. As with Mary Bauer, an experienced restaurant Manager had joined the Team, have turned the tide.
the guests, however, the “heaven” from beginning to amazing success: The media loved the project, Berlin swarmed in the circle of friends. Thanks to the support of many companies Tölke got large parts of the interior for almost nothing. Most of the problems caused by the bureaucracy. Not only are the requirements for hosts to be absurdly high, says Tölke, also for refugees: The chef, for example, who has headed kitchens in Syria throughout the Hotel, is not to be recognised in Germany as a chef officially.
The initiators had to learn from their “übertoleranten helper posture”.
more Difficult than expected, it was also to forms from the parties Involved in a real Team. The initiators of the project, says Tölke and also talks about yourself, ought to have from your “übertoleranten helper attitude” to solve the refugees from the selfishness that got backed up on the run for their Survival. Between the groups there had gekriselt at the beginning: “refugees are not refugees of the same. Afghans and Syrians have much of so little in common, such as German and Japanese.”
Who visited the “sky” today, the Team conspired to be true. “The human experiences of success are the engine of the project”, says Tölke. Who have experienced, as the Council and despondent young Afghans or Syrians had arrived, and now and plan for the future see laugh, can be happy.
Even, financially, the calculation is fast: Only 12000 Euro loss would you have done last year. This surprised not only Tölke, but also the head of the professional Association for gastronomy, admitted: “to be Quite honest, I have given you no Chance.” In terms of the quality of the cuisine, is not Tölke quite there yet where he’s headed. He has plans, he doesn’t want to say much. To the cross, Berger sky he had come like the virgin to the child. “It was the best decision of my life.”
cross-Berger sky, Yorckstrasse 89, 10965 Berlin. From Tuesday to Sunday.
(editing Tamedia)
Created: 05.07.2019, 19:05 PM
