0:00:04 > 0:00:07A little bit of what you fancy does you good,
0:00:07 > 0:00:11and that's precisely what I think about taking off for a long weekend.
0:00:11 > 0:00:16Not too far away, not obvious like Paris or Rome,
0:00:16 > 0:00:19I'll dive into the culture, take in some history,
0:00:19 > 0:00:22but food will always be key.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30So, this week, if you like hearty dishes like roast pig's knuckle
0:00:30 > 0:00:35and lots of beer served with 3,000 happy diners,
0:00:35 > 0:00:40or if you prefer the latest new-wave take on really local cuisine,
0:00:40 > 0:00:43or if you might like to take a self-drive sightseeing
0:00:43 > 0:00:45tour in a classic old car...
0:00:47 > 0:00:49Well, this could be for you.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54# Hey, Rick
0:00:54 > 0:00:57# Where we going this weekend? #
0:00:57 > 0:00:58Berlin, actually.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03# Are we flying a few hours away
0:01:03 > 0:01:06# For some delicious food they say?
0:01:06 > 0:01:11# So, Rick, make the booking and let's get cooking
0:01:11 > 0:01:15# And get those taste buds going this weekend. #
0:01:23 > 0:01:25I must say, I'm really excited.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27I've just got off the plane and we're going to the hotel
0:01:27 > 0:01:29and I've never been here.
0:01:29 > 0:01:34So it's just that incredible sort of, like, wonderful anticipation.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38I started reading up about the food and about the architecture
0:01:38 > 0:01:41and about the museums, but really it's the food
0:01:41 > 0:01:42that's drawing me here.
0:01:42 > 0:01:43What am I going to find?
0:01:43 > 0:01:46Well, I thought it was going to be lots of pork knuckle
0:01:46 > 0:01:49and potatoes and dumplings and sauerkraut.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51Yes, I'm going to find that,
0:01:51 > 0:01:54but what I've been reading is there's this really cutting edge.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57There's a lot of very, very, sort of, arrogant chefs saying,
0:01:57 > 0:02:00"This is how we're going to do this in Berlin,"
0:02:00 > 0:02:03and I think that's what Berlin, for me, is going to be all about.
0:02:03 > 0:02:04It's an attitude.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08It's an intelligent, artistic, but very, very
0:02:08 > 0:02:10"it's us" sort of attitude.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19Wow.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23This is just how I imagined Berlin to be. Look at that. An old Mini.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27Duvet in the back. I had one of those. This is fab.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32- Evening.- Hi, good evening.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36- Lovely hotel. Very unusual. - Thank you. It is.- My name's Stein.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39- I'm checking in.- All right. Let me have a look.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43- And you're Rick, right? - Rick, yeah, yeah. And you are?
0:02:43 > 0:02:45- Is it your first time with...? I'm Caroline.- Oh, hello, Caroline.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47- It's your first time here? - Yeah, yeah.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50- It's very, very... - In Berlin as well, or...?- Yes, yes.
0:02:50 > 0:02:51Oh, really? What brings you here?
0:02:51 > 0:02:54I'm having a long weekend doing a bit of filming, actually.
0:02:54 > 0:02:55Oh, right. Cool.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00'I've only been here for an hour, but I'm getting a feel for this.
0:03:00 > 0:03:06'A basic, down-to-earth, no frills, mixed with a dash of the demimonde
0:03:06 > 0:03:09'and a good sprinkle of post-war modernism.
0:03:11 > 0:03:16'I have a feeling that I'm going to find Berlin anything but dull.'
0:03:19 > 0:03:20Gosh. HE LAUGHS
0:03:20 > 0:03:22Oh, this is so good!
0:03:22 > 0:03:24Look at this. Look at the ceiling.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26It looks like an old car park.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30Pipes and wires everywhere, but, I mean, this is really...
0:03:30 > 0:03:33I sort of think this is a sort of zeitgeist
0:03:33 > 0:03:36of the whole Berlin experience.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39I'm told we're opposite the zoo here,
0:03:39 > 0:03:43so in fact this room is supposed to overlook the monkey house.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45Presumably that's what the hammock's for.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47I can lie in there and watch the monkeys.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50I'm not going to, cos I'm a bit clumsy.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52"No hunters in jungle rooms."
0:03:52 > 0:03:55Lovely bit of German sense of humour, I think.
0:03:55 > 0:03:56HE LAUGHS
0:03:58 > 0:04:02I was tempted to have an early night, but I had to eat,
0:04:02 > 0:04:05and one of the restaurants I have heard a great deal about
0:04:05 > 0:04:07from my chefy friends is here.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09Nobelhart & Schmutzig.
0:04:09 > 0:04:14It's a hot ticket in Berlin, but fortunately the owner,
0:04:14 > 0:04:18a fierce-looking man called Billy Wagner, had heard of me.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22It's a bone-dry Lambrusco, unfiltered.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24A really straight starch.
0:04:24 > 0:04:25Enjoy.
0:04:27 > 0:04:28Billy has a set menu.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30That's all there is.
0:04:30 > 0:04:31Take it or leave it.
0:04:31 > 0:04:32It's fiercely local.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34They don't even serve lemons.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37It's like theatre-in-the-round,
0:04:37 > 0:04:39where the kitchen becomes a stage.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43The best thing is to eat in the kitchen.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45When you are at a friend's place, you know,
0:04:45 > 0:04:47and when they have a dining room and they have a kitchen,
0:04:47 > 0:04:49everybody is at one point in the kitchen
0:04:49 > 0:04:52because people are cooking there, you know, and talking.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55I know, and you're trying to cook and they're all standing over you
0:04:55 > 0:04:58with a glass of wine, saying, "How are you, Rick? How is everything?"
0:04:58 > 0:04:59And you're trying to work...
0:04:59 > 0:05:00Exactly, exactly.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04Here the chef is more a waiter, you know, like more a person who
0:05:04 > 0:05:07serves the food and shows... Gives the people spirit.
0:05:07 > 0:05:12To start, the slices of smoked eel with icewine vinegar jelly,
0:05:12 > 0:05:15garnished with fresh radish shoots.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17Then barbecued baby leeks.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20Later they are gently fried with slivers of speck lard,
0:05:20 > 0:05:24thin slices of tasty fat with crushed fennel seeds.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29I love the way they curl up like spring flowers in the sun.
0:05:30 > 0:05:35The leeks are presented rather like a mini version of Stonehenge
0:05:35 > 0:05:38set in a lake of pork stock.
0:05:39 > 0:05:44Now, neck of saddleback pork, first barbecued for five minutes
0:05:44 > 0:05:47and then finished off in the oven for another five.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52Blanched salad leaves garnished with frozen pine needles.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56Yes, frozen pine needles, and, yes, they taste lovely.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58What a great idea.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03That's a reduced pork stock made with meat juices and wine.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09Well, that is trout and it's actually wild trout.
0:06:09 > 0:06:10And very fresh.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12Very, very lightly seared,
0:06:12 > 0:06:15so in fact it's sort of, like, raw in the middle,
0:06:15 > 0:06:18but that's how I like oily fish like trout and salmon.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21The mashed potato, I don't know how they've done it, but it's smoked.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23It's got this smoky flavour.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25And you've got this puree of kale.
0:06:25 > 0:06:26It's like a sauce of kale.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31I don't know if this is allowed.
0:06:34 > 0:06:35Mmm.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40Would you ever think about putting, like, pork knuckle or,
0:06:40 > 0:06:43you know, sauerkraut or anything on the menu?
0:06:43 > 0:06:44We had pork knuckle on the menu,
0:06:44 > 0:06:48but German cuisine is not a German cuisine - you have regional cuisines
0:06:48 > 0:06:54because Germany was, until 1840-something, was split up.
0:06:54 > 0:06:55It wasn't one country, you know?
0:06:55 > 0:06:59So German cuisine is something which is not existing.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02And if people tell German cuisine, it's probably Austrian,
0:07:02 > 0:07:03to be honest.
0:07:03 > 0:07:04HE LAUGHS
0:07:07 > 0:07:09Well, that was a nice light supper.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12Time for bed now.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14I hope to see monkeys in the morning.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21Don't see any monkeys. It's a bit chilly for them, I guess.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28When I was, well, about 19, 20,
0:07:28 > 0:07:32I took a job on a German freighter out to New Zealand.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34And I was on it for about three weeks
0:07:34 > 0:07:36and this is what we had for breakfast every day.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39Maybe with the odd beer or two, because we were young.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42I was working in the engine room and it was hot all the time.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45I just remember we had just lots of cold things for breakfast.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47Excuse my fingers.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50What I really like is we've got some nice little sauces to go
0:07:50 > 0:07:52with my smoked salmon.
0:07:52 > 0:07:54Here's some horseradish.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57And I think just cucumber, because I'm going to have a very,
0:07:57 > 0:08:01very full day of things like pork knuckle, potato dumplings,
0:08:01 > 0:08:05sausages, sauerkraut. So a light, healthy breakfast, that's the thing.
0:08:19 > 0:08:24Berlin has a favourite dish that Germans have taken to their hearts.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26It's not everyone's cup of tea.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29The food snobs here absolutely hate it.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33Nevertheless, they sell nearly a billion of them
0:08:33 > 0:08:36in Germany every year and indeed in Germany
0:08:36 > 0:08:40there's so much envy on who invented this dish.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44Hamburg says it comes from there. Dortmund the same.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47But I believe it was born here in Berlin.
0:08:48 > 0:08:53If you're not sure what I'm talking about, it is, of course,
0:08:53 > 0:08:54the famous currywurst.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59You either love it or "Nein, danke."
0:09:00 > 0:09:03I know I shouldn't, but I really do like currywurst.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09I mean, all it is is bratwurst, tomato ketchup and curry powder.
0:09:11 > 0:09:12But somehow it sort of works.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16The sum is greater than its parts, if you see what I mean.
0:09:16 > 0:09:21It was invented in the late '40s by a lady called Herta Heuwer
0:09:21 > 0:09:22from the British section.
0:09:22 > 0:09:27Now, I reckon this is not a British invention,
0:09:27 > 0:09:30but I think the curry powder came from the British -
0:09:30 > 0:09:33if you imagine the troops maybe going out for a few beers,
0:09:33 > 0:09:37seeing some bratwurst with tomato ketchup
0:09:37 > 0:09:40and just maybe having a bottle of curry powder in the old kitbag
0:09:40 > 0:09:43and just sort of sprinkling it on the top.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45And Herta, being a commercial woman
0:09:45 > 0:09:48and tasting it, would have thought, "We're onto something here."
0:09:48 > 0:09:51It may not be true, but I think we can take a little
0:09:51 > 0:09:54bit of patriotic pleasure from the story.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00If currywurst is number one in the fast food chart,
0:10:00 > 0:10:03then I reckon the doner kebab is not far behind.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07Food, as I've always said, is a by-product of events,
0:10:07 > 0:10:12and in the 1960s, loads of Turkish guest workers came
0:10:12 > 0:10:16to West Germany to help rebuild the ravaged cities and factories.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19Naturally they bought their own food,
0:10:19 > 0:10:21and, well, it's obvious - voila.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25The doner kebab lives with pride alongside the Frankfurter,
0:10:25 > 0:10:30the bockwurst, currywurst and no doubt pizzas too.
0:10:36 > 0:10:41As it's my long weekend, I guess I can go wherever I like.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45I don't have to follow any guides, only my imagination.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48And the stories I've read about Berlin,
0:10:48 > 0:10:50especially the stories of the Berlin Wall...
0:10:52 > 0:10:57The wall that cut the city in half and spawned 100 spy novels.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02You have to remember that the city of Berlin was
0:11:02 > 0:11:06well into East Germany and West Berlin was
0:11:06 > 0:11:09governed by the Americans, the French and the British.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15I'm glad there are parts of the wall still standing because it really
0:11:15 > 0:11:20makes me think, how could anyone in their right minds do this to a city?
0:11:21 > 0:11:25Sticking a ruddy great wall inches from your front windows,
0:11:25 > 0:11:30separating and dividing roads, rooms, neighbourhoods and families.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33It's a travesty.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35In fact, it's a monument to travesty
0:11:35 > 0:11:39and one that lasted for nearly 30 years.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43- You're coming from England, am I right?- Yeah, yeah.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45Everything you see here was no-man's-land.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47And do you remember the wall?
0:11:47 > 0:11:49I was five years old when the wall was built, you see.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54And it was one of my very first memories when I was a little boy.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58And I remember so well that we tried to catch
0:11:58 > 0:12:02a view from our grandparents which were standing on the other side
0:12:02 > 0:12:04of the wall in the distance by maybe 150 metres.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07What, your grandparents were in East Berlin?
0:12:07 > 0:12:10Both of them did live in East Berlin,
0:12:10 > 0:12:13but if you are a little boy about five years old, of course
0:12:13 > 0:12:16you don't understand anything about the special political situation.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20The only thing you can't understand is why it is not
0:12:20 > 0:12:23possible to see Grandpa and Grandma no more.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26I'm sorry. What's your name? I've... HE LAUGHS
0:12:26 > 0:12:28My name? My name is Hans.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30Well, very nice.
0:12:30 > 0:12:31- You are?- My name's Rick.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34- Rick? Nice to meet you, Rick. - Very nice to meet you.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36I was just thinking when you were saying this...
0:12:36 > 0:12:38It's so moving, but I was thinking,
0:12:38 > 0:12:41sometimes conversations with taxi drivers astound you.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46I'm a child of my town and I love to tell people
0:12:46 > 0:12:49which are obviously interested about the history of my town, of course.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52It makes me much more happy than instead
0:12:52 > 0:12:56you are asking for next table dance bar or something like that.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59Or where you can get some good German food.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03German food. Do we mean curry sausage? Do we mean fish?
0:13:03 > 0:13:05Do we mean...? What do we mean, schnitzel?
0:13:05 > 0:13:06HE LAUGHS
0:13:11 > 0:13:13BIKE'S BELL RINGS
0:13:24 > 0:13:28Oh, I'm really soaking up atmosphere here.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32I mean, for most of my youth - the Berlin Wall went up in '61,
0:13:32 > 0:13:38came down in '89 - East Berlin was a no-go place and just endless
0:13:38 > 0:13:42stories about desperate people trying to get across the wall.
0:13:42 > 0:13:47And when the wall finally came down, there was a mass exodus to the West.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51And places like this, you could almost get buildings for nothing.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54Rents were either low or non-existent,
0:13:54 > 0:13:59so of course lots of young people came here, opened clubs,
0:13:59 > 0:14:02discos, restaurants, you name it.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06And the result of that now - I find that really exciting -
0:14:06 > 0:14:10is this sort of massive upsurge of, sort of, fun and excitement,
0:14:10 > 0:14:13because buildings were so cheap.
0:14:15 > 0:14:20This old brewery, it used to be one of the biggest in Germany,
0:14:20 > 0:14:23is the site for one of Berlin's new trendy restaurants.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27It's called La Soupe Populaire.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29That's French for "soup kitchen."
0:14:31 > 0:14:33It's very popular
0:14:33 > 0:14:37with cool young diners who seem to love lots of concrete
0:14:37 > 0:14:41and old industrial paraphernalia,
0:14:41 > 0:14:45creating a setting fit for a film noir shoot-out.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51Gosh, this is so Berlin. You see that crocodile there?
0:14:51 > 0:14:54Legend has it that towards the end of the Second World War,
0:14:54 > 0:14:58the Allied bombing was getting so intense that the zoo near here
0:14:58 > 0:15:01was bombed and the crocodile tank was fractured
0:15:01 > 0:15:05and all the water flowed out. And they didn't want the crocodiles
0:15:05 > 0:15:07to die, so they brought them here
0:15:07 > 0:15:09and put them in one of the beer vats.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11Not in beer, but in water.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15Very German, isn't it?
0:15:21 > 0:15:25- Michael.- Yeah, you are Rick? - Yes, good to meet you.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28Nice to meet you. Welcome to La Soupe Populaire.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32It's just extraordinary, this lovely kitchen in this very old building.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36We built the kitchen like a cage inside. These are my chefs.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38What we do here...
0:15:38 > 0:15:42Every dish is inspired from our mothers and grandmothers,
0:15:42 > 0:15:46so it's typical German food, or Berlin-style food.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48We take the original dishes,
0:15:48 > 0:15:51like Konigsberger Klopse, it's called in Germany -
0:15:51 > 0:15:54- that's meatballs from the veal... - Yeah.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57..and it comes with a beetroot salad, mashed potatoes
0:15:57 > 0:16:01and sauce from chicken stock and white sweet wine.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06So, in a bowl containing a kilo of veal mince,
0:16:06 > 0:16:10plus chopped head meat for that gelatinous touch
0:16:10 > 0:16:15and some chopped tongue for texture, Michael adds capers and parsley.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21Next, two eggs, about 100g of breadcrumbs,
0:16:21 > 0:16:25some salt and white pepper - about 20 turns.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31Two tablespoonfuls of sweet mustard.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33I love German mustard.
0:16:34 > 0:16:39Now, like mud pies, you mix and form the meatballs with wet hands.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41That's very important.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46And you simmer very gently in chicken stock.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53For the sauce, heat about half a litre of chicken stock
0:16:53 > 0:16:58and then some single cream, about 150ml.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01Add some butter and keep whisking.
0:17:03 > 0:17:08Two tablespoonfuls of semolina, and whisk until that sauce thickens.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15And now some sweet white wine, about half a wine glass full.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22The meatballs take about 20 minutes to cook through.
0:17:22 > 0:17:27The sauce is done, nice and silky, and so is the mashed potato.
0:17:27 > 0:17:31The Konigsberger Klopse, a famous East Prussian dish,
0:17:31 > 0:17:33resurrected into a lighter form.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40Oh, that late arrival - breadcrumbs, lightly fried in butter,
0:17:40 > 0:17:44and a little ball of shaven beetroot and apple salad
0:17:44 > 0:17:47with a touch of strawberry vinegar.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51It was quite superb.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55In fact, I ate it with Per Meurling.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57He's a passionate foodie
0:17:57 > 0:17:59and writes a blog about Berlin restaurants.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06Well, this is, just as I expected,
0:18:06 > 0:18:07very light.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10Can you just pronounce it again?
0:18:10 > 0:18:14It's pronounced "Konigsberger Klopse".
0:18:14 > 0:18:17- Konigsberger Klopse.- Exactly.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19Classic Prussian dish.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22I just think this is the way forward.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24If you want to do local food, do it like this,
0:18:24 > 0:18:27just a little bit of a twist. I think it's fab.
0:18:27 > 0:18:32This restaurant, it stands for the new way of Berlin chefs
0:18:32 > 0:18:35and German chefs who are coming in and saying,
0:18:35 > 0:18:37"We want to do things different.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40"We want to make it... We want to take the German cooking
0:18:40 > 0:18:43"and cuisine to the next level and make something out of it."
0:18:43 > 0:18:47It really, really is good. It hits the spot with me. It really does.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50I'm glad you like it. Cheers.
0:18:53 > 0:18:54Just before sitting down to enjoy
0:18:54 > 0:18:58that magnificent Konigsberger Klopse,
0:18:58 > 0:19:02I noticed on the menu a starter of marinated salmon,
0:19:02 > 0:19:04and it got me thinking.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06I was looking for German flavours
0:19:06 > 0:19:11and maybe doing a cured salmon dish, so I thought beetroot,
0:19:11 > 0:19:16I thought caraway, and I came up with this sliced salmon dish.
0:19:16 > 0:19:21And with it I'm going to do a German-influenced salad -
0:19:21 > 0:19:24cucumber, apple and horseradish.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31So I'm just going to mortar and pestle-ize caraway seeds
0:19:31 > 0:19:33and some white peppercorns.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37I think caraway seeds are very, very Northern European,
0:19:37 > 0:19:40and I love the flavour.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42So now I'm just going to add a little bit of salt.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45Well, a little bit - I always say a little bit.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48Probably be a bit astonished by how much salt
0:19:48 > 0:19:50and how much sugar is going into this.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52But bear in mind, this is a cure.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54I'm going to put this in the fridge now,
0:19:54 > 0:19:57weighed down for about 48 hours.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00By the end of it, you'll hardly notice it's salty.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03It is all leached out in osmosis.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05Now, then, beetroot.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08That goes into the processor,
0:20:08 > 0:20:11and followed by all the salt and sugar,
0:20:11 > 0:20:13caraway seeds and white peppercorns.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17And then the boring bit.
0:20:18 > 0:20:19Whizz it all up.
0:20:25 > 0:20:26That'll do.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29Oh, lovely smell. Heady stuff.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32Now the salmon - look at that. It's beautiful.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34Cut from the centre, so it's really thick,
0:20:34 > 0:20:36and you get a much sweeter, deeper cure.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41So this is a type of gravadlax
0:20:41 > 0:20:44for which you need copious amounts of clingfilm,
0:20:44 > 0:20:47which hopefully will keep in check that flavoured salt
0:20:47 > 0:20:51that will, after a couple of days, work its preserving magic
0:20:51 > 0:20:53into the fillets of the salmon,
0:20:53 > 0:20:57changing its colour and giving it a sweet flavour.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03Now, to weigh it down,
0:21:03 > 0:21:06a piece of wood and a really heavy copper saucepan -
0:21:06 > 0:21:12the sort of saucepan I used to work with in the restaurant 30 years ago.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16It weighs a ton and will ensure that the precious cure
0:21:16 > 0:21:20will reach all the vital parts over the next 48 hours.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25Next, the salad, and in a nutshell, it goes like this.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29Slice quite finely using a Japanese mandolin.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33Respect these - they're very sharp indeed.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37Slice cucumber, apples and onion.
0:21:37 > 0:21:42I mean, have you ever seen a TV chef wearing a blue plaster on his hand?
0:21:42 > 0:21:44Respect these Japanese mandolins!
0:21:47 > 0:21:50Now two spoonfuls of horseradish.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52I mean, it's ridiculous -
0:21:52 > 0:21:55I just took it out of the cupboard and it cut me!
0:21:55 > 0:21:58And salt, sugar and cider vinegar.
0:22:00 > 0:22:05Now a drizzle of rapeseed oil, which is getting more and more popular.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07It's getting to the stages where it's competing
0:22:07 > 0:22:10with virgin olive oil. Rapeseed oil!
0:22:12 > 0:22:15Throw in the cucumber, apple and onion.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18Roughly chop the dill and add to the salad mix.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24Now, the moment of truth.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26That looks really good.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28So, now to slice.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30Fab.
0:22:33 > 0:22:34Beautiful.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37Look at that. It couldn't be better.
0:22:37 > 0:22:41And the salad of apple, cucumber and dill
0:22:41 > 0:22:44with a touch of horseradish - perfect.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47I wouldn't mind that for my lunch.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57When I mentioned Berlin being a must location for a long weekend,
0:22:57 > 0:23:00everyone said, "Fabulous for a winter break."
0:23:00 > 0:23:04Fireside beers, party food and all that stuff.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08All I can say is that on this particular winter's morning,
0:23:08 > 0:23:11it's very, very cold here.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22- It's a funny place to come for a long weekend, isn't it?- Why?
0:23:23 > 0:23:27- Well, it's just a bit noir. - I like noir!
0:23:27 > 0:23:31It's like Christopher Isherwood, Bertolt Brecht, Otto Dix.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35You know, black, melancholic stuff. It's what Berlin's all about.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39Yeah. I suppose so.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41Well, it is for me, anyway.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44You want sun all the time, I suppose, don't you?
0:23:44 > 0:23:46You like happy, sunny skies.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48I like a bit of black, a bit of noir.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52It's sort of... It suits, really.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57One of my so-called friends suggested that
0:23:57 > 0:24:02if I wanted to see the city then take the tour in a Trabant,
0:24:02 > 0:24:05that legendary symbol of East Germany,
0:24:05 > 0:24:10the car with a ten-year waiting list made out of Duroplast,
0:24:10 > 0:24:13a communist type of Bakelite.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16Well, it didn't rust!
0:24:17 > 0:24:19The tour is certainly different.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23INDISTINCT VOICE FROM RADIO
0:24:23 > 0:24:26You see, you listen to a commentary on a walkie-talkie
0:24:26 > 0:24:28that comes from the lead car.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31Sometimes you can make it out.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34Sometimes you can see out of the windows.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38I have to say, it's not the ideal way to capture
0:24:38 > 0:24:40the greatest features of this German city.
0:24:40 > 0:24:44- FROM RADIO:- The Burgermeister, they say the best burgers in town.
0:24:44 > 0:24:45RICK LAUGHS
0:24:47 > 0:24:51RADIO VOICE CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY
0:24:55 > 0:24:57CAR HORNS BLARE
0:24:57 > 0:24:58BLEEP
0:24:58 > 0:25:00HE LAUGHS
0:25:02 > 0:25:05If I don't end up in the local police station, I don't know what...
0:25:05 > 0:25:07Presumably... HORN BLARES
0:25:10 > 0:25:11BLEEP
0:25:25 > 0:25:26CAR HORNS BLARE
0:25:30 > 0:25:33- CAMERAMAN:- You've got it, Rick. - I wouldn't hold your breath.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36- FROM RADIO:- Watch the policeman, ja?
0:25:36 > 0:25:38- Got to get these- BLEEP - gears organised.
0:25:38 > 0:25:39I'm stumped.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46Looking forward to lunch?
0:25:46 > 0:25:49I'm looking forward to anything but driving this bloody thing.
0:25:54 > 0:25:55That's a no entry, there.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58HE LAUGHS
0:25:58 > 0:26:00Completely, utterly stuffed.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14At last I found third gear,
0:26:14 > 0:26:18and I turned the radio off to celebrate and felt free.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21And this is a glimpse of Berlin.
0:26:28 > 0:26:29What was that like?
0:26:29 > 0:26:31Terrible!
0:26:31 > 0:26:33Terrible. Didn't hear a word.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35HE LAUGHS
0:26:35 > 0:26:37I got the hang of it in the end.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47Now I'd like to show you how to get to one of Berlin's
0:26:47 > 0:26:49most popular restaurants.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51Follow me, please.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58Well, they said something about it being round the back
0:26:58 > 0:27:02of the Westin Hotel, but I must admit I'm beginning to lose heart.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06This is so industrial. Who would know how to come round here?
0:27:08 > 0:27:11Said something about a chandelier.
0:27:11 > 0:27:12There we are.
0:27:12 > 0:27:14HE LAUGHS
0:27:14 > 0:27:16Must be... Oh, there we go.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22A chandelier will guide you to a door,
0:27:22 > 0:27:26and there will be a sign that says Cookies Cream.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28And that's it!
0:27:28 > 0:27:29BUZZER
0:27:31 > 0:27:35So noir. So Berlin.
0:27:37 > 0:27:38- Cookie.- Hello.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42- Heard a lot about you. - Heard a lot about you!
0:27:42 > 0:27:44- Great that you're here. - It's nice to be here.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49Well, I have to say, I really didn't expect
0:27:49 > 0:27:51to walk into a packed restaurant.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55I thought it would be more like a Chicago speakeasy joint,
0:27:55 > 0:27:57like they had in the gangster films.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01But this is a packed vegetarian restaurant
0:28:01 > 0:28:04and it's only seven o'clock in the evening.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11The origins of this restaurant came from the famous Berlin techno clubs,
0:28:11 > 0:28:15and so when Cookie, the owner, got bored with discos,
0:28:15 > 0:28:19he started to create some very exciting vegetarian food
0:28:19 > 0:28:24using, in this case, the same Technics turntable!
0:28:24 > 0:28:27This is a flan made from pureed sunflower seeds
0:28:27 > 0:28:29and Jerusalem artichokes.
0:28:29 > 0:28:33The green is liquidised watercress and parsley oil.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35There's more to it than this,
0:28:35 > 0:28:39but I'm afraid, being a simple cook, I couldn't take it all in.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42And anyway, I've only got a CD player at home!
0:28:44 > 0:28:46Now, you might think this is not my sort of food,
0:28:46 > 0:28:48and of course, it's not what I'm brought up to do.
0:28:48 > 0:28:52But I've just thrown away the rule book here in Berlin
0:28:52 > 0:28:56and I must say, that looks like a piece of art.
0:28:59 > 0:29:01Well, this is paper-thin potato strips
0:29:01 > 0:29:05topped with mashed potato and creamed spinach
0:29:05 > 0:29:07with a tiny splash of Noilly Prat.
0:29:08 > 0:29:12Radishes, now built up into layers.
0:29:14 > 0:29:18A julienne of spinach on top with chopped pistachio,
0:29:18 > 0:29:21sesame dressing with a fried egg yolk -
0:29:21 > 0:29:23a lot of work there.
0:29:25 > 0:29:29There's loads of dishes here. I could go on and on.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32But nobody's going to cook these at home
0:29:32 > 0:29:36and that's the point - that's why people come here.
0:29:36 > 0:29:41They get something unique, and it's not just a substitute for meat.
0:29:41 > 0:29:43Cookie, I'm really interested about...
0:29:43 > 0:29:46I mean, it's a really avant-garde, for me, restaurant.
0:29:46 > 0:29:49- But tell me, you started off in nightclubs.- Exactly.
0:29:49 > 0:29:53I started off years back, 22 years ago.
0:29:53 > 0:29:55I opened up my first little bar
0:29:55 > 0:29:57in the cellar of the house where I was living.
0:29:57 > 0:30:00- Legal?- No, it was illegal. Of course it was illegal!
0:30:00 > 0:30:03In those days you had to have illegal clubs.
0:30:03 > 0:30:07So why didn't you carry on with clubs? Obviously so successful.
0:30:07 > 0:30:10It was a lot of fun. I had a lot of fun.
0:30:10 > 0:30:13I love electronic music, and Berlin is electronic music place.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17But then I started getting bored of it
0:30:17 > 0:30:19and I decided to then reinvent myself
0:30:19 > 0:30:22and open up in the same venue a restaurant.
0:30:22 > 0:30:24Well, I had a club, and I mean, didn't have time
0:30:24 > 0:30:27to get bored with it cos it was closed down by the police.
0:30:27 > 0:30:29But I reinvented myself as a chef.
0:30:29 > 0:30:31I heard, yes.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34- Similar.- We've got a lot in common. - Similarity.
0:30:35 > 0:30:37So, a lesson learned in Berlin -
0:30:37 > 0:30:42the more difficult it is to find, the more attractive the venue.
0:30:45 > 0:30:49But for many locals here, they don't want to go
0:30:49 > 0:30:54finding their way around car parks and loading bays looking for a sign.
0:30:54 > 0:30:58They want a table heaving with beer, sausages, wine and sauerkraut.
0:31:00 > 0:31:04Sometimes on a journey you just want to get grounded,
0:31:04 > 0:31:07and this place, the Hofbrauhaus,
0:31:07 > 0:31:11is where ordinary Berliners go to let their hair down.
0:31:11 > 0:31:15This is the biggest beer tavern not just in Berlin,
0:31:15 > 0:31:17but in the world.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23THEY YODEL
0:31:31 > 0:31:34But if you like pork knuckle -
0:31:34 > 0:31:37that's roasted pork knuckle and potato dumpling -
0:31:37 > 0:31:40Wiener schnitzel and chips,
0:31:40 > 0:31:44currywurst - it wouldn't be Berlin without currywurst -
0:31:44 > 0:31:49oh, and spaetzle - that's a soft dumpling-like pasta -
0:31:49 > 0:31:51and lots of sausages,
0:31:51 > 0:31:53then this could be for you.
0:31:53 > 0:31:58Especially if you like to drink litres of cold Pilsner beer.
0:31:58 > 0:32:04Indeed, many people think of this as quintessential German food.
0:32:04 > 0:32:06It isn't, really.
0:32:06 > 0:32:08It's the food of Bavaria
0:32:08 > 0:32:12that goes so well with lederhosen and dirndl skirts,
0:32:12 > 0:32:15snowy mountaintops and grassy meadows
0:32:15 > 0:32:19full of contented cows wearing huge bells.
0:32:23 > 0:32:25CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:32:29 > 0:32:32I bet 98% of people watching this
0:32:32 > 0:32:35would think this is just typical German food.
0:32:35 > 0:32:39And the Berliners are a bit snooty about this sort of big beer hall
0:32:39 > 0:32:42and eating crispy pork knuckle -
0:32:42 > 0:32:44they like boiled pork knuckle.
0:32:45 > 0:32:47But for me, I love restaurants,
0:32:47 > 0:32:52and this is just a great expression of a fabulous restaurant.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55OK, it's a little bit naff - yes, it is.
0:32:55 > 0:32:56But I was just thinking,
0:32:56 > 0:33:00imagine we had beer halls like this in England
0:33:00 > 0:33:03serving roast beef and Yorkshire pudding
0:33:03 > 0:33:06and having Chas & Dave on the stage.
0:33:06 > 0:33:07OK, a bit naff,
0:33:07 > 0:33:09but everybody would love it!
0:33:11 > 0:33:14Well, that definitely wasn't noir,
0:33:14 > 0:33:16and I really enjoyed it.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19Actually, that is a must for a long weekend.
0:33:20 > 0:33:22Eisbein, eisbein, eisbein.
0:33:22 > 0:33:25That's cured pork knuckle.
0:33:25 > 0:33:28Roasted or boiled, it's lovely.
0:33:28 > 0:33:31But when it arrives on your plate it's a bit daunting,
0:33:31 > 0:33:36so I thought, why not do the same thing but use a bacon joint?
0:33:36 > 0:33:37A streaky bacon joint.
0:33:37 > 0:33:41Do it with some lovely home-made sauerkraut
0:33:41 > 0:33:45with some yellow split pea puree and delicious German mustard.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52So first of all, in goes my bacon joint.
0:33:52 > 0:33:56That's basically just streaky bacon in the whole piece.
0:33:56 > 0:34:00Next I've got an onion studded with cloves.
0:34:00 > 0:34:04Lovely scent of cloves. Always goes well for me with ham or pork.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07Now some chilli, just cos I like it,
0:34:07 > 0:34:08and then some brown sugar.
0:34:08 > 0:34:11I love the sweetness of the brown sugar
0:34:11 > 0:34:13with the saltiness of the bacon joint.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16Then some black peppercorns - about a teaspoon of those.
0:34:16 > 0:34:17Maybe a few more.
0:34:18 > 0:34:20Plenty of bay leaves off my tree.
0:34:20 > 0:34:23And now some cider - just about 300ml,
0:34:23 > 0:34:26about half a pint in old money, of cider.
0:34:26 > 0:34:30And finally top everything up with some water.
0:34:30 > 0:34:33I'm just going to leave to simmer now
0:34:33 > 0:34:35for about 45 minutes to an hour.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38So while that is simmering away,
0:34:38 > 0:34:41I'm going to make a super quick sauerkraut.
0:34:41 > 0:34:43You may say this is not a good idea,
0:34:43 > 0:34:46sauerkraut should be matured for weeks,
0:34:46 > 0:34:49but I tasted it next to some bought sauerkraut
0:34:49 > 0:34:52and found it very nice.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55So you slice up an onion thinly,
0:34:55 > 0:34:59and I'm going to fry it in rapeseed oil gently.
0:34:59 > 0:35:01I like rapeseed oil.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04I know many people who think it spoils the landscape
0:35:04 > 0:35:08when it's growing. I love those bold yellow squares
0:35:08 > 0:35:11among the greens and the golds and the browns.
0:35:11 > 0:35:13I think it's fabulous.
0:35:13 > 0:35:17Now slice up, as thin as you can, white cabbage.
0:35:17 > 0:35:21Remove the base and cut it into thin strips.
0:35:21 > 0:35:25Chuck that into the onions and tamp it down,
0:35:25 > 0:35:29getting those cabbage pieces covered with the oil.
0:35:29 > 0:35:31Next some caraway seeds.
0:35:31 > 0:35:36I think this is one of the distinctive flavours of Germany.
0:35:36 > 0:35:37Then salt,
0:35:37 > 0:35:39and cider vinegar.
0:35:40 > 0:35:41And now cider.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46And as my old friend Keith Floyd used to say,
0:35:46 > 0:35:51if you can't drink it, for God's sake, don't cook with it!
0:35:51 > 0:35:53Finally, water.
0:35:53 > 0:35:56And I'm just going to let that simmer now
0:35:56 > 0:35:58for about three quarters of an hour
0:35:58 > 0:36:00and then it will be done.
0:36:01 > 0:36:03Not quite like ordinary sauerkraut.
0:36:08 > 0:36:12This is an unsmoked bacon joint and will not disappoint.
0:36:12 > 0:36:15It's ready to serve after very nearly an hour.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19It's cooked to perfection and it slices easily.
0:36:21 > 0:36:25I have to say, I much prefer it to one of those scary pork knuckles
0:36:25 > 0:36:28and it's a lot easier to carve.
0:36:29 > 0:36:33That, with my home-made sauerkraut and a split pea puree,
0:36:33 > 0:36:34will be wunderbar.
0:36:34 > 0:36:38Best served with fabulous German mustard, called senf.
0:36:40 > 0:36:43Try and find that in the shops over here.
0:36:43 > 0:36:44Best of luck!
0:36:53 > 0:36:56Finally, the sun has got his hat on.
0:36:57 > 0:37:02I've got to show you two places high up on the food map of Berlin.
0:37:02 > 0:37:04The first one is KaDeWe,
0:37:04 > 0:37:08a department store famous for its food.
0:37:08 > 0:37:12It's the sort of place you could spend a whole day in,
0:37:12 > 0:37:15tasting this and trying that.
0:37:15 > 0:37:19They allowed us to film provided we came at some unearthly hour
0:37:19 > 0:37:21before the customers arrived.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25I just feel so privileged to be here early in the morning
0:37:25 > 0:37:27before any people get here.
0:37:27 > 0:37:31I was told once that Michael Jackson used to ask
0:37:31 > 0:37:34to go into big department stores just so he could do his shopping
0:37:34 > 0:37:36when there was nobody there.
0:37:36 > 0:37:39There is this real sense of sort of excitement.
0:37:39 > 0:37:41What I about this - I mean, look at it.
0:37:41 > 0:37:43I love the colour coordination.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46I mean, it just is a delight to the eye.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53And this - well, it's just made me
0:37:53 > 0:37:56want to reach out for a frying pan, it's so fresh.
0:37:56 > 0:37:59Sashimi-grade tuna,
0:37:59 > 0:38:02turbot, sole, monkfish.
0:38:04 > 0:38:06Well, this is a sight I love -
0:38:06 > 0:38:09a complete counter of smoked fish. The Germans love smoked fish.
0:38:09 > 0:38:12I just want to run through a few of these,
0:38:12 > 0:38:15just to tell you why I like everything so much.
0:38:15 > 0:38:16Starting on the left,
0:38:16 > 0:38:19smoked mackerel, and very heavily smoked mackerel.
0:38:19 > 0:38:22Behind that is what we call bloaters.
0:38:22 > 0:38:25That's herring, smoked herrings with the guts still in them.
0:38:25 > 0:38:27At the back we've got smoked cod's roe.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30I love smoked cod's roe, a real delicacy.
0:38:30 > 0:38:32That'll be from Iceland.
0:38:32 > 0:38:34Here we have smoked halibut.
0:38:34 > 0:38:38Prize here - look at it with the little gold medals on it.
0:38:38 > 0:38:42Smoked eel, the favourite smoked fish in Germany.
0:38:42 > 0:38:44Here we have what they call saibling,
0:38:44 > 0:38:46which is what we call Arctic char.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49And over here we have what they call butter mackerel.
0:38:49 > 0:38:51I know it as white tuna.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54Very, very fatty fish, really good for smoking.
0:38:54 > 0:38:58Cured salmon dishes here, some halibut as well.
0:38:58 > 0:39:01And right over here - I was hoping to see those -
0:39:01 > 0:39:02at the back, smoked sprats.
0:39:02 > 0:39:04I love a smoked sprat.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10I've just ordered up some delicious oysters.
0:39:11 > 0:39:16And what I love above almost anything -
0:39:16 > 0:39:20smoked eel. Almost I love it as much as the Germans do.
0:39:20 > 0:39:21And with smoked eel...
0:39:21 > 0:39:23Mm.
0:39:23 > 0:39:25..luscious, fatty smoked eel,
0:39:25 > 0:39:29you have to have horseradish cream - made freshly, of course.
0:39:31 > 0:39:33It cuts through that fattiness.
0:39:33 > 0:39:35So really - this is about nine o'clock in the morning -
0:39:35 > 0:39:39I shouldn't be, but I am enjoying a glass of German Riesling
0:39:39 > 0:39:43and I don't understand why we don't drink more of this in the UK.
0:39:43 > 0:39:44It's fabulous.
0:39:50 > 0:39:53I said there were two places I wanted to show you.
0:39:53 > 0:39:57Well, the other one is the famous Hotel Adlon,
0:39:57 > 0:40:00probably the most famous hotel in Germany.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05I love hotels, especially older ones.
0:40:05 > 0:40:07They give off a whiff of history.
0:40:08 > 0:40:12Greta Garbo coined her famous phrase, "I want to be alone,"
0:40:12 > 0:40:14while filming Grand Hotel here.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19Charlie Chaplin and Marlene Dietrich were guests,
0:40:19 > 0:40:21and the great Escoffier cooked here.
0:40:21 > 0:40:24On a former famous occasion,
0:40:24 > 0:40:26the Kaiser was heard to say,
0:40:26 > 0:40:29"How can I repay you for such a lovely meal?"
0:40:29 > 0:40:34and Escoffier said, "Give us back Alsace and Lorraine."
0:40:35 > 0:40:37Now, I've come here not for a meal
0:40:37 > 0:40:41but for their rather grand morning cocktail,
0:40:41 > 0:40:42the Kaiser Cup.
0:40:42 > 0:40:45- Hi, Rick.- Hi.- I want to do the Adlon Kaiser Cup for you.
0:40:45 > 0:40:49- Love it. I came here for it. - Yeah? Oh, fine.
0:40:49 > 0:40:53I want to take fresh strawberries for you.
0:40:53 > 0:40:54Uh-huh.
0:40:54 > 0:40:57And after I'm going to take fresh raspberries,
0:40:57 > 0:40:59blackberries also.
0:40:59 > 0:41:01Good.
0:41:01 > 0:41:04And I'll take some blueberries also.
0:41:04 > 0:41:05Lovely.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07Many fruits, it's good.
0:41:07 > 0:41:09And then we take a shot of gin.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12- A little shot of Cointreau.- Yeah.
0:41:12 > 0:41:14Liking it, liking it. Not too much.
0:41:14 > 0:41:17It's a good mix. And a little shot of grena...
0:41:18 > 0:41:21- Grenadine.- Grenadine, yes, it is.
0:41:21 > 0:41:25And up last...
0:41:25 > 0:41:27- Plenty.- Fresh champagne.- Big bottle.
0:41:27 > 0:41:30Bit early in the morning for it, but...
0:41:30 > 0:41:32- It's wonderful in the morning. - Is it?
0:41:32 > 0:41:35- In Berlin we drink it at this time. - I bet you do!
0:41:35 > 0:41:38- I want to do a little decoration. - Oh, good.
0:41:38 > 0:41:40Looks like a cape gooseberry, we call them.
0:41:40 > 0:41:44And Rick, now I have for you a wonderful Adlon Kaiser Cup.
0:41:44 > 0:41:47- Thank you.- Enjoy your drink. Cheers!- Oh, wow.
0:41:47 > 0:41:48I'm looking forward to it.
0:41:48 > 0:41:49Cheers.
0:41:53 > 0:41:54Ah!
0:41:54 > 0:41:56- Set up for the day.- Perfect.
0:41:58 > 0:42:00Well, I had to come to the Adlon Hotel
0:42:00 > 0:42:03because I've just been reading Christopher Isherwood -
0:42:03 > 0:42:05in fact, rereading Goodbye To Berlin.
0:42:05 > 0:42:08And the main character in it, Sally Bowles,
0:42:08 > 0:42:11would have come here looking for a nice young man,
0:42:11 > 0:42:14because she was really looking for somebody to meet
0:42:14 > 0:42:16with lots of money to marry.
0:42:16 > 0:42:19But meanwhile she was a singer in a nightclub,
0:42:19 > 0:42:23called the Windermere club, and not a great singer.
0:42:23 > 0:42:27Not nearly as good as Liza Minnelli was in the film Cabaret,
0:42:27 > 0:42:29which was based on Sally Bowles.
0:42:29 > 0:42:31But the thing about Christopher Isherwood
0:42:31 > 0:42:35and the book is there's lots of food in it and lots of drinks,
0:42:35 > 0:42:39and Sally herself only lived on prairie oysters.
0:42:39 > 0:42:43And he describes her making one - breaking some eggs into a glass,
0:42:43 > 0:42:44bit of Worcester sauce,
0:42:44 > 0:42:47and the main bit, the most important bit -
0:42:47 > 0:42:50stirring it up with the end of a fountain pen.
0:42:53 > 0:42:55This grand hotel survived the bombing,
0:42:55 > 0:42:58the rockets and the artillery rounds
0:42:58 > 0:43:00as World War II came to an end.
0:43:02 > 0:43:05But, the story has it, Russian soldiers,
0:43:05 > 0:43:08probably wanting to celebrate their victory,
0:43:08 > 0:43:12destroyed most of the Adlon when it caught fire
0:43:12 > 0:43:15in their attempt to break into the wine cellar.
0:43:15 > 0:43:19It was doomed, in the end, by the demon drink.
0:43:22 > 0:43:24I'm really interested in the last war.
0:43:24 > 0:43:27Well, lots of people my age are,
0:43:27 > 0:43:29because it was a living history for us.
0:43:29 > 0:43:32The bombsites were all over the place.
0:43:32 > 0:43:36So I met with a military historian here, Nick Jackson,
0:43:36 > 0:43:41who takes people on tours around the great battle sites of Berlin.
0:43:41 > 0:43:44And most of the people want to be taken
0:43:44 > 0:43:48to a muddy, half-empty car park.
0:43:49 > 0:43:54Not much to look at, but we're standing in
0:43:54 > 0:43:57what is the political heart of Nazi Berlin.
0:43:57 > 0:43:59Below here was where Hitler's bunker was built.
0:43:59 > 0:44:02So he spent the last four months of his life here,
0:44:02 > 0:44:04and this would be the final scenes of World War II
0:44:04 > 0:44:07and the last scenes of Hitler's life would play out here.
0:44:07 > 0:44:10Seems extraordinary that there's all these people here
0:44:10 > 0:44:14coming to stand on a bare bit of ground to talk about things.
0:44:14 > 0:44:17- I mean...- It has this pull.- Yeah.
0:44:17 > 0:44:21Hitler's last days. It's a fascinating story.
0:44:21 > 0:44:26But in a strange way almost historically sort of trivial,
0:44:26 > 0:44:29when you think of the enormous history
0:44:29 > 0:44:31and the legacy of World War II,
0:44:31 > 0:44:33and leaves this as a place of historic interest
0:44:33 > 0:44:35rather than importance.
0:44:35 > 0:44:37And for that reason it will lie forever,
0:44:37 > 0:44:41and perhaps rightly so, a place buried below the ground
0:44:41 > 0:44:44that you need to imagine rather than someplace that you could see.
0:44:44 > 0:44:47If you dug it up now, some fragments still remain,
0:44:47 > 0:44:50but it's been left, and I think perhaps rightly so,
0:44:50 > 0:44:53- as just this bare car park area. - Just a patch of mud.- Yeah.
0:44:53 > 0:44:56Well, I quite fancy some lunch.
0:44:56 > 0:44:58- Me too.- Do you fancy going for some...?
0:44:58 > 0:44:59- I know just the place.- You do?
0:44:59 > 0:45:01Where? Whereabouts?
0:45:01 > 0:45:04Well, it's actually Berlin's oldest restaurant,
0:45:04 > 0:45:07with traditional Berlin fare.
0:45:07 > 0:45:12- Like?- Eisbein.- That's the pig... - The huge steamed pork knuckle.
0:45:12 > 0:45:14- I think you might like that. - Yeah, I like the sound of that.
0:45:14 > 0:45:18- Stuffed cabbage, veal meatballs with a caper sauce.- I'm liking that.
0:45:18 > 0:45:23Konigsberger Klopse. The real, proper, hearty Berlin food.
0:45:25 > 0:45:28Oh, this looks very nice.
0:45:28 > 0:45:30- Wow.- Berlin's oldest restaurant.
0:45:30 > 0:45:32Certainly looks it.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37It's called Zur Letzten Instanz.
0:45:37 > 0:45:39This is a bit daunting, Nick. Um...
0:45:41 > 0:45:43- Where do I...? - It's certainly hearty portions.
0:45:43 > 0:45:47I think perhaps the best would be first to remove its outer casing.
0:45:47 > 0:45:48Oh, OK.
0:45:48 > 0:45:52So is that normal, not to eat the outer casing, or...?
0:45:52 > 0:45:55I think so, yeah. One would leave the blubber.
0:45:55 > 0:45:56I quite like a bit of blubber.
0:45:56 > 0:45:58But it's one of the reasons why, of course,
0:45:58 > 0:46:00it's worth coming to this restaurant.
0:46:00 > 0:46:02I mean, traditional Berlin food is very hard to find
0:46:02 > 0:46:05and it doesn't get much more traditional than eisbein.
0:46:05 > 0:46:07I mean, this is actually delicious.
0:46:09 > 0:46:11Quite a lot of it is bone, I think.
0:46:11 > 0:46:14You've only got two or three pounds of pork to deal with.
0:46:14 > 0:46:15THEY LAUGH
0:46:15 > 0:46:18- And what have you got there? - I've got a stuffed cabbage
0:46:18 > 0:46:22served with meat and caraway, with mashed potatoes.
0:46:22 > 0:46:26- Think of Berlin food, its function would be to fill you up.- Yeah.
0:46:26 > 0:46:29- With what is essentially cheap materials.- Yeah.
0:46:29 > 0:46:33And to keep you sort of behind the plough for 14 hours a day,
0:46:33 > 0:46:35or to help you survive a siege.
0:46:35 > 0:46:38I like food being connected to sort of where you are, really,
0:46:38 > 0:46:42rather than ethereal chef stuff.
0:46:42 > 0:46:45Talking of being connected to where you are, I mean,
0:46:45 > 0:46:49I find Berlin really interesting. It's quite sort of...
0:46:49 > 0:46:52I mean, we have this little joke amongst ourselves -
0:46:52 > 0:46:56it's quite noir, you know? There's a sort of edginess about it.
0:46:56 > 0:46:58It's sometimes quite funny.
0:46:58 > 0:47:02But there's a sort of willingness to be confrontational
0:47:02 > 0:47:04and daring, I think.
0:47:04 > 0:47:08Perhaps, in a way, I think that might be...
0:47:08 > 0:47:10Again, they're echoes of its past.
0:47:10 > 0:47:13I think Berlin today, the city of artists,
0:47:13 > 0:47:16the city of tolerance, this "anything goes" element -
0:47:16 > 0:47:17and really, that's true.
0:47:17 > 0:47:20I mean, you really can do just about anything you want in this town.
0:47:20 > 0:47:24I think... Also, I feel like Berlin has the same sort of relationship
0:47:24 > 0:47:27with the rest of Germany as maybe New York does
0:47:27 > 0:47:29to the rest of the States.
0:47:29 > 0:47:32Yeah, it's like a sort of... I like to call it Republic Berlin.
0:47:32 > 0:47:36It's always had this sort of separate status.
0:47:36 > 0:47:41There's nowhere like Berlin. It is its own little world.
0:47:41 > 0:47:44I think that's what makes it so special for visitors.
0:47:44 > 0:47:47But I must say, this is a lot to get through. I may not finish it.
0:47:47 > 0:47:50You're not getting down until you've finished.
0:47:50 > 0:47:52Fair enough. Fair enough.
0:47:53 > 0:47:56That was the oldest restaurant in Berlin!
0:47:56 > 0:48:00Napoleon was supposed to have eaten there, and Goethe -
0:48:00 > 0:48:03maybe not at the same time. Lovely, classic German food,
0:48:03 > 0:48:06but the thing I like most of all was their apple cake.
0:48:06 > 0:48:08Loads of apple on the top of it
0:48:08 > 0:48:11and finished with demerara sugar and cinnamon.
0:48:13 > 0:48:15So, first of all,
0:48:15 > 0:48:19taking out the core of these apples with my apple corer.
0:48:19 > 0:48:23Where was life before an apple corer? I don't know.
0:48:23 > 0:48:25There we go.
0:48:25 > 0:48:28And now just slicing those apples up as thinly as I can.
0:48:28 > 0:48:32Now that's the first job, but I'm not going to need those immediately,
0:48:32 > 0:48:34so I'm just putting those into a little bowl
0:48:34 > 0:48:38and squeeze some lemon juice over them to stop them going brown.
0:48:38 > 0:48:39Turn them over a bit.
0:48:42 > 0:48:43That's fine.
0:48:43 > 0:48:46And now to make my cake batter.
0:48:46 > 0:48:50First of all, some unrefined caster sugar -
0:48:50 > 0:48:52a nice colour, I think -
0:48:52 > 0:48:53and some softened butter.
0:48:55 > 0:48:57There we go.
0:48:57 > 0:48:58A whisk happening.
0:49:04 > 0:49:06So now I am going to add my eggs, one at a time.
0:49:06 > 0:49:09That's just simply so the batter doesn't split.
0:49:25 > 0:49:27OK, that's nice and light and airy.
0:49:27 > 0:49:31And now I'm going to knock my flour in - this is though a sieve.
0:49:31 > 0:49:33The reason for doing this is not really to get the lumps
0:49:33 > 0:49:37out of the flour - the flour doesn't really have lumps any more.
0:49:37 > 0:49:42Baking powder, as well, to assist in the raising process.
0:49:42 > 0:49:43So when I say knock in,
0:49:43 > 0:49:47it's just to get as much air as possible into the mix
0:49:47 > 0:49:50to make the batter nice and light.
0:49:50 > 0:49:52So there we go.
0:49:52 > 0:49:53Now a big metal spoon.
0:49:53 > 0:49:56I just like to use this for folding flour in.
0:49:56 > 0:49:58I'm using the biggest possible spoon here,
0:49:58 > 0:50:02just to avoid losing any air if I can.
0:50:02 > 0:50:04It's just getting a little bit tight there,
0:50:04 > 0:50:07so I'm just going to add a tiny bit of milk,
0:50:07 > 0:50:09just to loosen up the batter a little bit.
0:50:14 > 0:50:17I love this cake tin - it's one of my oldest cake tins.
0:50:17 > 0:50:20It cost a lot of money, but it's really nice and thick -
0:50:20 > 0:50:23that matters to me. A good feel to it.
0:50:23 > 0:50:26So just smooth that over, like that.
0:50:26 > 0:50:29There we go.
0:50:29 > 0:50:33Probably won't make the British Bake Off, but I do like making cakes.
0:50:35 > 0:50:38Now put my apple in a neat little round.
0:50:38 > 0:50:41Fan them out round there, like that.
0:50:41 > 0:50:47I've got my oven on at 170 degrees centigrade, gas mark four.
0:50:47 > 0:50:50And finally, I'm just going to mix this demerara sugar
0:50:50 > 0:50:54with some ground cinnamon and scatter that over the top,
0:50:54 > 0:50:58and that's going to go in there for about...
0:50:58 > 0:51:00Oh, there's one in there already - how funny!
0:51:00 > 0:51:02HE LAUGHS
0:51:02 > 0:51:03How silly of me.
0:51:12 > 0:51:15Well, I've often said it's very bad manners for TV chefs
0:51:15 > 0:51:18to taste their own food and comment about it.
0:51:21 > 0:51:22But that's delicious.
0:51:26 > 0:51:30Rot ist stehen, Grun ist gehen.
0:51:31 > 0:51:33Very important, that.
0:51:33 > 0:51:37It doesn't matter if you're a punk anarchist or a Bolshevik rocker,
0:51:37 > 0:51:42you always, in Germany, wait for the little green man.
0:51:42 > 0:51:44MAN SPEAKS GERMAN
0:51:44 > 0:51:47- Oh, yeah.- Yeah, yeah.
0:51:47 > 0:51:49HE LAUGHS
0:51:49 > 0:51:53Very strict. "No jaywalking."
0:51:59 > 0:52:02If there was a place which people in the west
0:52:02 > 0:52:05could say was the epicentre of the Cold War,
0:52:05 > 0:52:08then I think this would be it - Checkpoint Charlie.
0:52:08 > 0:52:12Now, for three euros, you can have your photograph taken
0:52:12 > 0:52:15with actors playing border guards.
0:52:15 > 0:52:17But 50-odd years ago, this was the place
0:52:17 > 0:52:20where the famous stand-off happened.
0:52:20 > 0:52:25Where tanks, Russian and American, faced each other like gunslingers,
0:52:25 > 0:52:28each waiting for the other one to draw first.
0:52:28 > 0:52:30I can remember this in the '60s.
0:52:30 > 0:52:33I can remember this stand-off.
0:52:33 > 0:52:36We were all really nervous in those days.
0:52:36 > 0:52:39We thought the Third World War was going to start.
0:52:52 > 0:52:55It's my last evening here in Berlin
0:52:55 > 0:52:58and I've been invited out for dinner, which is nice,
0:52:58 > 0:53:00but I've been here long enough
0:53:00 > 0:53:03to know it's going to be dinner with a difference.
0:53:03 > 0:53:05Maybe dinner in a high-rise car park
0:53:05 > 0:53:08or an old munitions factory.
0:53:08 > 0:53:10After all, it is Berlin.
0:53:13 > 0:53:17I'm going to a dinner here organised by a couple of chefs -
0:53:17 > 0:53:20they call themselves guerrilla chefs -
0:53:20 > 0:53:23and it's in an old crematorium.
0:53:23 > 0:53:26Well, it wouldn't be anything else, would it? It's so Berlin.
0:53:30 > 0:53:33I'm a bit on edge because Marcus, one of the chefs,
0:53:33 > 0:53:37is a head bouncer for a big techno club here.
0:53:37 > 0:53:39It's he who looks people in the eye
0:53:39 > 0:53:42to decide whether they're the right stuff to enter.
0:53:43 > 0:53:45Very noir.
0:53:45 > 0:53:46Very Berlin.
0:53:51 > 0:53:53KNOCK ON DOOR
0:53:53 > 0:53:55It's Marcus and Christian.
0:53:58 > 0:54:00- Hello. Hi, Rick.- Christian?
0:54:00 > 0:54:02I'm Christian. Nice to meet you.
0:54:02 > 0:54:05- Marcus, nice to meet you. - Come in.- Thank you.
0:54:08 > 0:54:13ROCK MUSIC PLAYS
0:54:13 > 0:54:17This is the type of catering for those who find difficulty sleeping.
0:54:17 > 0:54:20You first of all hire a massive place -
0:54:20 > 0:54:23this crematorium is perfect -
0:54:23 > 0:54:26make sure it's spotless, of course,
0:54:26 > 0:54:29advertise amongst the foodie friends of Berlin
0:54:29 > 0:54:32that something big is going to happen, create a menu,
0:54:32 > 0:54:36hire in waiters and waitresses,
0:54:36 > 0:54:39musicians, cocktails makers...
0:54:39 > 0:54:41In fact, hire in everything.
0:54:43 > 0:54:47- Christian, you've had to set all this up from scratch.- Exactly.
0:54:47 > 0:54:50It's not like a normal restaurant you go into -
0:54:50 > 0:54:53they have everything set, the tables are there.
0:54:53 > 0:54:56You don't have to worry about anything, so...
0:54:56 > 0:54:59It's really like we have to build the restaurant first.
0:55:01 > 0:55:04So, Marcus, what do you mean by "guerrilla chefs"?
0:55:04 > 0:55:08Guerrilla chefs, you can call it, that we...
0:55:08 > 0:55:10We make it an event for one night
0:55:10 > 0:55:14and we want to provide something new, something different,
0:55:14 > 0:55:17on a location you could never thought of
0:55:17 > 0:55:19that there would be something...
0:55:19 > 0:55:22- Like a crematorium.- Yeah. - You know, what you're doing,
0:55:22 > 0:55:24I keep saying, "It's so Berlin."
0:55:24 > 0:55:27It just seems that there is a sort of, like...
0:55:27 > 0:55:30You know, there's a sort of energy and a sort of willingness to
0:55:30 > 0:55:32- try new things.- You have...
0:55:32 > 0:55:35The things you have to do, the things...
0:55:35 > 0:55:38At the end of the day, it could stay only for a year
0:55:38 > 0:55:39and then people are fed up.
0:55:39 > 0:55:41People are bored of pop-up...
0:55:41 > 0:55:43It's the same with street food markets -
0:55:43 > 0:55:47people go there, they're excited, they get something new.
0:55:47 > 0:55:49But maybe in a half year
0:55:49 > 0:55:52we don't have any people who want to come to the dinner,
0:55:52 > 0:55:54so we always have to create something new,
0:55:54 > 0:55:56we have to be special.
0:55:56 > 0:55:58For us, it's like a whole weekend in a club.
0:55:59 > 0:56:01HE LAUGHS
0:56:01 > 0:56:05'The first course is an eclair, a roast beef eclair,
0:56:05 > 0:56:10'filled with red onion marmalade and topped with horseradish.'
0:56:10 > 0:56:14'And then you dip it into a hot beef consomme - yum.
0:56:14 > 0:56:17'Then pan-fried scallops,
0:56:17 > 0:56:21'warm pulses flavoured with vinegar, sugar and sesame oil,
0:56:21 > 0:56:25'an apple vinegar and lemon mayo,
0:56:25 > 0:56:29'crisp bacon and Japanese green tapioca,
0:56:29 > 0:56:31'and fresh shoots. Crikey!
0:56:33 > 0:56:36'A puree of chervil roots, fried sausages,
0:56:36 > 0:56:41'apricot mustard with chunks of black fried radish
0:56:41 > 0:56:46'and shredded red and white cabbage and carrots with vinegar.
0:56:46 > 0:56:48'Wow!
0:56:48 > 0:56:51'Finally, chocolate brownie with passion fruit,
0:56:51 > 0:56:56'chocolate mousse and a red sauce made with apple and pomegranate.
0:56:56 > 0:57:00'Chunks of dark chocolate with roasted almonds
0:57:00 > 0:57:02'and chocolate toffee. Yowser!'
0:57:09 > 0:57:12Well, I do like Marcus' take on a beef sandwich -
0:57:12 > 0:57:15it's light and I love the horseradish in it.
0:57:15 > 0:57:18However, it's past nine o'clock,
0:57:18 > 0:57:21the first course has only just come out.
0:57:21 > 0:57:25I think I'm in for a long night at the crematorium.
0:57:25 > 0:57:28Maybe a fitting end to my long weekend.
0:57:31 > 0:57:34I think this is Berlin on a plate.
0:57:34 > 0:57:37This is why young chefs and artists are coming here.
0:57:37 > 0:57:39The property prices are relatively low
0:57:39 > 0:57:44and so people like Marcus and Christian are putting on this show.
0:57:44 > 0:57:48Now, if it works, that's great. Let's do another one next week.
0:57:48 > 0:57:50If it bombs, well, never mind.
0:57:50 > 0:57:52We may have lost a few euros,
0:57:52 > 0:57:54but we've learnt something in the process.
0:57:54 > 0:57:57Well, that's Berlin, too.
0:57:57 > 0:58:00As one mayor said about ten years ago,
0:58:00 > 0:58:03"We may be poor, but we're sexy."
0:58:06 > 0:58:09Marcus, Christian, thank you very much.
0:58:09 > 0:58:12- We're very grateful that you came. - Aw...
0:58:12 > 0:58:15- Have you ever been to Berlin? - Before? No, no.- Oh, really?
0:58:15 > 0:58:17- You should come back. - You should come back, definitely.
0:58:17 > 0:58:20Like a shot, boys. Like a shot.
0:58:20 > 0:58:23- Thank you very much.- Thank you.
0:58:23 > 0:58:28# Hey, Rick, where we going next weekend?
0:58:28 > 0:58:36# Are we flying a few hours away for some delicious food? They say
0:58:36 > 0:58:40# We can try dishes in Roma or Barcelona
0:58:40 > 0:58:43# For something more exotic, go spices of Morocco
0:58:43 > 0:58:47# Yes, you can take your pick
0:58:47 > 0:58:50# And even break the ice in Reykjavik
0:58:50 > 0:58:53# So, Rick, make the booking
0:58:53 > 0:58:54# Let's get cooking
0:58:54 > 0:58:57# And get those taste buds going
0:58:57 > 0:58:59# Next weekend. #