Cookit, a new kind of market offer

Yes innovation is possible at a food market!

It is not only about new products, presentation, street food, opening hours and the like. This time it is about convenience by helping the customer to make the best out of regional products.

How does it work?

A couple years or so ago two brothers and a friend have created something new: instead of selling produce individually they sell those necessary for one serving of a proposed recipe only. They called their enterprise “Cookit” and opened a stall at the Bonn market.

How does it work? Let’s take a current recipe: a summer cherry tomato risotto with feta cheese & arugula. All the necessary ingredients including a little wine, vegetable stock, spices etc. are packed together on the spot in the right amount per serving. And the servings are generous! As the owners said: we have to be satisfied otherwise it is not enough. Looking at them gives the impression that they have a rather good appetite. At least bigger than mine.

As the stall has always a wide enough selection of recipes including vegetarian ones – haven’t seen vegan yet – the likelihood to find something appealing is high. With each purchase comes the respective colourful and straight forward recipe card with all the instructions (see photo gallery). The recipes can be performed by almost everybody and they do not take much time. Still there is always a twist in the ingredients which makes them just superior to many other food experiences.

I had the chance to purchase several times from them and I have to say that I was happy with all the purchases. The quality of the products was really good and you can taste it.

Where do the products come from?

The products are mainly regional and the suppliers are listed at the stall. They are seasonal by default. This creates restrictions on the recipes but ensures great taste. I have no clue how the logistics of having the right stuff in time for any given recipe is being managed, but it seems to work. Along the seasons the recipes change and are being published on their website, Facebook and of course on their stall.

Who is buying?

At first the owners thought that they would mainly attract a young crowd. But the mix is diverse and reaches everybody from student to retiree. Some of the retiree do not want to make big purchases and may have, due to the size of the portions, a meal for two days which they appreciate.

Facebook and the website are important to the Cookit team as they are able to announce new recipes as an incentive to their customers to come back to the market. And this way they get immediate feedback to their recipes.

And the price?

The servings are priced around 5 to 7 Euros ore more. There is certainly cheaper ways to create a meal, probably not so easily with the same quality or with less time consuming grocery shopping. And the pantry stays empty as there will be no remainders.

For me buying there means a sure winner meal at home, so far. And I do not have to plan ahead for tasty and healthy food which is a big relief to me.

All in all: a very professionally executed innovation at the Bonn market which makes sure that customers are able to have a fresh and satisfying meal on the table without wasting anything

A little link list:

• Cookit Facebook presence
• Cookit website
• My post on the Bonn market

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Having dinner at the Landgasthof Schwarzbachtal a Slow Food restaurant after a nice hike in the beautiful Saxon Switzerland area I was surprised by seeing jars of fir tip jelly (in German: Tannenspitzen Gelee).

Never seen or tasted it before!

As a result of curiosity and temptation I bought a jar of this hand made fir tip jelly. It was nicely packed with a handwritten label, with a dried flower and leaf glued to it.

At home I unwrapped it (gourmet jargon for un-boxing?) and had to laugh a bit, as it was filled in former pickle jar. But the taste was very settle, nicely bound into the sugar of the jelly. So I did not feel like in the middle of a forest, still it did not taste like a fruit jelly.

Searching a little bit the Internet I was surprised to find quite a few recipes.

All in all: a very nice experience.

A little link list:

• This is where I bought the jelly: Landgasthof Schwarzbachtal (in German)
• A blog post with a recipe for fir tip jelly including pictures

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In the old city of Rethimnon on the island of Crete in Greece, in one of the narrow alleys there is in an inconspicuous entrance in a house. And this is a bakery. A bakery that still produces its own filo dough by hand. It is run by an old couple who seems to be doing this business for ages. It is impressive to see them still working at this age with such great care. When I think of filo, I am rather guessing that these days it is produced in a more industrial way similar to puff pastry.

When we went into their bakery, we stepped into a room without windows. The daylight came in through the open door. The couple was just in the process of uncovering the individual filo layers on a very large table, spreading some flour on top of each layer, then stapling it and cutting it into smaller sizes of approximately 50cm and putting it into cardboard boxes. The filo is then used for Baklava style sweets, which can be bought directly in the bakery.

The old couple (George and Kathryn Hadziparshos) has been featured in several papers, magazines and blogs, which are displayed in a folder to be explored by visitors. Still, it is not a tourist show when you watch them working. And they had been very gentle to us.

Again a craft which looks so marvelous and will probably bee hard to find at all in the future.

Update October 2017:

The old couple is still pursuing their craft. That is really amazing. Now they are also supported full time by their son and his children help as well from time to time. And the whole workshop has been renovated. All good news to keep me optimistic for their future.

When we were there on a rainy October day, they were not producing filo dough as the high humidity would have not allowed it to become dry. So they were focusing on working on the threads for the Kataifi pastry. They claim to be the last ones in Greece to produce the threads in a non automated way. After a long pleasant chat we bought some Kataifi and Baklava and it was definitely worth it, it tasted so much better than the other ones we have tried over time.

Go visit them, buy some pastry and your kids will still be able to see such a fine craft being preserved.

Their address: M. Vernadou 30 in Rethymno – some times is written “Manouil Bernardou 30” – type what ever your GPS prefers.

A little link list:

• Nice blog with video from Walkabout Crete
• From the Greek Traveller blog

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The Franconian region of Bavaria / Germany has a tradition of good sourdough bread, often enriched with caraway as it is the tradition. This one is from the market in Würzburg the capital of Lower Franconia, also known for its wine.

This bread is still produced by a traditional baker in wood-fired stove and a home made, non-industrial sourdough with rye only. And this makes this bread so special, as the number of artisan bakers is in strong decline since years, which is sad for a country which takes pride in its large variety of breads. And this specific bread which I consider to be one of the bests in its category, will probably only be available for a some more years as the baker has no successor. Maybe he will pass on his unique sourdough to somebody outside his family so we will benefit for extended periods of such a superb bread.

What makes it superb? It is the taste, the consistency, and the long period where it stays fresh. The taste is fairly complex and has deep aromas developed by the sourdough and the addition of caraway. The crust is fairly strong and keeps the bread fresh. The inside is moist for a ling period of time, and even when spreading cold butter the bread does not easily break apart. And after several days of storage it still tastes wonderful.

Just spread butter on it, maybe add a little salt and you will experience pure joy of simplicity and goodness.

It is being produced in round loaves of 1 or 3kg.

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Strolling around a little eco-fair in Bonn / Germany, there was the obligatory honey stand. The diversity of this stand was quite diverse. Besides honey there were honey based spreads, beer with honey, mead, candles, chap sticks, etc…

But what kept my attention was a jar of Perga. Perga or as it is also called bee bread is fermented pollen which happens when the bees add their saliva to the pollen. This has an preservation effect. Apparently it is rich in protein and minerals.

So what about the taste? It is dry but not too hard. There is some sweetness to it, almost raisin like, it is slightly sour, and has some bee wax flavors. All in all it has a pleasant mix of flavors and texture, but it is not a must have. Some recommend to mix it in breakfast cereals.

By the way: a beekeeper told me that a mix of pollen (collected by bees) and honey would have the same nutritional value.

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The chocolate maker Benoît Nihan from Liège has also a shop in Maastricht / Netherlands. This is how I discovered his chocolate. It is one of his 4 shops and the only one in this country. And what of a shop it is! It takes the presentation of chocolate to a very modern style with contemporary furniture which does not show any sign of the craft behind chocolate making. It puts rather the finished product in the focus. And this encompasses the wrapping as well which is very refined.

And what about the chocolate? Well, it is really really good! The aromas are so refined! Wow! And it does not matter if it is pure dark chocolate or the ganache. It was the first time to experience tobacco aromas in a chocolate. And the pralines look beautifully decorated as well. Great!

If you ever come to the old town of Maastricht, check out Havenstraat 8 to experience this great chocolate.

Update: unfortunately Benoît Nihan is not anymore present in Maastricht

A little link list:

• Web presence of Benoît Nihan
• … in Facebook
• … on Twitter

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Strolling through through the very pleasant very catholic city of Maastricht in early January when neighborliness Belgians, Germans and Dutch still enjoy some vacation, there is time enough to be in the discovery mode. Not only for the sales in every clothes shop.

Walking by the butcher “slagerij franssen” (St. Pieterstraat 42) blood sausage (bloedworst in Dutch) was presented with great pride in the display window.

An invitation to enter.

The sales lady (owner of the shop?) said the it was freshly prepared the same day and had to rest overnight before being sold. But she had some frozen one. It was a delight. The texture was almost like a firm mousse au chocolat (well …). It is very flavourful and indeed reminded a bit of cocoa. It can be eaten just “raw” like it is or fried in a pan in slices. Well, let’s see if there will still be some left to be used in the pan.

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This paper thin delicacy called Kaipan was brought back from a friend from Laos (?). It seems to be rare there as well.

It consists of a dried Mekong river weed which is then being spiced with garlic, sesame seeds and other thin dried ingredients like tomato slices which stick to the leaf. The taste is intense and elegant at the same time. When eating it does not leave a heavy stomach, still one has the feeling to have kind of a great appetizer and not needing to eat a heavy meal afterwards.

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Walking along the Naschmarkt in Vienna / Austria, a stand advertised nicely its Wandererschnitte (“hikers’ fruit bar”). It is pressed not baked and consists of a variety of dried fruits and seeds. Despite the nice German name “Wandererschnitte” it seems to be produced in Turkey. It is close to the fig cakes which can be found in Croatia or in Italy. Tastes better than a trail mix. For sure.

Ingredients:

• Raisin
• Date
• Damson plum
• Cranberry
• Sour cherry
• Apricot
• Peanut
• Hazelnut
• Brazil nut
• Pumpkin seed
• Linseed
• Sunflower seed
• Carob gum

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Strolling in the Piata Domenii market in Bucharest, this cheese, a Brânză de burduf looked very different. It is a not so old sheep cheese wrapped in a pine tree bark and nicely packed. Unfortunately it stayed too long in the fridge at home, so that unwrapping it offered an unpleasant surprise: green mould. But this was not a real barrier for tasting. The cheese melted nicely in the mouth and the pine taste was mild throughout the whole experience.

For sure worth giving it a try.

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