German cuisine is adding a twist to the plate for the Indian palette

Culinary crossroads: German chefs and a clutch of German eateries are spicing up India with a fusion of tastes

Remember the Lufthansa advertisement of 2014? The 45-second ad, the airline’s first TV commercial for the Indian market, begins with a man telling his grandson that they’ll be flying to New York to meet the boy’s father in the German carrier. Then he starts to tell him about the Germans, his voice trailing and expression turning bland as he comes to German cuisine.

Those who’ve experienced German fare, aside from the sausages, would understand why. German flavours are, after all, far removed from what the Indian palate is accustomed to. A clutch of innovative German chefs is now working to reshape this perception, aiming to excite the Indian taste buds with a touch of neue Deutsche kuche (new German cuisine) – similar to how Lufthansa portrayed itself as “more Indian than you think” in that ad.

Thus, when three Michelin-starred German chef Thomas Buhner arrived at the Taj Mahal hotel in New Delhi recently, he opted for dishes that combined influences from around the world with a hint of Indian essence. The potato dish was sprinkled with curry powder, a toast to Germany’s affinity for potatoes and India’s love for masala, and the parsley-infused Hamachi fish was served with tandoori creme.

This marked Buhner’s third trip to India, having visited Bengaluru in 2022 and Hyderabad in 2017.

The German twin chefs, Thomas and Mathias Sühring, also introduced new fine German cuisine to India in 2017. Their restaurant, Suhring in Bangkok, holds the seventh spot in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list and boasts two Michelin stars. They returned in 2018 and 2022 to further tantalise Indian food enthusiasts.

Until recently, German cuisine in India remained more of a conceptual notion. It was largely associated with bratwursts, currywursts, schnitzels and, of course, sausages, of which Germany – ‘the land of sausages’ – has over 1,200 varieties.

Showcasing their cuisine has for long been a challenge for German chefs. So much so that German chef Franz Keller presented French nouvelle cuisine under German names during the launch of the Takshila restaurant at the former Maurya Hotel in New Delhi back in 1978.

Perhaps the stereotype of Germans being “serious” (the Lufthansa ad made this reference, too) extended to their culinary offerings. Chef Joachim Wissler, holder of three Michelin stars, previously remarked on the underestimation of German fine-dining cuisine’s quality and craftsmanship, attributing it to the perception that “enjoyment is not considered a German virtue”.

Compare that to Indians, for whom “food is the most important thing in a day; they don’t think about the price,” said Buhner, who would readily consider establishing a restaurant in India if the opportunity arose.

While Buhner, like the other chefs, was on a short culinary visit to India, some chefs have set up German dining establishments in the country.

Bruce Rodrigues, who has a penchant for smoking meats, decided to embrace the German culinary approach at Imbiss. Since it opened in Bandra, Mumbai, in 2012, Imbiss has stood as India’s closest experience to an authentic German pub, albeit without the beer. Rodrigues succinctly explained, “Our focus is on meat, and German cuisine complements that perfectly.”

In the processed meat sector of the food market revenue, Germany ranked second only to the United States, with revenue of $33.6 billion compared to the US’s $39 billion in 2022, according to a report by Statista released this June.

Imbiss offers a range of German meat preparations, attracting a significant number of German expatriates. (According to Statista, Germans account for 7 per cent of the expatriates living in India as of 2018, for when last figures are available.)

Imbiss’s menu is extensive: from potato salad with sausages to Bavarian ham and cheese sandwiches served with rich brown stock to a selection of 15 sausage varieties, including bratwurst and bockwurst, kassler, schnitzels, bratkartoffeln (fried potatoes with bacon or onion), and currywurst. Catering to vegetarians, it even offers eggplant schnitzel and paneer steak.

While Rodrigues remains steadfast in his perspective on German cuisine, German chefs are evolving theirs.

Buhner chef attributed this evolution of German cuisine to recent decades marked by refinement and the rise of vegetarian gastronomy. The contemporary interpretation of German cuisine by the Sühring brothers also emphasises vegetarian options. During their initial visit to India, they revealed, “People are often surprised by how many vegetarian options we have.” Their mushroom pate, replacing the traditional liver pate in Mumbai, had garnered notable approval.

Apart from Imbiss, Mahlzeit, a quaint cafe nestled in the lanes of Bandra West, introduced Berlin-style street food to Mumbai, featuring items like hot dogs, coilwurst, doner kebabs, and schnitzel burgers.

Closer to the national capital, DiGhent in Gurugram fills the void. Despite its Belgian core, the cafe offers a German breakfast platter complete with sausages, cold cuts, bacon, potato salad, eggs, and an assortment of sauces.

India, from the look of it, might just be developing a taste for German flavours.