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‘The young generation is culinarily much more sophisticated’

He’s a vital part of Germany’s TV food scene. With his band, he tours the country as a singing chef. And in his restaurants, he greets guests with a handshake. MPULSE went to Essen to meet with the celebrity chef Nelson Müller at his gourmet establishment Schote for a conversation.

Prepairing a dish - Nelson Mueller in the kitchen
Nelson Müller

About ... Nelson Müller

Nelson Müller, born in 1979 and raised in Stuttgart, is known for TV shows like "Küchen­schlacht" on ZDF and "The Taste" on Sat.1. With Ghanaian roots and experience in various locations, including Sylt, he opened his Michelin-starred restaurant Schote in Essen in 2009. He also runs additional restaurants in Essen, Geisenheim, and on the island of Norderney. As a customer of METRO and R Express, he combines live cooking with soul music on his "Soul Food" tour, where he performs with his band.

MPULSE: Nelson, what did you have for lunch?

Nelson Müller (smirking): Nothing. I’m doing intermittent fasting.

Oh, okay! Then what are you going to have after our talk?

Definitely something with vegetables. 'Öfter vegetarisch’ (Vegetarian now and then) is the title of one of your cookbooks, too. Right, and reducing the amount of meat we eat is also a topic in my book ‘Gutes Essen’ (Good eating).

Why is that important to you?

In 2050, there will probably be 10 billion of us on earth. At our current rate of meat consumption, we won’t be able to feed everyone. To produce a kilocalorie of meat, it takes seven times the amount of energy that it takes to produce a kilocalorie of vegetables. We don’t have enough land area, animal feed is problematic, the greenhouse gases … That doesn’t mean we should never eat meat again. But, for all these reasons – we should sometimes eat vegetarian.

Younger generations are much more aware of the environment, health and the relationship between living consciously and one’s own impact on the planet. 

Nelson Müller

Veggie versus meat: is that a generational question?

You have to understand the times older generations grew up in. There was an overcompensation that took place, and the subject of health didn’t get the attention it does today. Younger generations are much more aware of the environment, health and the relationship between living consciously and one’s own impact on the planet.

Is that why young people don’t go out to eat as often?

On the one hand, typically, the older you are, the more you can afford. And on the other, many young people know exactly what they want and understand what quality means. They have a lot of culinary knowledge – there are lots of young foodies. They don’t necessarily eat out so often, but when they do, they’re well-informed.

Why is that?

Food has never had such a big media presence as it does now. Just look at all the reels and videos on YouTube and in the social media networks. And by the way, fast food can’t be equated with junk food anymore. Nutrition, fitness, lifestyle – those are huge topics. And young people go to restaurants with that mindset. Take different national cuisines, for example: people used to simply talk about ‘Asian food’. These days, they differentiate clearly between Cantonese, Laotian, Vietnamese and Thai cuisine. The young generation is culinarily much more sophisticated.

Playing the guitarre - Nelson Mueller

What recharges the soul

Star chef Nelson Müller talks with MPULSE about home cooking, passion – and his perennial favourite song.

Is that one of the reasons you write cookbooks – as a kind of educational mission?

I can use my visibility to introduce a lot of topics to a larger audience in any case, yes.

Why do guests who want to have the vegetarian menu at your gourmet restaurant Schote have to book that two days in advance?

We prepare elaborate dishes. A lot of craft goes into each one. I don’t want to produce anything on speculation, and I want to keep food waste to an absolute minimum. More than ever, it’s important to find the right balance between quality and work effort. But if only the vegetarian has to be pre-ordered, that means the meat menu is still the rule.

At Schote, yeah, that’s what most guests order. But even our classic menu has courses without fish or meat. And when a guest comes without a reservation, of course we see what we can do on an individual basis. I’m a big fan of freshly crafted cuisine.

So convenience products are banned from your kitchen?

It depends. As long as they don’t compromise the overall quality, semi-convenience products can make sense. And in the end, the guest has to pay the costs for fresh goods and personnel. Otherwise, a lot of restaurateurs are forced to resort to convenience products.

Which brings us back to the subject of ‘good eating’. Give us an example.

Often it’s the supposedly simple dishes that actually aren’t so easy to prepare. Take potato salad. Potatoes are a natural product. You need the right type, and a chef who cooks them correctly – not too soft, not too firm. And, of course, the right recipe … You can’t beat a great potato salad.

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