One of the few chefs in training who’s been working regularly since the beginning of the pandemic
During lockdown, the Brockenblick offers meals to go, even if not quite every day. ‘The way you have to cook to pull that off is an interesting challenge,’ the apprentice says. ‘For example, you can really use some twists and tricks from molecular gastronomy to optimise the dishes that are prepared for transportation.’
Walter Brecht hopes that he will soon be able to cook with his apprentice again, and is using this time to teach him things that go far beyond standard culinary training. ‘I’m trying to teach him a few things about management: purchasing planning, calculating costs and prices – all the theoretical stuff that you have to know as the head chef.’ Nico Marx is one of the few in his vocational-school class who have been going to work regularly since the beginning of the pandemic. According to Walter Brecht, this will further intensify the shortage of skilled labour in the kitchens. He hopes that the appreciation people are now showing for restaurants will continue – as will the newfound solidarity among restaurateurs.
Despite the adverse conditions, training to become a chef is a decision Nico Marx hasn’t spent a single day regretting. The insights he gained during the past year have inspired him to consider additional training in hotel management. The kitchen, however, is where he’ll always feel ‘at home’: ‘You can do anything in the kitchen – there’s no one right way. And you can always keep growing in any direction. That’s what I find so attractive about the craft.’
Together with his wife, Walter Brecht manages the Brockenblick Mountain Hotel & Restaurant in what is now the fourth generation.