Particularly in anglophonic countries, Germans’ favorite food is thought to be sauerkraut, as the century-old slur ‘Kraut’ shows. However, Germans’ self-perception is different: to refer to a person who is particularly German, i.e., someone who reserves chairs at the pool with their towels, wears socks with sandals, or is overly sensitive when it comes to timekeeping and work ethic, German’s like to use the phrase “Deutsche Kartoffel” – German potato.

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While there is a plethora of traditional German potato dishes, it is mostly considered a boring ingredient used by boring old, stereotypical German people. Which is a pity, since Germany is Europe’s biggest producer of potato, and we need to source our food more regionally.

 

However, there has been a change lately, finally doing justice to the amazingly versatile vegetable: market stall “Caspar Plautz” from Munich advanced to Munich hipsters’ favorite food hotspot – by serving nothing but potatoes. How, you ask? Let me explain:

It is placed at world-famous daily food market “Viktualienmarkt” in the center of Munich, Germany. Surprisingly, neither of the owners is actually called “Caspar Plautz” – instead, it’s the name of a 17th century monk who is known to have written the first recipe for potatoes. Through luck, two friends, a goldsmith and a social scientist, but both passionate for high-quality products, had the opportunity to try their hand at a stand when the previous owner was out due to an injury. When the previous owner saw the passion of the two, he let them have the stand – a jackpot, since stands at Viktualienmarkt are limited and highly contested. The two friends, named Dominik and Theo, left their previous job and thought about what to offer at the newly acquired stand. But there was one problem: the City of Munich, owning the food market, controls with eagle eyes that the balance of the offered food is maintained. This means: if it was a potato stand before, it must be a potato stand after. Regulation is so strict that you cannot even offer potato dishes like fries, but only potatoes like they come out of the soil. 

 

The two friends decided to make potatoes cool again. They sat down and studied everything there is to know about potatoes. After being done with their research, they developed a concept and opened their stand. Besides around 100 different varieties of potato from regional producers throughout the year, they decided to develop a seasonal lunch menu. The dishes served always follow the same structure: baked potato in the middle, toppings on top. Everything is sourced locally and often times famous chefs are invited to create a signature potato dish. Having the same framework for each dish allow the individual components as well as the composition shine more than if every dish was something completely different. It puts the versatility and high quality of the potato in the focus, being surrounded by the other ingredients that make a baked potato a delight. As an example: smoked salmon fish tartare with smoked wild catch from Lake Starnberg, tomatized cabbage, field salad, quince and walnut. On a potato, of course.

An up-to-date corporate identity, a self-ironic marketing presence, the publication of a potato cookbook, as well as collaborations with other organizations, such as Munich-based electronic music and fashion label “Public Possession” most probably helped

reinterpreting the potato as a cool food product.

 

But still, their main focus is normal potatoes sold like at any other potato stand, but of very good quality. You can just go there and tell the employees what you want to cook, and they will give you a recommendation. I once got some “Bamberger Hörnla” there, an old variety from Franconia in northern Bavaria. They are basically the German version of fingerling potatoes: waxy, firm light-yellow flesh, slightly ocher skin and a nutty aroma with an intense, particular flavor. Was the Caspar Plautz-potato way better than other potatoes? No. It was a good, solid, tasty potato, but other potatoes in Germany are also very good. Does this make Caspar Plautz redundant? Not at all. The work they do for re-popularizing an “out of style” regional product can and should be used as a blueprint for other products as well as in other places. 

 

Buying locally sourced products from small businesses that carefully select their suppliers and know their product is very important. As long as this business model remains being carried out by old people in a regional shop in small cities visited only by the same type of people, it will have no future. We need young, hip people who manage to put such products into a modern light – because that's how we can create  a broad interest for these products among the population.