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MAKING IT IN GERMANY

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Andrew Preble: Bringing the Big Easy to Berlin

The Local’s series “Making it in Germany” presents Andrew Preble, a Louisiana native serving up proper Cajun cuisine in the German capital. Mark Worth reports.

Andrew Preble: Bringing the Big Easy to Berlin
Photo: Mark Worth

Every year, thousands of people come to Berlin in search of new experiences, outlets for their creativity and maybe even a little notoriety. Arriving with little more than a backpack, limited German skills, and no job or contacts, Andrew Preble wasn’t looking for any of these things. But after less than two years in the city, the 25-year-old may have already discovered them all – in a way he never expected.

An idea came to Preble while attending a creative meet-up group, where expats and other adventure-seekers gather in hopes of turning their cocktail-napkin dreams into reality.

“I met a girl from New Orleans who wanted to start a gumbo delivery service,” says Preble. “I said there’s no way I’m pedaling a bike with gumbo through this city in winter. So I thought – the customers can come to me.”

Having never before started, owned or even managed a restaurant, Preble is now the owner of an authentic Cajun-Creole restaurant in Berlin. Just off of Görlitzer Park in the heavily touristed, multicultural mecca of Kreuzberg, the New Orleans Haus joins a growing list of Berlin restaurants serving food made by Americans according to traditional recipes.

Jambalaya, crawfish étouffée, crab cakes, red beans and rice, Creole cheesecake, and fruity Hurricane and Orange Blossom cocktails – all have that close-your-eyes-and-you’re-on-Bourbon-Street taste. Preble’s foundation is the Cajun-Creole recipes he inherited from grandmothers on both sides of his family – though curiously enough they had Mexican and Swiss roots.

“In New Orleans, it’s normal to grow up in the kitchen – so I’ve been baking since I was six,” says Preble, soft-spoken and still a bit boyish. “All of the food we cook here at the restaurant – I grew up eating. The gumbo we make, with okra, is the same that we ate every Christmas Eve back home.”

For Preble, back home is Abita Springs, a town of about 2,000 just across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans that was originally a Native American village legendary for its medicinal waters. Today it’s probably best known for Abita beer and its Mystery House, which happens to be run by Preble’s father, John, who has become famous for his homemade inventions and folk art – including a flying saucer protruding from the side of an Airstream mobile home.

Also an artist, Preble’s mother, Ann O’Brien, was a respected jewelry-maker who died of cancer four years ago. Shaken by her death, and with New Orleans still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, Preble bought an airplane ticket and left the next day for Argentina, where he stayed for six months to work on his Spanish. “I needed to reset my brain,” he says.

In addition to South America, Preble’s travels also took him to Australia, where he worked as a landscaper on movie sets; Norway, where he studied Norwegian at the University of Oslo; and Austria, where he studied business in Innsbruck – and also where he realized he was broke after just two weeks on the road when his bankcard stopped working.

Eventually he landed in Berlin, but frustrated with his employment search, Preble began looking for a restaurant location about a year ago, finding a southern German-style café about to close down. Luckily, after taking it over, he was able to keep all the equipment and furnishings. “Everything was here,” he says. “We just had to make the food.” Instead of liver-noodle soup and sausage salad, the small kitchen now dishes out Jambalaya and gumbo to the sounds of Professor Longhair and Fats Domino.

As complicated as Cajun-Creole food tastes – blending French, Spanish, African and Native American flavours – Preble admits it is “really easy to cook in big batches. You can keep it warm and serve it instantly.” But, he says – and here comes the tricky part when opening a restaurant like this in a place like Berlin – “You can’t short-cut anything.”

Preble searched for months before finding such basics as fresh crab meat for his crab cakes, celery seeds for Creole mustard and the perfect red beans. “Seafood is the most difficult piece,” he says, adding that the crawfish for his étouffée and crawfish Monique dishes come from Denmark.

With no hope of finding smoked Andouille sausage – a must-have for gumbo – he found a local butcher who agreed to make it for him, following a recipe from Preble’s grandmother. He can’t find filé powder (dried Sassafras leaves) for his gumbo, but he can easily buy Philadelphia cream cheese for his Creole cheesecake – a genuine treat for those who tire of German-style cake made with quark.

Still not satisfied with his menu, Preble will soon introduce more Bayou classics, including po’ boy and muffaletta sandwiches, and Café Du Monde-style beignets and coffee with chicory. On a recent Sunday he spontaneously whipped up pancakes, and corn and shrimp soup. “You can’t get complacent,” he says. “We’ll always be experimenting and playing around. That’s how you stay fresh.”

Though open for just six months, Preble has already attracted a loyal and diverse clientele, evidenced by many favorable reviews – in both English and German.

“Our customers always notice that our food is special. But,” Preble says, “that’s hard for me to imagine because I grew up eating it.”

Know someone who’s “made it” in Germany? Email us at: [email protected]

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STUDYING IN GERMANY

What’s it like to study abroad in Berlin?

Picking the right city to study abroad in Germany can be a tricky decision, and there are numerous factors to consider. Freya Jones shares her experience of doing a year abroad in the capital and explains why Berlin could also be the right choice for you.

What's it like to study abroad in Berlin?

Five months after moving to Berlin for my year abroad (a compulsory part of my German degree from the UK) the German capital is certainly a destination I’d recommend. 

Although it’s less “traditionally German” than many other corners of the country, and simultaneously more comparable to the blanket big city experience worldwide, Berlin’s unique history and culture make it a great place to explore – and unsurprisingly very popular with international students. 

Like all capitals, it has its pros and cons, so here’s what stood out to me during my experience so far.

Arrival

You’ve probably heard horror stories about the Berlin housing market, and from experience I can say they’re largely true. Finding an apartment here before moving to the city is notoriously difficult, and more expensive than in other parts of Germany. 

What you should bear in mind, however, is that unlike other German cities, Berlin doesn’t impose fines if you’re unable to secure a registration appointment within two weeks of arrival (three months if you already have a visa). This makes searching for a good WG, Studentenwerk, or other rental far easier post-arrival if your first stop is a homestay or somewhere else temporary. 

Blocks of rental flats in Berlin.

Blocks of rental flats in Berlin. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Monika Skolimowska

Despite a recent wave of strikes and construction work, transport links in Berlin are still very strong. If you’re enrolled as a student during your year abroad, you’ll be entitled to a discounted pass for city transport, including a number of tram, bus and train options that run all the way to the city’s outskirts and even into Brandenburg (Zone C).

What’s more, direct trains from Berlin’s BER Airport make it more accessible than more remote locations in Germany when you arrive equipped with a year’s worth of luggage.

English

My German tutors in the UK were slightly concerned when I chose Berlin, because they didn’t think I’d have much opportunity to practise my German. Looking back, this worry wasn’t without cause, and if your primary goal is German language improvement, it may be worth considering somewhere more rural or less international. 

Unlike small towns I’ve visited elsewhere in Germany, where many people speak little to no English, it’s everywhere in Berlin. Because the international population is so large, new friends from any country are likely to speak it by default.

However, this can obviously be mitigated by signing up for German-only university classes, as I’ve done as an exchange student at Humboldt University, or finding a German language job. And on the flip side, if you’re here to study a discipline other than German, the ubiquity of English in Berlin has you covered.

READ ALSO: The top German cities for international students in 2024

Cultural Experiences

Unsurprisingly, Berlin offers no end of unique cultural experiences. For new arrivals, there’s plenty to fill your time with, and I’d really recommend “playing the tourist” for a couple of weeks while you settle in. 

Bucket-list locations include the National Gallery and museums on Museuminsel, the Berlin Wall memorial, the Brandenburg Gate, and the site of the Berlin airlift at Tempelhof. And beyond this, there’s never a shortage of things to do – walks around Tiergarten and the customary Sunday flea markets (Flohmarkt am Mauerpark being the most famous) are popular with visitors and locals alike.

A skateboarder performs tricks on Tempelhofer Feld

A skateboarder performs tricks on a former runway at Berlin’s Tempelhofer Feld, a popular meeting place in Berlin-Neukölln. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christoph Soeder

Something I’ve also really enjoyed after being here for a while is noticing the small details which differentiate the former East and West Berlin sectors, such as different traffic lights and types of transport. While much of the architecture is admittedly stark, grey and not as pretty as other parts of Germany, the way in which present-day Berlin is a visible product of its recent history makes it a fascinating place to live.

READ ALSO: How do I get a student visa for Germany and what does it let me do?

Pros & Cons

Any culture shock inevitably comes with both positives and negatives, and these are a few which particularly struck me after moving to Berlin from the UK. 

Cons: many shops refuse to take card payment and only accept cash; all shops and supermarkets close on Sundays; there’s no guarantee of being let into a club or bar on a night out, and the traffic lights genuinely seem to conspire against drivers and pedestrians alike. (Also, the weather in winter really will destroy your soul, and this is a Brit talking…)

Pros: the quality of food is much better here than in the UK, and cheaper; the cost of alcohol is much lower; public transport is cheaper and more efficient than in London; work-life balance and mental wellbeing are taken very seriously; and finally, there’s a far less visible “class system” than in the UK, possibly due to the greater access and affordability of German universities.  (This is really nice, especially if you’re coming from a UK university where socio-economic prejudice is very common.)

READ ALSO: How to stay in Germany after graduating from a German university

Overall, Berlin has been a vibrant place to spend my exchange semester. Not only has it given me insights into the most significant shifts in recent German history, but it also offers the archetypal experience of living in a bustling, multicultural city. So while it’s distinctly different to anywhere else in Germany you might be considering, the variety of things to see and do in Berlin will keep you engaged for your full year abroad.

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