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| Coralie & Inga from 'Gourmandise Berlin' at their favorite place in Berlin 'Les pâtisseries de Sébastien' in Mitte |
Coralie vom Hofe, France, founder of 'Gourmandise Berlin'
I'm French and I grew up in Paris. I decided to move to Berlin because I fell in love with the city and my boyfriend during a one-year Erasmus exchange program ;-). I’ve been living in Berlin now for 6 years.
I love this city because you think that everything is possible in
Berlin. And it's true if you really work hard for it. I first really
felt at home when I spoke German and understood almost everything
when I met German girls and they became my friends and when a French
patisserie opened right next door ;-). I love the fact that you can
go outside with your favourite sweater and you
feel just as stylish as the Mitte hipsters. I love that new ideas are
taken seriously. I would like to stay in Berlin for as long as I feel
good here, just as long as Berlin keeps its flair and energy.
Berlin is the best city to come up with your own idea and start a business.
Inga and I really have been loving baking for years. We didn’t want
to start a normal business with all the investments and obligations
that would go along with it. We wanted to bake fresh, French and
innovative pastry. That was our motivation. 'Gourmandise Berlin' was
born. Everyone we talked to thought that our concept was really cool.
I guess we found the right concept at the right time and we just let
it go. Pop-up bakeries are extraordinary because you are free to do
just what you like. Nobody tells you what to bake, we just do what we
think fits the season and what our customers will love.
We are now organizing our 4th pop-up bakery and every time it’s a very
special event. We meet new people, get new ideas, always switch
locations and offer unique pastry. Our concept is simple but
progressive. We always try to create new recipes so that people don't
want to miss not even one pop-up bakery of 'Gourmandise Berlin'.
Inga Schmäling, Germany, founder of 'Gourmandise Berlin'
Inga Schmäling, Germany, founder of 'Gourmandise Berlin'
I really fell in love with the city when I first came to Berlin during
my early 20ies and I arrived by train. I arrived at Berlin main
station via Spandau and just after Spandau I pressed my nose against
the train window, my eyes wide open, and breathed the Berlin air for
the first time. Since then I came very often to Berlin because my
brother studied here and I always took the route via Spandau by
train. Even today my heart still starts beating and a good feeling
expands in my body when I pass Spandau and the city comes closer.
It’s this feeling that I connect with Berlin from the first moment on and
that still is there every time I come back form a journey and I see
the city out of the train window: it’s freedom, craziness,
everything’s possible, great people, history, culture, inspiration,
hidden places, positive vibes. I lived in quite a few places after I
moved out from home, but never felt as I feel in Berlin. It’s home!
This good deep feeling was also the main driver and motivation for
starting my own business and doing something crazy in this city. I
never doubted that Coralie’s and my idea of organizing pop-up
bakeries would be possible and successful in Berlin. If not here,
where else?! People here just appreciate innovative and extraordinary
things. They are open-minded, easy-going, and supportive. The
people in Berlin, our friends, family, co-workers, neighbours and all
the other great people we get in touch with every day, are another
reason why Coralie and I took the step of putting our idea into
reality and founded 'Gourmandise Berlin'. They supported us, backed
us up, discussed with us, connected us to other people, brainstormed
with us, gave us a helping hand, opened us doors to unknown fields,
challenged our thoughts, and today are thrilled by our pop-up bakery
and love our handmade, high-class and innovative French pastry.
A big thank you goes to Berlin and its awesome people!
Visit their website www.gourmandise-berlin.com or follow them via facebook to never miss a pop-up bakery again - and be sure to stop by this Sunday, 02.06. at Invalidenstraße 50/51, for your sweet treat!
