I attended the Thyme Supper Club in Prenzlauer Berg on Friday evening. Hosted by Caroline and Tobias in a grand old apartment with burgundy walls featuring Tobias’s paintings.
I had a frightening initial ten minutes when I realized that all the other guests were speaking German! ”Do you speak German?” one asked? “No” I answered. I got a perfunctory nod and the group returned to their native tongue. ”Eh Gad!” I thought, this is going to be one long meal…
The evening quickly righted itself when a spunky English-speaking young woman walked in. We got to chatting and after a few minutes we realized we had already met each other virtually! She was the author of Sclachtplatte and when she figured out who I was she exclaimed “Oh My God! You’re the Foodie in Berlin?!”, to which the whole room went quiet and stared. Could this have been my shot at 15 minutes of fame?
The table was set for 18, a large paper lamp dangling over it served as the main source of light, with a few candles licking at the shadows in the corners of the room.
A fat glass full of fresh thyme was the centerpiece for the table. The spartan centerpiece was indicative of the evening to come. The food was elegant and self-confident. Well sized portions, sitting naturally on the plate - prettier than you would serve yourself at home but not aspirational. I am underlining this point because it is extremely difficult to achieve and your confidence as a cook must be profound to trust that you have done enough (recommended reading on this subject is a Platter of Figs by David Tanis). Read more of this post
Comments