11 culinary products and experiences honoured in the "This is what a cultural region tastes like" competition 22/05/2024

Peggy Walter from Burgstadt's "Choco del Sol" will be creating so-called neighbourhood chocolates in collaboration with Edition Wannenbuch & Paperento Verlag - a literary and culinary walk through Chemnitz - melt-in-the-mouth and delicious. The fair-trade organic cocoa beans come from Belize. The ingredients and flavours for the chocolates are inspired by the districts of Chemnitz. From Bernsdorf to the city centre, chocolates meet nuts, currants, lavender or barberry. The packaging is made of paper and combines chocolate and book to create a small culinary neighbourhood guide.

→ chocodelsol.com

Chemnitz, the Ore Mountains and Europe combined in a historical and culinary event: Claudia Lappöhn and her partners present a unique mix of European history, political education and culinary delights in a journey through time consisting of professional theatre and the finest culinary art, creating a unique selling point for the region in terms of tourism. In their application, they write: "Every tradition that we cultivate was once an innovation. The city of Chemnitz, the Ore Mountains and the surrounding area are inconceivable without Europe. After all, when hordes of people from all over the world flocked to the Erzgebirge from 1168 for the first and from 1470 for the second Berggeschrey to extract the rich silver ore deposits from the mountain, the entire surrounding area became a melting pot of cultures. This naturally also had an impact on the food and culinary culture." Saxon and European history is brought to life with all the senses: conveying historical knowledge, old ingredients from the region and the everyday life of the people who lived here before us.

→ sportgaststaette-leukersdorf.de

The Rößler-Hof farm in Burkhardtsdorf, run by Katrin Seyffert, invites you to make your own Erzgebirgstaler during the Capital of Culture year. Four litres of milk are used to make a small semi-hard cheese, the Erzgebirgstaler, in a copper kettle. The cheese is flavoured with rowan berries and herbs from the local garden. The milk is supplied by the cows in the barn behind the house. The production of the taler is accompanied by a "wine journey" through Europe. The workshop participants taste various European wines. After a maturing period of four weeks, the cheese made by hand can be collected from Katrin Seyffert.

→ roessler-hof.de

Blueberries from regional cultivation will be used to flavour Eierlikörz egg liqueur in 2025. As usual, the special edition will be sold regionally, sustainably and in an environmentally friendly way. The team around Felix Adler is certain: eggnog is a cultural asset, especially within the Capital of Culture region, and it is also a luxury food. How can you bring people together more easily than by enjoying it or savouring it together? What's more, the manufacturer believes that eggnog belongs to the category of simple, not very fancy, down-to-earth spirits. Attributes that are also associated with Chemnitz - but are certainly not 100 per cent accurate either. The Eierlikörz team sees a commonality here and wants to use the product to contribute to the fact that the subtle, the surprising also lies in a certain simplicity or down-to-earthness.

→ eierlikoerz.de

Togetherness is particularly important to Peter Ziegs and the people of Jahnsdorf. They founded the "Jahnsdorf trifft sich" (Jahnsdorf meets) association with the aim of connecting people and organising more events together. "Suppe & Mugge - das Jahnsdorfer Suppenfest" is intended to involve the various groups in the village from organisation to implementation. The idea for 2025 is to invite clubs, private individuals, restaurants, partner communities and migrants to Jahnsdorf with their favourite soup. All soups will then be tasted and the favourite will be selected and awarded a prize by the visitors. Handmade music accompanies the colourful soup festival.

→ hofmarkt-ziegs.de

Alina Tomisch and Dorette Möller from Früchteverarbeitung Sohra GmbH have ventured a special creation for the Capital of Culture year. Gooseberries and pears grown on their own orchards are combined with roasted field beans to create a fruit spread that offers a completely new flavour experience. The makers are certain that food brings people together and creates cultural connections. Our fruit spread is a product that connects generations and supports traditional cuisine. By using Calvados, a traditional French apple brandy, and vanilla sugar, a popular European sweetener, we want to emphasise the diversity and common cultural roots of Europe.

→ fruechte-sohra.de

Norbert Hohmann wants to tantalise visitors and locals with a real all-rounder during the Capital of Culture year. Seasoned meat, as he knows, is a constant in our region, it is popular and well-known. At the same time, however, seasoned meat differs from region to region and is changeable in many variations. Hohmann wants to make guests and event participants not only full, but also happy, by serving them in a bread basket or in a jar to take away. He pays close attention to the regionality and sustainability of his products.

→ schmiedelandhaus.de

What to do with leftover bread and rolls? In Michael Eichler's bakery, brewer Lisa Goldmann takes care of these leftovers in a special way. She processes them into beer under the label "Die Biermacher". The brewery has been producing its own Bioland beer since November 2022. Hops, malts and barley are purchased exclusively in Bioland quality and then processed with the leftovers to create a pilsner with typical floral notes of geranium.

→ gesundesbrot.de

Beer is a regional cultural asset - and it connects generations and nations. The trade association Unser Zschopau e.V. would like to organise an international beer festival in the Capital of Culture year 2025. Visitors can expect street culture paired with brewing culture in the historic old town of the motorbike town of Zschopau. Numerous microbreweries and microbreweries from Germany and the EU will line the streets and alleyways of Zschopau's town centre, interspersed with offers from local businesses and local clubs, creating a relaxed atmosphere for guests of all ages for an entire weekend.

→ unser-zschopau.de

Event? Product? Christin Popella from Aue describes it like this: it's a feeling, a view of the world, an enjoyable lifestyle with a touch of New World spirit. What she means by this are her culinary creations, which the trained master butcher brings to the region with a great deal of love. Whether it's a family celebration, annual reception or corporate event - endless moments of enjoyment are always booked. For 2025, customers can expect unusual food ideas in which Popella draws on culinary delicacies from around the world and creates a HOODzn feeling with a lot of love, craftsmanship and a good dash of home. You have to taste it to feel it!

→ popella-genusshandwerk.de

→ Facebook page of Popella Genusshandwerk

Ina Hoyer applied with her entire menu. And for good reason. She cooks exclusively vegan - and with regional and seasonal ingredients. She also uses surplus produce from the solidarity farm "Hof zur bunten Kuh". Her Peacefood team not only cooks for the customers who come to the bistro, but also for an organic food shop in Chemnitz and for a kindergarten and childminders. Hoyer: "With our dishes, we show that a vegan diet is not only sustainable, but also tastes very good and is very filling. In many public events - thanks to increasing social change towards a climate-neutral lifestyle - the vegan option is becoming the lowest common denominator and therefore increasingly important. It is important to us that people learn that it can also taste good without animal ingredients."

→ peacefood-chemnitz.de