The sweet face of Berlin

Berlin might well be one of Europe’s most exciting cities. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, it became the capital of transformation and change, of diversity and creativity. Berlin is now also the address of chefs who break the traditional walls in gastronomy. CODA, which was first opened as a dessert bar in Berlin, has turned into a 2-Michelin star restaurant. Dessert and pastry chef René Frank surprises with a groundbreaking menu based on the concept of desserts, an intriguing embarkment just fit the changing face of Berlin.

Bitter homeland

Berlin has a certain significance for the Turkish people. In Türkiye, Berlin is synonymous with the famed expression: “Germany: Bitter Homeland!” For many “Gastarbeiter” Turkish “guest workers” in Germany, Berlin had been the first stop for many Turkish workers who came to Germany after the signing of a bilateral recruitment agreement in 1961. Adaptation to an alien land was not easy for most who came from rural parts of Türkiye, and Berlin was even tougher. It was once a lonely island, an isolated city surrounded by the Eastern Bloc in the middle of East Germany. The city was brutally divided into two parts, like sisters torn apart by fate, two completely opposite worlds. Despite all the incentives and advantages offered by West Germany during the Cold War years, it was far from being a center of attraction. This loneliness did not matter to the Turkish laborers who worked all day long far away from their homeland. They created their own environment in this faraway land making Kreuzberg, on the edge of the Berlin Wall, their homeland. Then suddenly everything changed. With the unification of East and West Germany, the Berlin Wall was pulled down and neighborhoods such as Kreuzberg, once like a Turkish ghetto, found itself in the very center of the new united city. Districts like Neukölln, once home to the working class are now a place of diversity. Berlin suddenly became vibrant.

The transformation was fast. Berlin is now the capital of innovation, change and diversity. Brand new ideas are flourishing in Berlin. German chef René Frank's innovative CODA is one of them, which has won numerous awards for its unusual approach and surprises with its dessert-only menu. This time I’m visiting Berlin to meet the award-winning chef René Frank. The reason I’m giving so much background information about Berlin’s past is because it is also about revisiting my first encounter with the town, to my childhood, and also to have a better understanding of the city. Berlin was my very first visit abroad. It must have been 1967-68. I remember minute by minute how we crossed from West Berlin to East Berlin with special permission due to my art historian mother’s research. The contrast between the two Berlin’s was among the clearest memories I have from my primary school years. This city, which I have visited many times since then, has always been a city of contradictions for me, and at an emotional level, kind of a love-hate relationship. René will make me shift to the love side, but I do not know that yet.

Curious and observant, playful and experimental

I meet with René right in the heart of Kreuzberg, at Hasır the famous döner restaurant and share a Berliner döner kebab, now considered as a local street food. Luckily, Saim Aygün, the owner of the place, is also there, and he specifically states that theirs is authentic made with chunky pieces of meat, not like fake ones with molded mincemeat loafs. True, the meat is fully flavored. “It’s like in Türkiye, that’s why I like it here,” says René. He is very familiar with Turkey. We first met when he came to Türkiye for Gastromasa. I remember giving him a taste of gypsophila foam and Punica pomegranate syrup. He is curious, inquisitive, always trying to discover. Wherever he goes, he is eager to learn new ingredients and techniques. As he takes a sip from the Mahlep I brought this time, he immediately searches for the mahlep plant (Prunus mahaleb) on the internet and instantly thinks of possible flavor matches. “Every time I come to Turkey, I learn something new,” he says. As he attentively takes a bite from his döner, suddenly, I notice another face of him, so attentively caring for taste, observing and analyzing each bite, paying special attention to every single ingredient in every single bite. That I’ll remember when I’ll taste his food.

René Frank, who hails from the south of Germany, chose Berlin because the city is open to creativity and innovation. His restaurant CODA, which is based entirely on the concept of dessert, could only exist in Berlin. The word “coda” means tail in Italian. In music, or especially in ballet, this word is used for the concluding passage of a piece, or a pas de deux. Here it is like the sweet grand finale, as the dessert is the end of the menu, the tail that completes the whole meal, and dessert is the grand finale of the menu. But what if it is not only the end but the entire menu? René Frank adopted this name because the whole menu of CODA is entirely made of dessert-inspired plates, with no distinctions like entrees or main courses, he chose to make each dish like a grand finale, a totally “non-conformist dining experience” approach by his own words.

René Frank is constantly looking for different flavor combinations, creating different experiences on the palate with surprising textures. In addition to his inner curious child, he also has a childish playful side that loves to have fun. The first item on the menu, a gummy bear, also the symbol of Berlin, is a playful ride on the palate. His signature dish, inspired by his childhood favorite chocolate ice cream popsicle Nogger, is definitely a grown-up taste, caviar-coated with a salty-sweet and creamy-briny contrast. The waffle, with its gooey cheese filling, urges one to play with the food, as one pulls apart the crispy waffle to reveal the raclette infill. The accompanying drinks are not like pairings but an extension of the plates in liquid form. Every sip complements and completes each bite. The chocolate flavors that complete the menu are made in-house from selected cocoa beans, harmoniously combining bitterness and sweetness. Every single plate is well-thought-of, carefully and meticulously crafted without emphasizing sweetness. Now, with Rene, I see the sweeter face of Berlin that will remain with me. Not that I’m crazy for sweets, I’m not one of those who claim to have another stomach for sweets. On the contrary, I usually do not crave nor care for sweets. But CODA’s dessert menu is a revelation for me, both taste-wise and thought-wise. Through the 15-course menu, one discovers diverse tastes, contrasting umami flavors and an exciting mosaic of flavor codes and colors, as vibrant as the new Berlin. CODA sits in a good place, both physically and metaphorically in the Neukölln district, it embarks on a new adventure in this ever-changing diverse city showcasing the better, no-longer-bitter, sweet face of Berlin!