What were your favorite desserts growing up?
Pear Helene. It's a chocolate pudding with poached pears and lots of whipped cream on top. And a cake called Franfurter Kranz, which is a vanilla biscuit with lightened butter cream and tons of toasted hazelnuts all around.

When did you decide you wanted to be a pastry chef?
Much later in life when I realized that I was getting slightly too old to start a career as a rock star and that my love for baking had been a constant throughout the years.

Where and when did your cooking career begin?
In London, when I put myself through photography school by working in the kitchens of various cafés.

If you didn't become a pastry chef, what would you be?
Maybe a gardener

Who/what has shaped your baking the most over the years?
Definitely my mother. She taught me most of the basics of baking and cooking and the baking tradition of German housewives is something else, they even publish their own yearly recipe collections. I always get a kick out of these pamphlets, because folks at home can be very adventurous.

What are your favorite culinary weapons in the kitchen?
The most fun weapon is probably the blow torch.

What is your favorite secret ingredient?
In Germany you can get a great range of food flavors, specifically for baking. One of them is arrack aroma, when you put a tiny drop in any sponge cake batter; it brings out a wonderful flavor, which you would never be able to put a name to.

What was the most challenging dessert you had to make? Why?
A lady once insisted on having a Victorian style wedding cake made with a butter cream finish. Usually the piping would be in royal icing, which allows a great deal of delicate details, but she insisted on the butter cream décor. I wasn't keen on the cake, but she was so happy she got very emotional. In the end that is the most important thing: you made someone happy with your work.

What is your least favorite food?
Gelatin. The knowledge how it is derived killed my enthusiasm for it. I started to experiment with agar agar to find a substitute for mousses and gelees.

What are some recent dining and culinary trends you have been observing?
People seem to go back to simplicity with an emphasis on great ingredients. Organic products and healthy ingredients seem to crop up everywhere. I specially love the rediscovery of earthy grains like farro and amaranth and the likes.

When you are not eating at your own restaurant... where are you eating?
I like a lot of ethnic food. One of my favorites is Thai, also Indian, Japanese and Mexican. I always prefer small unassuming places to trendier settings.

Which foreign country inspires your style most?
Most of my baking style has definitely been formed in Germany.

What is your best cooking tip for a home enthusiast?
Patience and a love for what you are doing. If things don't quite turn out the way you planned don't get discouraged, try again. Reading recipes will give you an understanding of methods and techniques.

What do you eat when you are home?
I don't eat meat, so I tend to eat a lot of soups and stews and salads. And I am a huge cheese addict. Couldn't live without bread and cheese.