meet from Häppies
Häppies is one of Berlin's most creative restaurants, nestled in the heart of Prenzlauer Berg. Serving handmade dumplings, steamed to order and filled with sweet and savory ingredients. Find out more about this unique and vegetarian concept in the following interview with owner Uli Marschner.
"Cooking for me is like doing magic. Witches brew their potion, we cook our häppies. For me, it's all about putting love and energy into our buns."
Who are you?
I’m Uli, the founder of häppies.
When did you discover your passion for cooking, how did you know you wanted to take this path?
To be honest, as a child already. I cooked multiple-course meals for my parents, getting my inspiration from cooking shows. Also, my mum was a great cook. Her food drove us all crazy, especially my dad - it was fascinating and funny to watch him moan while eating, haha! I knew I wanted to be able to make people go nuts with my food as well one day. When I got older I kind of forgot about my passion for a bit and studied business. I worked in advertising for some years, probably because I thought I’d better do something solid I guess. However, I soon realized that’s not what makes me häppie. Hence, I started thinking about business ideas that seemed more authentic & „nicer“ than advertising - and they all had to do with food or cooking, until I had the idea for my fusion Germknödel. Within a few minutes, I knew this was what I was going to do: making people häppie with dumplings, which is now my purpose in life.
What does cooking mean to you?
Cooking for me is like doing magic. Witches brew their potion, we cook our häppies. For me, it's all about putting love and energy into our buns. This makes a big difference that you can taste, love is the special ingredient that drives us all nuts.
What has been the most transformative experience in your journey as a chef?
We used to have meat options on the menu in the beginning. Even though I've been vegetarian since I was a kid, back then I thought this is what people want. About two years after I opened the first shop I sat in a meditation and it felt like I had a conversation with häppie himself, like a spiritual business meeting. He told me there’s no sense in having meat versions of him on the menu, chopped-up animals don't have häppie energy. So right after this chat, I changed the whole menu. Since then we have only veggie and vegan dumplings.
Which inspirations do you use for new dishes, does it happen naturally or do you have any specific activities that help you with getting creative?
I love to travel and get inspiration in different countries. I also hired my first kitchen chef half a year ago and don’t do the creation job alone anymore - she is a big inspiration herself. We get ideas for new häppies from our guests as well, so sometimes we can then work with them. In the future, we want to incorporate our fan's ideas even more since it’s just so much fun!
How would you describe your cuisine?
We do germknödel deluxe: delicious, fluffy buns, savory & sweet, all with different fillings, sauces, and toppings, all vegetarian & vegan.
Apart from cooking and creating dishes, what does this job mean to you?
It completes me. Not just to feed, but also to make people so häppie every day is the ultimate bliss for me.
How do you incorporate sustainable practices into your work and vision for the future?
As previously mentioned, we don't have meat options and are actually planning to soon have a completely vegan menu. We are also able to pre-produce and freeze our dumplings, so we have an almost zero-waste culture in our restaurant that we are really proud of.
How do you see the food scene evolving, and what exciting developments are you noticing?
It’s super exciting to see an increasing number of bistro-like places open up that specialize in one dish and perfectionize it.
What challenges and opportunities do you face, and how do you envision the future for women in gastronomy?
The biggest challenge has always been to find good staff, meaning the right people you can trust, who share your vision and want to help spreading the love. Lately, however, I’ve been super lucky and my team is pretty amazing. We happen to be an all-female team, I personally think that’s just our vibe. In general, I see more and more women owning restaurants and working in kitchens - but it’s still not enough for sure.
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