Photo: Imago / Future Image
"I am so grateful to my wife that she has endured everything with me!"
In a good mood and full of energy, Tim Mälzer (41) welcomes us to talk. He wants to introduce us to his vegetarian cookbook "Greenbox".
It is difficult to imagine that the celebrity chef once suffered from burnout syndrome (total fatigue).
In an interview, the Hamburg restaurant owner talks about the terrible crisis and how his partner Nina (39) assisted him. By the way, he also without marriage certificate "my wife" calls ...
How did you come to write a completely "meatless" cookbook now?
Tim Mälzer: Because the vegetarian kitchen has a bad reputation. Here, vegetables - prepared properly - can be delicious.
How did the book come about?
Tim Mälzer: We met as a team in Mallorca and just tried it out. I am a spontaneous cook. There are 14 daily relaxed loosely. We experimented until it was really round. The only food that leaked out was actually the meat substitute tofu. I just do not like it.
How important is the quality of food?
Tim Mälzer: Of course, a slightly more expensive tomato from the market often tastes better than the cheap version. Before you make the more expensive oil on the watery cheap tomato, you should rather buy affordable vegetables in good quality. But more important to me is that people even start to cook and realize that with good ingredients, a few spices and some joy in cooking, you can make a really delicious meal. Because: Fear of failure, is the biggest enemy of the cook.
May it be frozen vegetables?
Tim Mälzer: Of course! I like frozen peas or spinach. You can chase me with carrots, they just get mushy. The time of preparation and the meal itself must already be in proportion.
What do you like to eat?
Tim Mälzer: Spaghetti Bolognese! And vegetables I especially like peas, mushrooms, asparagus and tomatoes. I am usually traumatized by broccoli with turkey breast and herb butter. This is a typical meal that the girls used to cook when they invited me (laughs).
How important is healthy nutrition to you?
Tim Mälzer: Honestly? First and foremost, it matters to me if the dish tastes good. If it's healthy then it's all the better. Of course a meatless diet is often healthier and, above all, calorie-reduced.
In retrospect, would you become a chef again?
Tim Mälzer: Again and again! But cooking all day - that would be too boring for me! I'm not just a cook. I am an entrepreneur, author, participate in TV shows. The mix makes my job so interesting. I still work 14 hours a day. I do not have constant stress, but I am present in my restaurant. Slowly I realize that physically and would like to stand behind the stove at 50 years old.
