Miriam Lemke

In Miriam's kitchen, a chilli grinder is an essential, along with milk for her coffee and salty mini-pretzels. When cooking, she almost always goes by her gut feeling, and her little rubber scraper is her must-have tool when she's been using the chopping board.

What is your funniest/best cooking memory?

I’m a trained chef and, during my third year of training, I cooked my way to 1st place at the Heilbronn City Championships with a menu I had created myself. I won other competitions after that, but that first victory was the best of all for me.

Which dish do you most enjoy cooking?

I mostly cook after work, so it has to be quick because I’m hungry. So, something simple, with vegetables and pasta.

Do you have a secret ingredient that gives your dishes that special edge?

For me, the final seasoning is the most important, and it's often overlooked. If, at the end of cooking, I don't feel a dish is balanced, I spend quite a while fine-tuning it. If it lacks zing, I like to add a dash of lemon juice, which I always have in my fridge. For a bit of a kick, I have dried chilli from my parents’ garden, which I finely grind in a pepper mill. And in dressings, I think a bit of freshly grated horseradish works wonders.

Which scent brings back happy memories for you?

The scent of freshly baked yeast loaf. My Mum used to bake a lot at the weekend and, when the dough had been left to rise in the warm, we would sneak in and steal a bit of it from under the tea towel.

What is the most memorable dish your grandma made?

Dumplings with vanilla sauce by Grandma Liese and pan-fried liver sausage sandwich by Grandma Ruth.

What dish or ingredient have you recently rediscovered?

Asian papaya salad. I absolutely love it, because it is an explosion of flavours!

Which wine do you always have on your wine rack at home?

My own wine: Trollinger, a light, delicate red wine which my boyfriend and I tend and nurture in Bad Cannstatter Zuckerle.

Which is your favourite country for wines? And why?

I spent one year working at Bassermann-Jordan in the Palatinate region, which is when I formed an intimate bond with the German Riesling. I love them all: Kabinett wines from the Moselle, mature Grands Crus and even simple estate wines now and then.

White wine, red wine or beer?

All of them: beer and wine feels fine! I’m not fussy about what I drink, as long as it's authentic and typical of its place of origin: Grands Crus from Germany or classics from Burgundy, the Rhône, Barossa Valley, Napa Valley and anything sparkling, whether it’s from Champagne, Franciacorta or England. I even love a sparkling Shiraz.