A German on your doorstep
A German on your doorstep
14:52, March 09, 2010 
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A perk of living in an international capital like Beijing is that you can get almost anything delivered directly to your door, be it McDonalds or a motherboard. With the arrival of Christian Söldner, a 41-year-old from Bavaria, Germany, the city's food delivery options now include this rent-a-German-cook. Lifestyle arranged a cooking session to find out more.
Söldner punctually arrived at my kitchen dressed in his chef jacket and towing his mobile kitchen: a massive black suitcase that contained a electric German oven (unavailable in China, he said), dish washing soap, cleaning cloths, forks and knives and all his necessary ingredients. We got our most important questions off our chest first. "So, what does German food have to offer besides sausages? And how many Chinese people really know and appreciate German food?" Söldner smiled. "I just started, and I am not sure if I will succeed in the end. But cooking is my biggest hobby. I have been cooked for family and friends for around twenty years. My mom was my teacher. I just feel passionate about introducing authentic German food to China."
Very early days
"You guys are my first customers, actually," Söldner admitted. "I am cooking you one of my special dishes, baked pork knuckle with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes."
Söldner seemed confident that "there are lots of German companies in Beijing and many expats are here to provide custom." Others who've studied or worked in Germany might also get nostalgic for the country's traditional foods, which he can whip up in their own homes.
Söldner didn't start out as a chef. Previously he worked for the German company SAP (Systems, Applications and Products in Data Processing), but changed because he loved cooking enough to make it his profession. He first came to China in 2002, and fell in love with the place, returning to visit once a year. "I like everything about China, the country, the people, the food," Söldner explained. In 2007, he met his wife in the Forbidden City; the couple now live in Beijing.
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Söldner punctually arrived at my kitchen dressed in his chef jacket and towing his mobile kitchen: a massive black suitcase that contained a electric German oven (unavailable in China, he said), dish washing soap, cleaning cloths, forks and knives and all his necessary ingredients. We got our most important questions off our chest first. "So, what does German food have to offer besides sausages? And how many Chinese people really know and appreciate German food?" Söldner smiled. "I just started, and I am not sure if I will succeed in the end. But cooking is my biggest hobby. I have been cooked for family and friends for around twenty years. My mom was my teacher. I just feel passionate about introducing authentic German food to China."
Very early days
"You guys are my first customers, actually," Söldner admitted. "I am cooking you one of my special dishes, baked pork knuckle with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes."
Söldner seemed confident that "there are lots of German companies in Beijing and many expats are here to provide custom." Others who've studied or worked in Germany might also get nostalgic for the country's traditional foods, which he can whip up in their own homes.
Söldner didn't start out as a chef. Previously he worked for the German company SAP (Systems, Applications and Products in Data Processing), but changed because he loved cooking enough to make it his profession. He first came to China in 2002, and fell in love with the place, returning to visit once a year. "I like everything about China, the country, the people, the food," Söldner explained. In 2007, he met his wife in the Forbidden City; the couple now live in Beijing.
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