“We came as strangers and left as friends.”

Shizen opens in November. It is the first restaurant from Sofian Neubauer, who has been delighting the Düsseldorf dining public with private dining since 2020. With the Sofian Food Foundation, which he founded, he organized fine dining events in unusual locations. Now the 43-year-old chef has found a home for his culinary ideas in a backyard at Ackerstraße 79. From now on, Neubauer will be serving his Japanese-Scandinavian creations there - with an unusual concept. In this interview, he reveals what his guests can expect and where he likes to eat himself.

You describe your cuisine as Japanese-Scandinavian. That sounds very unusual. How did you come up with this style? What are the Japanese and what are the Scandinavian elements?
I worked for a long time at Agata's, which was promoting Korean-Japanese cuisine at the time. That influenced me a lot. I combine Japanese flavors with Scandinavian cooking techniques. I work a lot with fermentation, wild herbs and whey products. My dishes are usually reduced to five or six components. Both cuisines, both worlds, are concerned with reduction and with the product itself. I find that very exciting.

Which Scandinavian chef influenced you?
An important inspiration was the Swede Magnus Nilsson with the restaurant Fäviken, which is unfortunately now closed. I saw him in "Chef's Table" on Netflix - he was very authentic. That's exactly what I want to convey: I am my kitchen. That on the plate is me. I found myself completely reflected in Nilsson.

Your cuisine is also called natural cuisine. What can your guests expect from this?
All the products I use either come from my own harvest community in Düsseldorf, a community-supported agriculture, or I travel to small Demeter farms in Velbert and buy the products there. Sustainability is very important to me. Not only in the way I handle the products, but also in terms of their origin. That's why I don't work with large suppliers. I get my fish from a small fishing family in Holland. When I use meat, it comes from farms that slaughter locally.

So far, you have organized dining events with the Food Foundation you founded, in very unusual locations. Now you are opening your own restaurant, Shizen. What prompted you to take this step?
I'm a one-man show. It's great fun to cook in unusual places. But it's also a huge logistical challenge. And it's difficult to develop the cuisine further under these circumstances. I had the feeling that I had reached a point where I needed a home for my cuisine.

What does the name mean and what will be special about your restaurant Shizen?
Shizen is Japanese and means nature. At Shizen, I cook in front of the guests. I have 14 places at the bar, for which I sell so-called bar tickets in advance. You can register alone, as a couple, or as a small group. On the evening itself, all guests come at the same time. There is only one menu. It is almost like a closed group, in a very private, intimate atmosphere. The guests do not know each other, but will get to know each other that evening if they want to. I experience this again and again: at the beginning they are very quiet, rather shy. After the first glass of wine, the mood usually becomes more relaxed. That is very nice for me too. I like to describe my philosophy in one sentence: "We came as strangers, we left as friends." If I achieve that, I am happy.

You introduce yourself as a Düsseldorf "Jong" on your website. What significance does the city have for your work?
Düsseldorf is my hometown. I used to work as a promoter in bars and clubs in the Düsseldorf scene. Then I lived and worked in San Francisco for nine years. I studied business psychology there, i.e. work and industrial psychology, in order to go into management consulting. When I came back to Düsseldorf after nine years, I realized: that's not me. I didn't feel comfortable in the world of management consulting as it was in Germany at the time. That's why I started training as a chef again in 2014, at the age of 33. I worked at Patrick's Seafood, Phoenix and Agata's. Unfortunately, the first two restaurants no longer exist. At the same time, I set up the Foundation and organized cooking events, but they were more sporadic back then, due to time constraints.

Is Düsseldorf an important culinary location?
It's exciting what's happening. I believe that Düsseldorf will be an important location for culinary gastronomy in Germany in the coming years. The fact that Rolling Pin Magazine held its convention here in September is a significant move and a sign. A lot is happening in Düsseldorf and that is very gratifying. I really enjoy being part of it. We can all benefit from it.

When you have friends over, where do you take them?
I love taking them to Bistro Fatal. Alexandre Bourgueil is a great French chef who really knows his craft. He learned the old school way, but brings a modern twist to it. Then I love the Alchemist restaurant on Pionierstrasse. The owner, Yvonne Raskob, has hosting qualities like no other and the food is fantastic. You feel at home straight away. If you want something more uncomplicated, Kenny's Kitchen on Birkenstrasse is my first choice. A married couple there make Japanese street food of sensational quality. And not to forget: the Finanzämtche (Pozangmatcha). Korean cuisine meets German pub. Preferably at two in the morning. One of the most exciting locations you can visit in Düsseldorf.

You've worked for Michelin-starred chefs. Which fine-dining restaurants do you recommend?
Jae on Keplerstraße is a no-brainer. Jörg Wissmann cooks there, under whom I worked at Agata's with Philipp Lange. Jörg influenced me a lot, also because he has such a Zen-like calm charisma. Lukas Jakobi at Zwanzig23 is a bit wilder and louder. Things get hot there. Then I admire Daniel Dal-Ben at 1876 and Agata Reul at Agata's. Marcel Förster is a great new chef there. In my eyes, he deserves another star.

And where do you go when you want to relax?
I'm a big wine lover and a fan of natural wine. That's why I like to go to the Wyno wine bar on Ackerstraße. Olaf Kölker and I are good friends. We do a lot of events together. Dorina Sill's Eiskellerbar is also great, I really enjoy being pampered there. I haven't been to Toni Askitis' Pommes & Wein on Graf-Adolf-Platz that often, but I think it's an insanely cool place.

sofian-foodfoundation.de

Text: Ilona Marx
Photos: Markus Luigs & Sofian Food Foundation