Vadim Otto Ursus, Berlin’s Wild Food Creator

His food is deeply connected to the surrounding nature of Brandenburg, where the restaurant’s test kitchen and farm is located. In the years that have followed, otto has led a growing and tight-knit group of chefs and restaurateurs who are prioritizing sustainability and focusing on local and unique products.

The city’s culinary scene is evolving at an exciting pace, and it is thanks to truly original chefs like Vadim. Throughout his twenties he cooked at multiple Michelin-starred restaurants: under René Redzepi, Danish chef and co-owner of the famed Noma, at Redzepi’s seven-week pop up in Tulum, in Mexico, as well as Maaemo, a three-starred Norwegian restaurant in Oslo, and LOCO, the modern dining room in Lisbon, Portugal. While he is grateful of his time in these prestigious places, Vadim does things a little differently in his own kitchen: he takes a more relaxed approach.

“We want to be a friendly, casual, and intimate place that feels fun and open”, explains Sören Zuppke, the restaurant’s manager and head of operations. Otto is housed in a small space on Oderberger Straße, Berlin—in the winter time, there are a mere eight tables, with four extra spots at the bar overlooking the open kitchen. “It’s a very small neighborhood restaurant with a strong identity connected to the region,” Sören says. “We do that by foraging and growing our own food in Buchholz, where our producers are, and work with smaller batches of ingredients that our producers only have a modest amount of. We can change dishes easily with the seasons, and experiment with what is growing in our garden.”

In recent years, there have been big changes in the Berlin gastronomy scene, and more broadly, across Europe and beyond. But the team at otto is optimistic. “I think we’re slowly witnessing the end of the very classic tasting menu in a male-dominated, fine-dining restaurant experience,” Sören says. “In Berlin we are lucky that the industry is made up of so many diverse people and cuisines. People still value culinary greatness, and great produce and service, but they want a more laid back atmosphere.”

In this short documentary, director Paul Sonntag follows Vadim through his culinary journey, capturing his process and how it shapes his creativity. We caught up with chef Vadim below to find out more on the restaurant’s concept, its staple dishes, and how changing attitudes are moving in the right direction.

What is otto’s philosophy?

It’s about sharing food with one another, and wild food in a sense. Otto has a strong relationship to its surroundings: we work with strictly regional produce from smaller organic farms around Berlin. And we consider foraging to be a big part of our farming practices.

Which seasonal vegetables are your favorites to work with?

I love vegetables that have bolder flavors. And like many Germans, of course I love asparagus! Yet unlike many Germans, I love hot chilies [laughing], which we've been growing ourselves the past few years. I also love to work with wild herbs and flowers, not for decoration per se but as a main component of a dish.

What is one ingredient that otto can’t exist without?

Brown butter and koji. They’re the backbone of many of our dishes.

You’ve cooked in kitchens in Mexico, Oslo, and the Faroe Islands. Are there any local ingredients from one of these places that really captured your imagination and is still influencing otto’s menus today?

The time in the Nordic countries influenced me a lot because the ingredients are similar to what we have in this climate here. Techniques like salting unripe fruit and being generally creative with basic ingredients was a really nice approach that I learned.

What are otto’s staple dishes?

The smoked and grilled brook trout from 25Teiche, which has been on the menu from day 1. [25 Teiche, or 25 ponds in English, is a sustainable spring water fish farm in the countryside.] We debone it and serve it whole, butterfly style, with a homemade trout garum and a foraged wild herb salad. The other dish is dehydrated beetroots with sloe berry, brown butter, and labneh. And of course our homemade sourdough bread, which comes with koji butter, pickled vegetables, and a cured soft boiled egg. I should also mention dessert; our raw milk ice cream and the roasted buckwheat koji ice cream are pretty unique, made from milk from our dairy farmer Micha.

What are you excited about?

The room for growth, ideas, people, and projects in Berlin. Compared to cities like London, Paris, and New York, Berlin is still not yet saturated. Some of the most exciting restaurateurs in the city are still young and new. And they’re creating more interest in their guests to learn about agriculture, healthy soils, and ecosystems. Because it’s not only about food systems and the drinks on offer, it is about education around food and farming practices, and reconnecting with where the food comes from.