I had my first thoughts about The Global Cookbook during a trip to Laos in 2018. Overwhelmed by an adventurous hike through the Laotian rainforests, a question popped up in my mind that evening. What would happen, if I could exclusively combine the things I love, namely cooking, traveling and telling stories about people, into one universe. That night, at the banks of the Mekong the idea for The Global Cookbook was born.

Ten years before that night at the Mekong, I was already fascinated by people and their stories. After I had finished school, I spontaneously moved to Berlin with a friend and applied to each and every Berlin theatre with a single sentence. I received no answer, except from German theatre legend Claus Peymann. After three years as assistant director at the Berliner Ensemble I started telling my own stories as theatre and film director at the age of 24. In the last ten years, I was able to get to know many countries of the world through my work in theater, film and photography. 

I will never forget the moment in Lima when the first bite of my peruvian friend’s grandmother’s incomparable Cevice went into my mouth. Tasting shark, coriander, red onions, limes and fruity aji limo chilis together was a sensory rush for me. The absolutely unique taste of Cevice pretty much eclipsed anything I’d had the pleasure of tasting before.

Having never been one of those people who can relax over a cup of tea or doing yoga, I find peace in cooking for hours and meditating over chopping vegetables. When this is not possible, discovering and collecting new music (except German folk music) leads to great joy and relaxation.