Ember: Bringing Fire to the World of Fine Dining

Around Berlin, there has been a buzz of recent excitement regarding Ember. Where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire, and in regards to this dining experience, the saying couldn’t be more true. At Ember, diners are treated to a menu of cuisine made solely using open fire cooking. With the aim of bringing people together, this restaurant without roots can be set up on request, in special event locations. The setup, previously located in an old archive building, has recently moved to a sunlit rooftop in Kreuzberg, Berlin. Influenced by his time in Argentina, chef Tobias Beck wanted to work with wood-fire cooking; that is when he built Ember.

SLEEK had the chance to interview Beck, discussing how he takes innovation beyond the kitchen.

SLEEK: What perspective does the Ember team take when considering building a community through cuisine?

Tobias Beck: Every single person in our team has fine dining experience all around the world. We have seen the dark side of closed kitchens, working in environments and places that don’t value and repeat patterns of own experiences. We can only grow and improve by sticking together, connecting people we share values with and improve a whole system to achieve change. We greet people with a smile and open arms.

S: Ember does not have a fixed location. When developing an experience such as dining at Ember, how do you create a consistent atmosphere anywhere your travels may take you?

TB: From the beginning we wanted to work the hardest on our team spirit. If we are strong within what we do, with our ethos, the details that are important to us, we knew we could take this concept anywhere. Once arriving in a new location, every single person knows exactly what to do. We work hard to make it feel effortless. I was dreaming of beautiful set ups in insane locations and knew it only works with an amazing team.

S: How has the use of solely open fire cooking pushed for out-of-the-box thinking and other creative solutions in the kitchen?

TB: Once you limit yourself to one craft, the creative process begins. In cooking, that can be a region of a country, the best possible product during a particular season, or a particular technique. For example, a street stall that offers curry sausage, tacos and noodles will not be able to reach a certain level. Our focus is fire. Fire allows us to prepare the dishes where we want. That is the essence of our creative thinking.

S: The passion behind the project shines through in the attention to detail and enthusiasm put in when changing locations. People are so drawn to this almost nomadic format.

TB: Fire connects, same as when sitting around a camp fire. It symbolises warmth, light, food, community. When sitting in mind blowing locations it even enhances that feeling.

S: Is the physical space in which the food is presented crucial to the dining experience at Ember?

TB: We look at dining as a whole. I think that all the components of a dinner should be considered and pushed to perfection, to create unforgettable experiences. The food, the wine, the music, the smells, the setting, the feeling, the team, and the guests. The location is one of many elements crucial to what we do.

S: Playing with the elements, how does Ember re-write the narrative of fine dining?

TB: Over the last years fine dining has moved from a French influence to Scandinavian role models. For me it became more abstract, experimental, and hard to grasp. Open fire cooking is the oldest technique of cooking, it’s direct, there is no space for error and it is incredibly hard to master. With a lot of my colleagues my age around the world, we move back to flavour. To simplicity. To make people feel good about where that work. To have guests leave with a smile.

S: How much does the process of sourcing ingredients dictate the final outcome at Ember?

TB: The seasons and ingredients dictate what we cook and create. It should never be the other way around, when we are talking about sustainability. We work closely with our farmers and suppliers to bring excitement to the plate. Its easy to make delicious food, if you have the best ingredients.

S: In terms of sustainability, it feels that it could make sense for more restaurants to turn to open fire cooking.

Cooking on an open fire has become a trend in the last two years. It’s a craving for simple food and simple flavours. Apart from being absolutely delicious, grilled products also attract people. However, wood is also expensive and suppliers need to be carefully selected. Regarding sustainability, we should all focus on converting an entire industry to the people around us first before talking about concepts.

S: Constantly pushing the boundaries of fine dining, Ember creates visually stunning dishes with the ability to impress any “foodie”. How do you feel when people compare the food made at Ember to art?

That’s a very flattering question. Visuals are important to us. The way our fires and locations are very visual, it needs to be translated on the plate. We create food we would like to eat ourselves, food that we think is beautiful. If other people agree with that, it makes us very happy.

S: With Ember Rooftop, the restaurant is taking on a more casual tone. Why did you choose to step in this direction?

TB: We are in the heart of the city now. Its summer and every sunset through the glass house on the Ember Rooftop is breath-taking. We wanted to enable more people to come and enjoy what we do. We open three days a week at the moment and run it like a restaurant. A four course menu, daily changing items of the grill, a wine menu and sundowner drinks. It screams for a more casual tone. I guess we wanted to also challenge ourselves once again that Ember can be anything.

S: The format of Ember is always evolving. Any idea of what diners can expect to experience in the future?

TB: For the next months find us on the Ember Rooftop, but in the future expect us to keep pushing the boundaries of what a dining experience can be. That’s what drives us. As a little spoiler we have a dreamy one-time farm dinner lined up in late August.