Food business in Germany

Nguyen Viet Anh's The Wild Duck restaurant receives Michelin star in 2025. Photo: NAM VINH

The young generation of Vietnamese origin - those who came to Germany as teenagers or were born and raised here - not only follow their parents' footsteps in the food and beverage industry, but also boldly start businesses in completely new directions. They are flexible, creative, and do not follow the beaten path. From Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, fast food, vegetarian restaurants... all are invested in thoroughly: from interior design, management software systems, accounting to professionally trained staff. Many potential business ideas are convincing enough to convince banks to finance 100% of the capital. Many people take advantage of the time when the food market plummeted after the Covid-19 pandemic to rent central locations, prime locations that were previously out of reach.

Some young people have succeeded from their first restaurant and continued to expand into a chain across Germany. Some have reached a scale large enough to set up an IT department and develop their own restaurant chain management software. The dynamic young generation is no longer too dependent on the "golden" location on the main street. With the spreading power of social networks and modern media, a restaurant in the suburbs, on the attic or in a less crowded area can still attract many customers. Cuisine is also not limited to traditional recipes, but the fusion style (mixing) combining the quintessence of many regions, varying to suit the taste of diners is on the rise, replacing the familiar "shaking the pan" style of old Asian kitchens.

It is not easy to find staff for all the necessary positions in a restaurant, some restaurant owners who also serve as head chefs have chosen to work fewer hours and raise prices. Unskilled labor is really scarce in Germany. Nguyen Viet Anh, head chef of The Wild Duck restaurant (voted one of the 10 best restaurants in Hanover), is only open from Thursday to Sunday evenings and usually takes reservations. Graduated from Dresden University of Technology, he used to work for Siemens, but because of his passion for European cuisine and professional culinary training, he changed his path to make a living with the profession he loves.

Unlike the previous generation, many young Vietnamese people in Germany focus on investing properly: luxurious but minimalist and sophisticated interiors, not fussy and colorful. The most prominent in the Vietnamese community working in the food and beverage industry is star chef Ngo The Duc, born in 1974, who came to Germany with his mother at the age of 5. People choose their profession and the profession also chooses people, Ngo The Duc was able to live and satisfy his passion very early. From the first Japanese-style restaurant named KUCHI opened on the famous culinary street in Berlin - Kant Strasse more than 20 years ago, he opened a series of other restaurants, each with its own unique kitchen style, in turn in Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, Baden-Baden, Braunschweig and even St. Tropez - the resort capital of the European elite. In addition to business, he also published books, regularly appeared on German television, alongside famous local chefs, contributing to shaping new culinary trends.

The common point of Vietnamese business owners in the German culinary industry is harmony. They combine the quintessence of many cuisines, provide attentive service, invest reasonably in equipment, manage finances scientifically and transparently, and especially use legal, skilled human resources. Although the global business landscape is gloomy due to many objective reasons, those who grasp the trend and flexibly adjust their models according to the times still find opportunities and many of them are achieving great success.

MINH LY (from Germany)

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/kinh-doanh-am-thuc-o-duc-post807655.html