#20 Pickles – Snack & Chill
This edition hopefully puts you in a pickle, and yes, we thought of that joke ourselves! Then there's Matty Matheson's book on calorie-heavy snacks and a bunch of witty Austrians. What's not to love!?
🤌🏻 Try this at home, kids!
Cosy delicious food is our passion. Naturally, we aim to furnish our daughter’s formative years with as many pleasing culinary experiences as possible. At almost four, she’s a reasonably adventurous eater in that wonderful phase where we get to watch her try new foods for the first time – and actually talk about the experience in complete sentences. It’s a delightful shift from the days when we had to rely on her facial expressions to guess whether she liked something.
Needless to say, we adults also still love experimenting with new flavours/recipes/food combinations and discussing them in length. The latest? A twist on Brandy Vinegar Pickled Cucumbers, courtesy of Duy Anh’s creativity. They turned out packed with flavour and had us gushing over lunch. This season, we’ve embraced the fact that our adjacent garage doubles as a 20-square-meter fridge from November to April, so... here we are, pickling everything in sight. Wanna join?
Prep work:
Give those cucumbers a nice bath – no dirt allowed in this pickle party! (We used like 10-12 small cucumbers for a tall jar that fits 750ml.) Trim the ends to keep them crisp, slice the cucumbers if you like.
Jar TLC:
Clean jars = happy pickles. Sterilize your jars in your oven at 130°C. (Please don’t be tempted to heat the oven any higher; you may risk the glass breaking, which would be a real shame.)
Now weigh it out: Place the cucumbers in the jar and fill with water in order to calculate the ingredients. Now comes the science: weigh the jar with its contents, calculate 2% of that total weight, and measure out your salt. Sprinkle it in like you’re casting a spell for deliciousness.
Build the brine:
Remove the water you weighed your pickle jar with, then mix water and vinegar in a 65:35 ratio. This is the magic potion that turns cucumbers into pickles! Now, pour it back over your cucumbers.
Toss in garlic, mustard seeds, black peppercorns, and fresh dill. And yes, that pinch of MSG – it’s the secret ingredient that will make everyone wonder how your pickles are so good.
Now you gotta seal the deal: Tighten those lids and let your jars sit at room (or garage) temperature for a few days to ferment. Peek occasionally and cheer on your pickles as they transform!
The big reveal:
After about 3-5 days, your pickles should be tangy and delightful. Chill them in the fridge, then get ready to enjoy them as a snack, a sandwich topper, or straight from the jar.
This is your shopping list to copy-paste if you don’t have those ingredients already:
Salt, vinegar, garlic, MSG, bay leaves, 10-15 small cucumbers, dill, mustard seeds, pepper
💕 You know what this tastes amazing with!?
We lean toward the salty side with our recipe – though that’s not to say you couldn’t just snack on the gherkins straight out of the jar (trust us, we’ve done it). But we found they really shine as the perfect sidekick to a bold, messy sandwich that could use a pop of acidity and tang to bring it all together. Case in point: we recently tried, tweaked, and absolutely loved Matty Matheson’s take on a Croque Madame from his newest book.
👀 So apparently, you’re into sandwiches, salads, and soups to eat some pickles with?
We wouldn’t wanna thirst-trap you with a sandwich tease and then not provide more details about Matty Matheson’s new cookbook, now would we? Soups, Salads, Sandwiches brings together recipes designed for the kind of book you can, in Matty’s own words, “open to any chapter and cook from every day. Imagine just being like, I want a soup and a salad, and boom, just flip the page, and there ya go! Imagine wanting to make a sandwich and being able to make a different sandwich for more than fifty days straight. What the fuck, so sick.”
Grilled Cheese, Chicken Parm, a classic Reuben, or Jambon Beurre? Yes, chef, we’d happily eat those for 50 days straight! Or mix things up with the Pumpernickel, Beer, and Cheese Curd Soup, a Kimchi Stew, or a bowl of Sichuan Chili Oil, Smashed Cucumber Salad, and Soy-Cured Egg. Pure bliss.
What’s more, the book is sprinkled with cutesy backstories about Matty’s work style, collaborations, family life, and generally brings about his signature bold, joyous vibe. Nearly every recipe kicks off with one of his kind of high-energy claims along the lines of, “this is an an all-time banger dish! The fucking GOAT, period.” Honestly, we believe him.
📺 Worthwhile to watch
Speaking about sandwich-related GOATs. This column usually highlights our latest binge-worthy watch, which kinda also applies to us obsessing over Molly Baz’s lively introduction to her newest passion project: Ayoh! – a sando sauce that comes in hot with four bold flavours. She had us hooked with the tagline, “It’s mayo with a POV.” Then we discovered that our brilliant friend and brainy wordsmith Thomas Pokorn had teamed up with CENTER on this saucy endeavour, crafting the strategy and copy. Suddenly, all that wit made perfect sense – and had us even more jealous that Ayoh! doesn’t ship worldwide yet.
For now, we’re making heart-shaped emoji eyes from afar and dreaming of the sando sauce that’s “packed with texture, flavour, bits and bobs.” It guarantees you’ll never have to “endure a bland-o sando again.” We’re 100% intrigued!
📍 Here’s a brunch spot recommendation for you
Back to Germany, more specifically, to Weil am Rhein, located within the French-Swiss-German border triangle. The Vitra Design Museum is an absolute must-visit for anyone who loves design and architecture or is just inspired by spaces that make you think differently. It’s best known for showcasing groundbreaking exhibitions on everything from iconic furniture and industrial design to cultural trends, gardening and forward-thinking ideas.
We spent last weekend there with our product design-savvy friend Tobias Lugmeier (check out his amazing work here) and enjoyed our seven-hour stroll around the campus – basically a playground for world-renowned architects. The museum itself, designed by Frank Gehry, is a masterpiece, but then you’ve also got Zaha Hadid’s Fire Station, Tadao Ando’s Conference Pavilion, and Herzog & de Meuron’s VitraHaus, all within walking distance.
What makes the experience especially fun when you have a child in tow is that it’s not just about looking – it’s about experiencing. You can sit in design classics, interact with installations, and even explore a collection of miniatures (because, honestly, who doesn’t love tiny furniture?). Whether you’re a design geek or just someone who loves creativity in all its forms, it’s the kind of place that leaves you buzzing with ideas.
And let’s not forget the food! The Depot Deli – beautifully furnished, of course – has been a highlight on the Vitra Campus for more than six years. Its innovative, healthy, and sustainable brunch and lunch concept offers something for every taste. We were especially smitten with the savoury and sweet sourdough waffles piled high with all kinds of generous toppings. Yummmssss! Inspired by modern international cuisine, the menu is just as creative as the surroundings and makes the trip even more worthwhile.
🏆 If you like us, you’ll love
The Healthy Boyband’s goofy content. The unconventional trio of Austrian chefs, namely Felix Schellhorn, Lukas Mraz, and Philip Rachinger, blend deep respect for Vienna’s gastronomic legacy with a mission to upend traditional fine dining, pushing the boundaries of what food and hospitality can mean for society.
Improvisational and unapologetic, The Healthy Boyband might not be for everyone – but their vision for a bold, inclusive food culture is undeniably for the future: At a recent live performance at Vienna’s Forward Festival that Sonja attended, they carved and prepared a goose onstage while delivering a talk about gastronomy as more than just an industry. For them, clearly, it’s a cultural hub – a space where diversity flourishes and connections transcend class, gender, or background. From cafés and Würstelstands to the iconic Gartenbaukino, any venue can become their (literal) stage for fostering community and having a blast. Find the latest issue of their whimsical magazine, The Healthy Times, here.
💌 A random quote on food
“Pull up a chair. Take a taste. Come join us. Life is so endlessly delicious.”
Ruth Reichl, La Briffe
✌🏻 Who are we even!?
We’re a journalist slash a designer by day and foodies by night. As a side gig, Sonja has spent almost 20 years in hospitality (big love!) and currently supports the a-ma-zing Flash Gordon team twice a week. Duy Anh learned his craft mostly by watching his talented mum whip up the most amazing Vietnamese meals.
Whenever we cook, it’s all about that sweet spot between cosy and delicious. Although admittedly, our days of the extravaganza have changed pace ever since our harshest critic (aka now almost four-year-old daughter) came into our lives. Hence the delay with the promised cookbook. We’ll keep you posted!
🎤 Lastly, let’s turn to our foreign correspondent Alice M. Huynh
For someone who’s never been much of a sandwich person, Alice M. Huynh recently found herself surprised – giddy, even – at how a good bánh mì can completely change her perspective on bread and co. So much so that she wanted to share her experience at Mama Van in Berlin in this newsletter here: “There’s something about that perfect balance: crisp-yet-airy bread, tangy pickled veggies, fresh herbs, and whatever magical filling takes centre stage. That place has turned me into a certified fan,” she says.
Enter their Bánh Mì Lit Chicken Curry – a revelation in sandwich form. Or, if you’re like Alice and love a little customisation, a side of curry for dipping (or spooning, let’s be real) makes it even better. It’s the kind of meal where every bite feels like an event: the warm, spiced curry soaking into their homemade bread is nothing short of dreamy.
According to Alice, Mama Van’s bread deserves a standing ovation on its own. Gluten-free and made fresh, it’s a reminder that great bread doesn’t have to come with compromise. Paired with the punchy flavours of the curry and those signature bánh mì toppings, it’s a little taste of heaven in the middle of Berlin.
For someone who’s typically “meh” about sandwiches, that is quite something to hear from Alice. Who knew sandwiches could feel this exciting and convert even her?
🍳 What’s next?
Hopefully you liked our bits and pieces of culinary news! Next up, we’re checking in with you with a wintery Ramen dish – once we’ve gotten our new noodle machine to work and tweaked our Veggie Tantanmen recipe. Until then, stay cosy! 💋
💸 Disclaimer
None of this content is sponsored; we’ve bought and paid for everything ourselves as a means to stay neutral and objective. However, if you insist on inviting us anywhere, drop us a line!