A German’s take on German food
Metro Manila food lovers with a craving for German fare like bread and sausages—made as they are in Germany with great care and prepared with carefully selected ingredients in limited batches—are increasingly looking to the online shop Currywurst Meister for a fix.
Named after the iconic German street food consisting of sausage and curry ketchup, Currywurst Meister was founded in 2016 by longtime Makati resident Andy Maluche. At the young age of 22 he set out from home in Munich, in the state of Bavaria, to see the world. He fell in love with the Philippines, and most of all his wife, Nena, a lovely Samareña.
Andy is an artist with a passion for sculpting, painting, and shooting photos in his signature, kinetic style. A prolific blogger, he comes with years of solid accomplishments in design and advertising, having worked with well-known brands. Above all else, he has pursued his lifelong fascination and passion for food, especially traditional fare from his native Deutschland.
The growth of Currywurst Meister started with the metro’s German residents, who longed for the different kinds of bread and sausages they were raised on. “I wanted food that I grew up with, the way these are prepared in Germany,” says Andy, who’s properly armed with the knowhow for making German sourdough, pretzels, sausages, and meatloaves the right way. “At first, just mostly for myself and my family. Happily, we are seeing more and more people in Metro Manila discovering and liking our food.” To this day, he and Nena manage all aspects of operations, with special attention to quality.
The shop’s artisanal types of bread, baked from scratch as they are ordered, are typically what you would find in classy German bakeries. The ingredients of the sourdough bread, done in a wood-fired oven, are flour, salt, and water—nothing else. The special, year-old sourdough is made with natural leavening. Incidentally, sourdough has lower sugar content than “regular” bread and is more easily digested.
The top customer choices among bread products include five-grain sourdough, sourdough wheat, and pretzel buns. The pretzels are always in much demand. Currywurst Meister also bakes a keto-friendly almond bread with almond flour and pumpkin, chia, and sesame seeds.
As for the sausages and meatloaves, these are likewise freshly prepared, with the most expensive, pure choice cuts of meat flavored with spices—no extenders and fillers. Some of the smoked meats, necessarily, are prepared with preservatives, but used sparingly. Andy advises that grilling the sausages brings out their best taste, instead of other ways of cooking.
The smoked meats include a range of sausages: bockwurst; Kaese Krainer (cheese); Hungarian (pork); Pfefferbeisser (soft salami with pepper); and ham, bacon, and tenderloin. Right now, the favorite sausages are Nuernberger (finger-size and made of pork), smoked bockwurst, fine bratwurst, and lamb. Almost all sausages are made of pork, except chicken sausage, lamb with beef, and pure beef.
“All of our food, these are delicious treats,” Andy says with a smile. When the COVID-19 crisis began, online orders shot up, sometimes with a waiting time of five to six days, but people were patient. Then Andy was tapped to supply food for a restaurant that opened on Balesin Island and was told to consider it his own. Meanwhile, back in Metro Manila, customer orders kept coming.
An avid customer, Don Gordon Bell, shares his thoughts that sum up most feedback about Currywurst Meister: “I absolutely love the loaves of bread, meats, deli, and many other products that I have discovered. Will continue to enjoy ordering. And for all those who appreciate great food, I highly recommend this shop. Go ahead and try Andy’s authentic German deli products.”
Andy concludes: “At Currywurst Meister, we offer a delicious and distinctive brand of experience with German food each time. And you need not travel to Germany or even leave home, because we bring it to your door.”
