In conversation with Michael Engelmann, Owner of the bakery Konditorei Engelmann
His sugary endeavour began in a disused circus truck
Imagination is a constant of Michael Engelmann’s life. Born and bred in Wolfsburg, he joined a circus after completing an apprenticeship as a confectioner. He started out as a clown – classmates and teachers had always said he had a particular talent - went on to study pantomime, and took part in street theatre performances. Now he is a successful entrepreneur in Adlershof. This was never planned. He started his shop Konditorei Engelmann in a disused circus truck some twelve years ago. His homemade treats sold quickly and so he went back to school for a while to learn how to run a business. Soon he will open a production facility including a show kitchen and a café. Anyone with a sweet tooth can work their way through its whole range as early as February 2017.
Gateau or Obstkuchen, the traditional German fruit tart – which one do you prefer?
Gateau.
Which cake did you last make?
I don’t actually bake anymore, I don’t have time. However, I have a test bakery in the basement of my house, where I experiment from time to time. If it works out, I hand it over to my chef. The last cake that I developed was a chai gateau with authentic Indian spices.
Can you share a baking secret for a layperson?
Use simple recipes and no additives. It will taste better, no matter what you bake.
On a normal day, when do you first eat something sweet?
I like pancakes for breakfast.
How do you stay this slim with all these sweet calorie bombs?
I really don’t have time or the desire to exercise. But I often deliver our goods. That’s hard work considering the weight I carry.
What do you say to health buffs who classify cake as unhealthy?
It’s all a question of quantity and responsible consumption. However, if people ask me for a vegan cake, I react by offering them an apple.
From the circus to the bakery – how did that change come about?
After 15 years of working in a circus and doing theatre on the street, my wish was to create an alternative to my precarious financial situation as an artist. It all started with this disused circus track in Berlin-Wuhlheide. I equipped it with an oven. It all started with my mother’s gateau recipe and recipes from other relatives. I focused on a traditional approach to baking and started supplying cafés with cakes and gateaux. My homemade goods caught on. I opened my first bakery in Neukölln and, since 2008, my company Konditorei Engelmann is producing on Köpenicker Landstraße. Our capacities are fully utilised, especially since I opened a webshop in January (www.kuchen-macht-gluecklich.de). That’s why we’re moving into a new building on Walther-Huth-Straße.
Isn’t the Science City an unusual place for your new production site?
Brain-workers need sugar to keep them going – it’s a good match. I moved to Johannisthal in 2010, very near the landscape park in Adlershof. The range of culinary opportunities is slightly limited and my idea was to integrate a café anyway.
What kind of customers do you expect in your showroom?
We can host company and team-building events similar to cooking schools. We can bake cookies or ginger bread houses for Christmas with the kids of the nearby daycare facility. Another idea of ours is to produce gateau cores. These are semi-finished, deep-frozen goods. We offer training sessions to our customers, which include cafés and hotels, on how to decorate and finish these cakes. We are also planning to offer workshops to relatives and friends of soon-to-weds, who wish to make an individual wedding cake.
Which lessons did you learn from your life in the circus for life in business?
Perseverance is a very important skill as well as approaching things with unconventional ideas. Whether there are five or 500 people in the tent, you have to be in a good mood as a clown, even if you’re not feeling up to it.
Have you turned you back on the circus?
There is a still a connection to the circus. I was part of a show when Zirkus Busch toured here last year. I baked a huge cake, drove it into the arena on the luggage rack of my vintage car and gave it to an elephant, which ate the whole thing. That was great fun.
What do you do in your free time?
I like to invite and entertain my guests. I cook a 5-course meal and try new things. I celebrate these meals as a total work of art: the dishes and the table decoration have to match and so do the guests. My vintage Volkswagen Type 3 is another passion of mine. I took part in some vintage car conventions a few years ago. Now I drive to the countryside in Berlin’s surrounding areas, if I find the time.
Sylvia Nitschke conducted the interview for Adlershof Journal