Sophia Hoffmann – Vegan Queen

1/Your favorite food?

So many things: I like simple local veggie pleasures like fresh potatoes, carrots, salads with fresh herbs and some good oil and lemon juice – Asian food like Thai curries, Vietnamese soups, summer rolls if I have to choose I definitely prefer savory food over sweet stuff but I love dark chocolate and fruits2.

2/Your least favorite food

I don’t eat meat, but not because I hate the taste, I just made an ethical decision against eating animals at some point, I like to cuddle them instead. Also, I don’t like litchis, they remind me of eating eyeballs.

3/The first restaurant you remember going to?

Some tavern on the beach of the Greek island Tilos where I went with my parents at a very young age. Not so much because of the food but because of the spectacular sunsets you could see from the table

4/The one you remember going over and over?

Let It Be – a vegan burger/ crepe restaurant my good friend and ex-DJ partner Nina opened in 2014, I worked there as a chef a lot during the first year until I wrote my first book, then I did a dinner series there, also I had my first date there with my boyfriend, nowadays I come back as a guest again and again…

5/Your favorite wine?

I love Austrian white wines like Grüner Veltliner or Gemischter Satz, but I just LOVE champagne. Pol Roger is a nice one…

6/Where can we find you on the planet?

I live in Berlin, Germany

7/The first wine you ever tried?

I remember I secretly nibbled on some half-emptied champagne glasses at one of my mum’s birthday parties. I was way too young like 8 or 9 but nobody noticed so I got tipsy right away. That’s my first memory of the effects of alcohol. My mum loves champagne as well and I think she passed that love to me…

8/The dish you make best?

As much as I love creating menus and sophisticated recipes I am best at leftover cooking – my true passion: Just give me a box of things and I will create something amazing from it…

9/An album that makes you thirsty?

David Bowie/ The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust

10/A taste of your childhood?

When I was ill, I always got a semolina pudding when I was ill. Sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and some butter, I couldn’t recover without it and still make a version for myself today if I need to do self-care.

11/What would you drink at your last supper?

Champagne

12/What is constantly in your fridge?

A selection of mustards, different miso pastes and kojis, pickles, marmalades and chutneys

13/What would never be in your fridge?

Meat and milk. And fresh tomatoes because they don’t belong there, they freeze

14/What do you listen to when you drink/eat?

When I prepare food I love to listen to podcasts and sixties soul, for dinner music it really depends on my mood – I am into such different styles  of music, I love eclectic mixes, but also classical music like Vivaldi can be nice and theatrical

15/Your favorite place where you live and why?

I’ve been living in Berlin-Neukölln for 9 years now and even though there is a lot of things that annoy the shit out of me, I love to come back to my tiny cozy sunny apartment after a long stream of work. My bathtub, my balcony, my bed and the sparrows tweeting in the backyard bushes…but I am currently searching for a new place, so let’s see what comes next…

16/What would be the best breakfast someone cook for you?

I am currently in New York and after a late night arrival and with a heavy jetlag on my bag I had what felt like the best breakfast ever: A freshly baked bagel Za’atar style with wild thyme, sumach and Arabic spices with a tofu scallion cream cheese, orange juice and a strong coffee with almond milk.