Steffan Gurtler is in high demand for his catering services in Canberra. Photo: Supplied.
The German embassy has him on speed dial, so do the Austrians; the Harmonie German club would be at a loss without him and you can find him every Saturday at the Capital Region Farmers Market.
He’s Steffan Gurtler, a transplant from Berlin who has called Canberra home since 1999. Four years ago Steffan left his secure career as a chef to go out on his own with a passion project, Unter Den Linden Artisan Patisserie.
Named after a boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, the business has grown with a steady following across Canberra and Steffan has leant into his culinary master’s degree that he obtained in Germany to make it his full-time gig.
“The Germans are very precise. I don’t know what it is like now, but I had to have five years as a working chef and then applied for a master’s degree, which took another few years. You need that for teaching apprentices, which is something I’ve been involved in,” Steffan tells Region.
This advanced training saw Steffan become adept at all aspects of the culinary arts, but pastry is the discipline which has held his attention in recent years and opened the doors to the possibility of running his own business.
“I thought that European pastry would be a little unique in Canberra and an interest I could pursue.”
Steffan is a weekly fixture at the Capital Region Farmers Market. Photo: Capital Region Farmers Markets.
With a desire to ensure his products were of the highest quality, Steffan stepped outside of the traditional methods used in European restaurants and went all in to make everything from scratch.
“In Europe chefs normally buy commercially produced marzipan and nougat in big blocks to turn into something else with other ingredients like pistachios and chocolate. I make absolutely everything from scratch and that’s the big difference.”
Personally manning his stall every Saturday at EPIC and attending events like the German markets, Steffan comes laden with pastries that reflect traditions from all across Eastern Europe.
Some of Steffan’s specialities will be lesser known to the Australian market and are an exciting exploration of history and food traditions.
His Swiss shortbread, known as totenbeinli, dates back as far as the 1500s and the name, which translates to “dead men’s bones”, refers to the fact that these were traditionally served at wakes.
His spiced honey biscuit, basler läckerli, stems back even further into the 15th century, when merchants took the long-keeping biscuits on trading journeys throughout Europe.
Unter Den Linden brings the flavours of Europe to Canberra. Photo: Supplied.
Steffan is also inspired by the Alsace region of France with his rocher aux noi. He shares that this spiced walnut meringue is in the shape of a rock (hence rocher), and he’s added his own twist by using his own gingerbread spice mix and a fruity note with a touch of lemon and orange zest.
His strudel will be more familiar to most people and needs no real introduction. Less familiar may be the German-style cheesecake, käsekuchen, which is a light and fluffy take on the popular dessert.
Steffan’s specialities are a veritable smorgasbord. He also has savoury shortbreads with parmesan and walnuts, Austrian almond shortbreads, linzer tarts, Berlin gingerbread, sable biscuits, almond nougat and a changing menu of European cakes. The diverse nature attracts expats, tourists and visitors from all over Europe to his market stall.
“I have quite a few Swiss people coming along, plenty of Germans. Some come past and just say hi, sometimes they bring friends from Europe to show them that there is someone so far away making authentic products,” Steffan explains.
“At places like the German markets I come across a lot of Slovenians and Hungarians. Geographically they aren’t far away from Germany and they have similar traditions and products that they are seeking out. The strudel, for example, is found all across Eastern Europe, with each chef and town putting their own touches on it.”
Steffan believes the key to the business has been to focus on making really beautiful products and the rest just falls into place. Now that’s the kind of cultural exchange that I can get into.
Unter Den Linden can be found at the Capital Region Farmers Market every Saturday at Exhibition Park between 7 am and 11:30 am.
