Gaumenkitzel – gutes Essen und gutes Trinken

Acterra Photo credit Steven Gregory Photography 

Everything began in Hamburg …

Husband and wife Kai Flache (owner) and Anja Voth (chef owner) are both from Hamburg, and they’ve known each other since high school.
Some 25 years ago Kai moved to Berkeley and owned a successful construction company.
Anja followed him 5 years later, but it took her more than 10 years to finally leave her beloved Hamburg.
The plan to open a restaurant was born, and Gaumenkitzel opened its doors in January 2011.
Back in Hamburg Anja’s Oma was the culinary advisor during the opening phase, sharing her tricks and knowledge over the phone. And Bärbel, Anja’s mother, would refresh the memory of family recipes she taught her.
The restaurant got its name from a memory of Anja’s childhood. Her Opa would make Oma’s cooking super interesting for the children by saying in his humorous voice “Hmm, yummy, what a Gaumenkitzel!” Of course everyone would finish the plates and Oma was happy.
Gaumenkitzel is an old fashioned word for a “special treat”; it translates literally into “Tickle your Taste Buds”.

Community

Gaumenkitzel is

• a Slow Food Small Business Supporter
  Slow Food USA
  Slow Food Deutschland
• a Bay Area Certified Green Business
• a Green America Certified Green Business
• a recognized EPA Green Power Partner
• an Arcadia Poper Clean Energy Partner with 100% renewable energy
• EBMUD Water Smart Business
• donating to projects involving education, health, social justice, art,  environmental protection and improvement, animal protection, sustainability
• a big advocate of “Nose to Tail” and and “Leaf to Root”

Events

• KEQED Bay Area Check Please Taste & Sip Event in 2017 and 2018
• Berkeley Restaurant Week Video 2017

Media

• KQED 2018 Bay Area Bites “The region around Hamburg is Germany’s greenhouse … The region’s commitment to agriculture may explain why Hamburg leads Germany’s count of vegan restaurants.” (read full aricle)
• KQED 2016 Bay Area Check Please! Watch the Video
• CoolCalifornia 2017 Cool California Climate Leader Case Study Gaumenkitzel Restaurant
• CoolCalifornia 2016 ” Berkeley-based Gaumenkitzel Restaurant has long been praised for its organic and slow-cooked German cuisine, but the restaurant’s green business practices are also exceptional. … This recognition, dedication, and distinct approach to addressing food waste is making Gaumenkitzel Restaurant a leader in its industry.” (read full article)
• Edible East Bay 2016 ” Voth’s seasonal menu, with its organic, local ingredients and focus on craft, makes Gaumenkitzel popular year-round. ” (read full article)
  
• Edible East Bay 2016 Featured Recipe Steckrübeneintopf mit dicker Rippe from Gaumenkitzel
  
• Oakland Magazine and Alameda Magazine October 2018 ” Voth might tinker with the recipes she inherited from and double-checked with her mother or gleaned from old German cookbooks, but there’s no hint of post-modern, molecular-cuisine experimentation. Her transformations of raw materials are simple and classic …” (read full article)
• Oakland Magazine March 2018 “The certified-green German restaurant will receive an Acterra Business Environmental Award. … The award winners continue to push forward important new climate-change solutions and lead the way for others in their industry to follow.” (read full article)
• NOSH 2017 ” Nothing screams fall like a mug of mulled cider or wine and some belly-warming German food.” (read full write up)
  
• NOSH 2011 How everything began. (read full article)
  
• Featured with Sprouts Cooking Club 2018

Awards

• Recipient of the most prestigious Acterra Business Environmental Award 2018, Acterra’s highest award for sustainability
  Watch the Video
  Watch the Acceptance Speech
  See the all 2018 awardees
• Winner of the CoolCalifornia Small Business Award 2016
  
• Zagat Rated Very Good to Excellent 2018 “Spaetzle and other “hearty” “German classics” are complemented by “fresh-baked” bread and housemade desserts at this affordable Berkeley option; it stocks “awesome” beers and wines from Germany, and the “unpretentious” setup benefits from “prompt, friendly” service.”
  
• Best of the East Bay 2012, 2014 and 2023