Open Mouth Festival unites Hamburg stars

HAMBURG More than 80 programme items, more than 40 participating restaurants, 13 bars and much more: the 2nd edition of the OPEN MOUTH Hamburg Food Festival will take place from 12 to 16 September. The Oberhafen quarter will be the heart of the festival. The Hamburg Beer Week, the Green Food Festival, eat & style and the opening of the Fair Week will also take place under the umbrella of the OPEN MOUTH Festival, with talks and lectures on the food of tomorrow providing valuable inspiration.

The programme of the 2nd OPEN MOUTH Hamburg Food Festival sounds like pure joie de vivre and enjoyment: from the Brewers Boat Cruise to the Knollen-Kuss and the Gaumen Disco to the courtyard tour or exclusive kitchen parties - the Food Festival offers special experiences from outstanding hosts and culinary masters of their trade. Michael Otremba, Managing Director of Hamburg Tourismus GmbH: "With the 2nd edition of the OPEN MOUTH Festival, we are inviting Hamburg residents and guests to special culinary experiences that can only be found in Hamburg. A varied range of bars, cafés and restaurants plays an important role in the personal quality of life of residents. This is another reason why we offer the local gastronomy scene a platform with OPEN MOUTH to become even more visible inside and outside Hamburg. This strengthens Hamburg's perception as a food city." Patrick Rüther, Managing Director of the festival organiser tellerrand consulting: "The programme offers visitors the opportunity to engage directly and without barriers with the topic of enjoyment and nutrition. Tasting and savouring, but also chatting, listening, informing and learning - the festival offers all this and much more."

"Good Actions" offer enjoyable activities

More than 40 culinary offerings and activities have been selected to represent the food scene in Hamburg. They include outstanding hosts such as Bedriye Neslihan Rose (ELMAS Speisekneipe), Thomas Sampl (Hobenköök), Julia Bode (Witwenball Küche & Wein), Axel Ohm (ÜberQuell Brauerei), the "Tschebull" and the "Petit Amour". Hotels such as the Hotel Barceló, the Superbude Altona and The Fontenay will also be part of the varied programme. They and many others will take part in the festival with a "Good Action", i.e. a special menu, a special drink or a sustainable event. Bedriye Neslihan Rose on her reasons for taking part: "I would like to play my part in making Hamburg's gastronomy more visible. I would also like to encourage people to think a little more and to be more aware of the topic of food. The festival is a great opportunity to exchange ideas with like-minded food and drink lovers, to network or simply to enjoy the huge range on offer from colleagues."

"Sustainable Sip" - creative bars open their doors

For the first time, Hamburg's bar scene is also joining the festival with "Sustainable Sip". Sustainable Sip is a movement that combines Hamburg's bar scene with regional agriculture. Guests can taste and rate specially created drinks from 1 to 16 September. The best drink will be crowned on the last day of the festival. The following bars are taking part: Nikkei Nine, Rye & Dry, Witwenball, Botanic District, The Bohemian Bar and the Tower Bar. The RoofDrop Bar from the Hotel Villa Viva will also be there. Hotel Director Linus Müller comments: "At Villa Viva, we take a multi-faceted approach to sustainability, including in the F&B area. By using regional and seasonal ingredients, we support local agriculture and reduce our ecological footprint at the same time. In the Viva Cantina and RoofDrop Bar, for example, we follow the low-waste concept by recycling supposed waste such as apple peelings or by not using fresh mint, oranges and the like to decorate our drinks."

New format: "Hamburg Stars" by OOPEN MOUTH

"Hamburg Stars" was created on the initiative of Michelin-starred chef Maurizio Oster, who inspired the city's leading chefs with his vision. "I was already part of the OPEN MOUTH Food Festival last year with Zeik. For this year, I had the idea of integrating Michelin-starred cuisine even more intensively into the festival, also to show guests that Michelin-starred cuisine doesn't just have to be chic and elegant, but can also be casual and modern and therefore a kitchen party. With the power of 13 Michelin stars, "Hamburg's Stars" will showcase the diversity of Hamburg's Michelin-starred cuisine, which is unique in Germany." At Hamburg's Stars, the foodlab in HafenCity will become the stage for an extraordinary event. Under the motto "Kitchenparty", guests can look forward to an evening full of creative delights, where the city's best chefs exchange ideas and celebrate their passion for the culinary arts. Participating top chefs are Maurizio Oster (Zeik), Eike Iken (Petit Amour), Alexander Mayer (Atlantic Restaurant), Andre Stolle (The Lisbeth), Thomas Imbusch (100/200), Matteo Ferrantino (bianc), Fabio Haebel (hæbel), Stefan Fäth (Jellyfish), Julian Stowasser (Lakeside) and Heinz O. Wehmann (Landhaus Scherrer).

The Oberhafenquartier will be the heart of the festival, offering a varied mix of gastronomic events, tastings, panels and good beats: For example, the Green Food Festival with 50 agricultural showcase businesses and gourmet artisans from all over the north, a food market and a colourful programme. There will be panels and workshops on culinary, sustainable and social topics on the Community Stage. Sustainability as a self-evident element in as many areas as possible: the OPEN MOUTH Food Festival is set to develop into a central and overarching food event in Hamburg in the coming years. One of the core elements for this is the development of regional solutions for global ecological and social challenges in the food system that are stable and economically viable in the long term. OPEN MOUTH will contribute to further development - systematically and successively, from the field to the plate.

The festival inspires people through the five pillars of community, culture, producers, education and food and drink. In addition to the diverse culinary highlights, art and music, insights into sustainable nutrition, cookery and the stories behind the food are also provided. The aim is also to facilitate direct contact between producers and consumers in order to promote transparency and appreciation for high-quality food. Up-to-date information and the constantly growing programme can be found at www.openmouth.ham-burg and on Instagram at @openmouth.hamburg.