Julia Komps Sahila turns three

COLOGNE: Julia Komp is a culinary traveller who has visited more than 50 countries. However, one of the most exciting journeys the exceptional chef has taken is not in exotic faraway places, but in her home city of Cologne. Three years ago, on 19 January 2022, she started her own business with the fine-dining restaurant Sahila and the Yu*liaMezze Bar. As a birthday present for her guests, she is offering a 4-course menu at a special price of 120 euros on Saturday afternoons from January to March. She talks openly about her journey, with its many highs and challenges, in her typically infectious manner.

"Sahila and the Yu*liaMezze Bar are my absolute favourite projects," says Julia Komp. "It's a wonderful journey with great highs, but also educational challenges. It's not always easy, but I couldn't imagine a better job." Inspiring guests, building a team and motivating them on a daily basis, developing structures, connecting suitable suppliers, implementing increased prices in a guest-compatible way - all of this is much more challenging for Komp than developing a new menu, for example. What helps her on this journey? "The popularity of our guests, the commitment of my team and the gastronomy awards, but also regular sport and the great good fortune that my life partner Yunus Özananar supports me in running the business and keeps an eye on the organisational and business side."

Exceptional chef on the road to success

Julia Komp's journey in the world of gastronomy has been accompanied by awards. She cooked up her first Michelin star at Schloss Loersfeld in Kerpen in 2016 at the age of just 27. At the end of 2018, she left her place of work and travelled around the world for 14 months, where she gathered new flavours and inspiration in gourmet kitchens and family restaurants. Since the end of 2021, she has been combining these impressions with her in-depth Michelin-starred skills in her own gourmet restaurant Sahila in Cologne city centre. In 2023, after just one year at Sahila, she was once again awarded a Michelin star, was named Falstaff Chef of the Year in 2024 and, as a local patriot, was particularly delighted to be named Chef of the Year at the Cologne Fine Food Days. And her long-time companion Anne Kern will also be honoured with the title of Patissière of the Year by Schlemmer Atlas in 2024. "The awards are a great honour and confirmation that we are on the right track," says Julia Komp, delighted. "All of this is only possible thanks to our guests, whom I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart for their loyalty. It's so great that so many young guests come to Fine Dining and that long-standing regulars appreciate the relaxed mezze bar. We are truly blessed."

Lessons learnt on the trip

Travelling educates, and this particular trip also taught Julia Komp a few things. As the "leader of the stars", the 35-year-old leads a team of 20 employees from nine nations. "Unlike some of my male colleagues, I rely on cooperation with clear structures in the team. But what has also changed for me in recent years, especially since coronavirus, is the much-cited work-life balance. Without employee-friendly shifts and many individual solutions from mini to maxi and part-time, you can't build a team in the long term today." A lot has also changed when it comes to finding and retaining suitable suppliers: increased energy costs and tolls are having an impact on prices, and food supply bottlenecks are commonplace: "Vegetables, fish, meat, herbs - we plan our requirements in advance and utilise almost everything. Where possible, we work with regional partners. For products that come from far away, we bundle orders to minimise our ecological footprint and delivery costs." Last but not least, Komp's personal schedule has changed: "I go to the gym several times a week, which has been constant for many years. However, I no longer need to do any cardio sessions, instead I do a lot of barefoot classes such as yoga and Pilates to stay centred." The popular chef's TV presence has also remained the same, but there have also been changes here: "I just love filming for TV, passing on my knowledge and getting people excited about good food and cooking. However, I only do this on my days off. On restaurant days, I'm there for our guests and my team."

Gourmet journey around the world on a plate

But it's not just the structures that have changed; Julia Komp's culinary signature has also evolved once again. "At the beginning of Sahila, I was inspired by the Asian minimalist style, but that's not me. I love beautiful dishes and sophisticated combinations," says the star chef, who knows exactly how to judge herself. "With every menu, we get more and more depth into the dishes. With Thai curry, for example, it's still vegetables, but now in so many variations, from fermented and pickled to fried and fresh. That tickles the palate." In general, Komp favours healthy cuisine, an international trend that is still relatively new in top German cuisine. Her refined menus are vegetable-heavy and fresh, vegetarian or with selective use of exquisite meat, fish and butter. "I love giving a supposedly simple vegetable a big stage. For example, the carrot inspired by my travels to Ethiopia with typical regional spices and products."
Guests can expect a variety of dishes and flavours at Sahila and the Yu*liaMezze Barv. The menus are all inspired by recipes that Julia Komp has collected in Europe, Asia and the Orient. Each dish is characterised by a country, such as Indonesian gado-gado or Franco-Belgian moules frites. If it is not a complete dish that Julia Komp reinterprets with her team, the recipes use products that are typical of the country of origin. Mexico, France, Lebanon, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Finland and Jordan are currently the inspiration for the sophisticated menu. In the Yu*lia Mezze Bar, the focus is on the Orient and Mediterranean flavours

Women's power as a success factor

Even though Julia Komp's team is very diverse, she always relies on female power: "Alongside my partner Yunus, my longstanding collaboration with patissière Anne is my most important constant." With her self-employment, Komp has also become part of a women's network for the first time, the Macherinnen-Netzwerk Köln. "Sharing and solving problems, from organisational issues to personal development, is very inspiring. I find all the women to be very open and supportive, not a bit of an elbow mentality. That's just great," says the top chef. Komp itself also stands for female power, as not even ten per cent of Michelin-starred chefs are women. And so it is a perfect fit that Julia's third favourite project also focuses on women: With Kenzolie, she supports women and their families in Tunisia who produce the finest olive oil.