The German Cook: Serving European traditions, values to Missouri residents

With bratwursts, stews and potato salad, Christian Voigt aims to share his German heritage with Southeast Missouri.

More commonly known as The German Cook, Voigt made his first appearance cooking bratwursts in 2017 at Oktoberfest in Jackson.

Voigt said after Oktoberfest, everyone encouraged him to turn his love for German cooking into a business and thus -- The German Cook was born.

He began showing up at the farmers markets in Cape Girardeau and Jackson in 2018, and has since participated in Oktoberfest in St. Charles and Jackson. He also does catering and deliveries.

Before he became The German Cook, Voigt was just a kid from Germany who enjoyed helping his mother and grandmother in the kitchen.

Christian Voigt, right, demonstrates how to clean a rabbit liver while teaching how to skin a rabbit for cooking during Voigt's first-ever cooking class Jan. 18 at the Conservation Nature Center in Cape Girardeau.TYLER GRAEF

Voigt said they made their food from scratch, and were a part of the "whole circle" by growing and preserving fruits and vegetables, and by hunting, butchering and preparing their meat.

Voigt continues to make his food from scratch and has ingredients shipped to him from Germany, homing in on old family recipes and traditions he hopes to keep alive with his business.

"It's just the traditional way of prepping food -- the natural way to prep food -- and if I can carry this on -- I'm not afraid that somebody has my recipe, I'm just glad people are still interested in cooking and prepping their own meals," Voigt said. "So much got lost in the past two or three generations, something we achieved over probably thousands of years: the prepping of food."

He was able to demonstrate this at the Jan. 18 Field to Freezer: Processing a Rabbit and Making Stew event held at the Cape Girardeau Nature Center.

Kyle Langdon from Columbia, Missouri, attended the event, and said he felt Voigt was "entertaining, enthusiastic and knowledgeable," which was a shared feeling among those in attendance.

Christian Voigt holds a rabbit liver while teaching how to properly prepare a rabbit for cooking during Voigt's first-ever cooking class Jan. 18 at the Conservation Nature Center in Cape Girardeau.TYLER GRAEF

Voigt said he enjoys preparing his food outside or in front of people, so they can see what he's doing.

"I'm transparent with everything I have, everything I do, and that's, I think, the way to go so that people know that it's real -- it's honest," Voigt said. "And that's part of the whole thing; be honest, have some quality food and entertain. Some people don't have anybody to talk to, so they talk to the food dude."

Voigt said he has been taking it slow with the business so the food retains its quality. However, he said he's ready to take the next step. In March, Voigt will be serving German cuisine in his new food truck.

Voigt said taking this step will require him to make some changes; he will have to hire some workers and leave his job driving a school bus in Jackson, but he said he's "jumping right in the cold water."

"It takes some courage, and also some love of knowledge and experience, so you have to make your own experience," Voigt said. "You have to fall on the nose probably once or twice but that's only part of the game."

Voigt said eventually he hopes to take the food truck even farther, like to St. Louis, but until then, he plans to make stops in Cape Girardeau possibly twice a week, and in Jackson as well.

As The German Cook would say, Guten Appetit! Or, enjoy your meal!