BANGKOK, THAILAND – An Austrian pastry chef who once barely knew German marzipan stollen built a three-decade Christmas tradition after a cancelled flight route to Nairobi cut off imported cakes.
Alpine training without German stollen
In Austria, aspiring confectioners grew up with classics like Sachertorte, doughnuts and strudel, but not with Dresden-style marzipan stollen. The baker, trained in Schladming and later in Hainburg an der Donau, initially had little to do with this German Christmas specialty and regarded it as an exotic pastry that did not feature during his apprenticeship.
A career move to Kenya
In the early 1990s he moved to Kenya for work, taking over responsibility for fine patisserie at the Grand Regency Hotel in Nairobi, then an emerging luxury property. There he met Harald Hahn, Lufthansa’s Area Manager, and a first encounter developed into a friendship, then into a tradition, and finally into a passion.
Stollen as a golfing trademark
Each year Hahn organised the Lufthansa golf tournament at the Karen Country & Golf Club, a scenic course just minutes from the baker’s home. After the tournament, every participant received a special gift: an original imported German marzipan stollen, a sweet surprise that quickly became the event’s trademark and a highlight for players.
Flight route cut ends sweet imports
One day Lufthansa cancelled the Frankfurt–Nairobi route, and with the end of the direct connection, deliveries of the coveted stollen also stopped. The tournament continued, but to the disappointment of many players, the spot where the stollen had been stored remained empty.
The question that changed a career
At some point he was asked a decisive question:
“Couldn’t you bake marzipan stollen yourself?”
said the baker’s contacts at the tournament.
He could not at that time, but he wanted to, and by his own account, anyone who knew him understood that what he could not do, he would learn.
Weeks of experiments in the bakery
What followed were weeks full of experiments with mixtures, yeast doughs and countless tastings. He studied recipes, adapted and corrected them, discarded versions and tried again, until one day he stood in his bakery in front of a stollen that made him smile: juicy, fruity and fragrant, a Christmas greeting that surprised even him.
From one loaf to hundreds
That stollen became a crowd favourite at the next tournament and marked the beginning of a tradition that had continued for more than 30 years. Today he produced several hundred marzipan stollen every year, with many customers ordering months in advance as if this officially signalled the start of the festive season.
A Christmas without his stollen?
Each year he heard the same sentence from loyal buyers:
“Without your stollen, it isn’t really Christmas.”
said his customers, referring to the holiday season.
A pastry that carries a life story
What began as a stopgap solution had long since become part of his vocation. His marzipan stollen combined Austrian craftsmanship, German Christmas tradition and African chapters of his life, with every bite carrying a piece of his story from Schladming via Nairobi into the Advent weeks of his regular customers.
A simple verdict on taste
In the end, the baker said that an unlikely German loaf had brought him his most cherished compliment:
“It tastes like Christmas.”
said the Austrian baker, summing up customers’ reactions.