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Fermentation. Plant-based cooking. Zero waste.

Fermentation consulting for food businesses in Berlin

FlavorFocusLab offers fermentation consulting for canteens, restaurants, food brands and startups in Berlin, to build fermentation and plant-based cooking into your own operation. We build systems for businesses that want to put sustainability and innovation to work in their kitchen.

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The initial consultation is free, then you get a fixed quote.

Hands reaching into a crate of koji, more crates in the background

What reaches your kitchen

  • Fermentation that works.

    Fermentation makes food keep longer and taste deeper, and it helps you get more out of your raw ingredients. We set it up as a repeatable process that a whole team can work with.

    In your kitchenA ferment that every shift starts from the same standard operating procedure (SOP): quantities, temperatures, times and control points.

  • Plant-based dishes, nothing missing.

    Depth, texture, umami. Plant-based cooking that wins people over on flavour.

    In your kitchenSeasoning sauces, marinades and bases with fixed quantities that give plant-based dishes the seasoning base stock or broth would otherwise provide.

  • Zero waste as an operating principle.

    Peels, pomace and press cake become ingredients, flavour building blocks and products. Roasted vegetable peels become a dark seasoning, sesame press cake becomes a miso. Not as a PR exercise, but because it makes sense in the business.

    In your kitchenA garum or a reduction made from suitable production leftovers, with a clear list of what does not belong in the ferment.

At the end you have SOPs, checklists and parameter sheets your team can keep working with, without us.

What a parameter sheet looks like

Who works with it

Three types of business, one approach.

  • Stainless steel cooking kettle with an open lid in a production kitchen

    Canteens & workplace catering

    Acceptance · Predictability · Less food waste

    You want more plant-based dishes on the plate. But too much comes back uneaten, the kitchen doesn't know the processes, and fermentation sounds like a risk. That can be solved.

    We build plant-based menu systems with depth that people accept: umami flavour building blocks from fermentation, clear prep routines and recipes that work with your team and your capacity. Whatever comes out of prep, we check for a second use.

    Fermentation consulting for canteens
  • Koji grains with white mycelium in a linen cloth, close-up

    Restaurants

    Consistency · Depth · Shelf life

    Fermented sauces, bases and seasoning pastes that make your service steadier, because they don't depend on a single cook and taste the same every night.

    We develop seasoning systems that fit your kitchen: with parameters, sensory checklists and the know-how to keep fermentation safe and reproducible in a running kitchen.

    Fermentation consulting for restaurants
  • Filled brown glass bottles in a stainless steel basket

    Food brands & startups

    Prototype · Recipe · Production

    You have an idea: a fermented product, a plant-based product line or a product made from a side stream. Now you need someone who can take it from prototype to a reliable recipe.

    Together we develop parameters, test series, a sensory profile and first thoughts on larger volumes. Everything is documented, and we tell you what works in the product and what doesn't.

    Product development for startups & brands

Sample parameter sheet

Every batch gets a written SOP. It sets out quantities, temperatures, times and control points. This is what a parameter sheet for lacto-fermented vegetables looks like.

A sample with typical values, not client work. For your business we set values, limits and shelf life together with you.

Sample

Parameter sheet · Lacto-ferment

Carrots in brine, lacto-fermented

Batch
Started on
Responsible

Batch setup

IngredientQuantity
Carrots, washed, sliced6.0 kg
Drinking water4.0 kg
Salt250 g
Salt as share of total weight2.5%

Weigh carrots and water together, calculate the salt from that.

Fermentation

Temperature
18–22 °C
Duration
until the pH is below the limit
Brine
Vegetables at least 2 cm below the brine, weighted down
Container
covered, label with batch and date

pH measurement

WhenTargetActualInitials
Day 0, at setupRecord starting value
daily during fermentationRecord value
before release4.2 at most

Calibrate the pH meter with buffer solution pH 4.0 and 7.0 before every series of measurements.

4.2 is our house limit, with a margin below the general safety limit of 4.6.

Control points

  • Daily: vegetables below the brine, record room temperature.
  • Mould, putrid smell or pH above the limit: quarantine the batch and discard it completely. Skimming is not enough.
  • Kahm yeast: record as a deviation, check before release.

Storage and shelf life

Refrigeration
after release at 2–6 °C
Shelf life
set by the business and confirmed with a storage sample
Removal
clean utensils only
Released by
Date
Signature

Ongoing collaboration since 2025

Berlin Ramen Society

Since 2025 Simon Hannig has been in charge of the food side at Berlin Ramen Society, everything to do with food: developing the ramen and the ferments that go into it.

You can taste it at pop-ups and events and at the Berlin Ramen Festival.

Pop-ups with the Berlin Ramen Society

What fermentation puts into the bowl

  • House-made tare and shoyuthe seasoning of the broth
  • Garumdepth and umami
  • Koji and misothe base of many flavour building blocks
  • Fermented toppings and picklesacidity and freshness on top

Diagnosis, development, implementation, handover

  1. Diagnosis

    Clarify goals and constraints

    Staff, space, refrigeration, allergens, workflow, capacity. We listen first, before we recommend anything.

  2. Development

    Define processes and systems

    Fermentation building blocks, SOPs, control points and seasoning systems, tailored to your business.

  3. Implementation

    Put it in place and train

    Implementation in your kitchen or in a test setup, training your team at their stations, adjustments until it runs.

  4. Handover

    Fine-tuning and handover

    Checks, debriefs, final adjustments. Then we hand over to your team, with all the documents for day-to-day work.

Systems that run day to day.

Three formats, depending on where you are.

The examples show what a project can look like in each format.

  1. Format 01

    Strategic consulting

    Clarity before investment.

    • Priorities and first quick improvements
    • Review of equipment and risks
    • Plan for a trial run
    • First drafts of the SOPs

    Example scope: restaurant

    Starting point
    The seasoning base arrives ready-made in a canister and should be made in-house from now on.
    Scope
    Initial consultation, one session in your kitchen on staff, space, refrigeration and workflow, then a written assessment.
    You get
    Priorities, a review of your equipment and a plan for the trial run with a first ferment.

  2. Format 02

    Process development and implementation

    Build a system that stays.

    • SOPs for the core workflows
    • Quality control in brief
    • Seasoning systems and ferments
    • Workflows for prep and production
    • Handover documents

    Example scope: canteen

    Starting point
    Plant-based dishes work on paper, but on the plate they lack depth.
    Scope
    One seasoning sauce made from bought-in miso, shoyu or vinegar for your menu, introduced at the station within a few days, with support through the first cycles.
    You get
    A recipe with fixed quantities, an SOP for the station including allergens, and a trained team.

  3. Format 03

    Ongoing support

    Stabilise and develop further.

    • Debriefs and troubleshooting
    • Updated SOPs
    • Adjustments to recipes and workflows
    • New ferments

    Example scope: food brand

    Starting point
    The recipe is set, the first batches are running in your production.
    Scope
    Support when the first batches start, debriefs and troubleshooting when a batch deviates.
    You get
    Updated SOPs and control points that let your team repeat every batch the same way.

Price on request

Initial consultation free, then a fixed quote. The initial consultation takes 30 minutes and happens by video or in person in Berlin.

Request a consultation

What we don't do

  • Take over your production. We develop the system, your team runs it. That way the know-how stays in your business.
  • Ferment leftovers that don't belong in a ferment. Plate waste, food returned by guests, spoiled goods and anything with an unknown storage history stay out.
  • Carry the responsibility under HACCP. It stays with you. We provide the documents you need to add the new processes to your system.
  • Lab tests and food-law approval. That is handled by an accredited lab and by you. We provide the process data for it.
  • Promise numbers before we've seen your kitchen. You measure what changes yourselves, before and after.

Frequently asked questions

Do you only work plant-based?

Our own kitchen is plant-forward, and the consulting focuses on plant-based dishes. Your kitchen doesn't have to be vegan for that. In your kitchen we work with what you have. Meat and fish are possible by arrangement when plant-based cooking or making better use of existing ingredients drives the project, for example a garum made from fish trimmings.

Isn't fermentation risky in a professional kitchen?

Not as a controlled process. We work with fixed parameters, checklists and SOPs, so every batch is traceable and documented.

Do you offer training for our kitchen team?

Yes. Either as part of the implementation or as a separate block, whichever makes more sense for your team. A team event for your company: Team events

What does fermentation consulting cost?

It depends on the scope. A single restaurant and a large operation are priced differently, so we don't give a flat rate here. How the initial consultation works is set out under Formats and price.

We're right at the start. Is it too early to get in touch?

No. That is exactly what the diagnosis is for: getting clarity before you invest. An early enquiry costs you nothing and often saves a lot.

Request a consultation

Tell us briefly what it's about. You'll get an assessment of scope, a sensible format and the next step, even if in the end we're not the right fit for you.

Request a consultation

Write to hello@flavorfocuslab.de or use the form. We usually reply within 2 working days.

We're based in Berlin. We work on site in Berlin and the surrounding area, across everything we do. Restaurants, food brands and startups can also work with us remotely by video. We travel further only when the scope justifies the trip.