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Fermentation consulting for canteens in Berlin:Plant-based dishes that taste of something
FlavorFocusLab offers fermentation consulting for canteens and large-scale kitchens in Berlin and the surrounding area: together we build a seasoning system that brings umami and acidity to your plant-based dishes and fits your existing workflows.
Many plant-based dishes work on paper. On the plate they lack depth.
Initial consultation free, then a fixed quote.
Plant-based on its own isn't enough
Your kitchen turns out a lot of portions on a tight schedule. Recipes have to be costable, and service has to run on time. There's no room for experiments.
Vegetables, pulses and grains provide substance, but without an animal-based broth or stock the seasoning base is missing. More salt only goes so far.
Fermented ingredients close that gap. They bring umami and acidity in a form you can dose and document.
What we build
We develop a seasoning system for your kitchen's dishes from two building blocks: seasoning sauces made from bought-in ferments, and controlled lacto-fermentation of selected vegetables.
The focus is on the seasoning sauces, because they need neither in-house maturing time nor extra equipment. Lacto-ferments come in where you have the space, temperature control and documented checks.
Trained kitchen staff run both building blocks from written instructions; you don't need a fermentation specialist. Responsibility for food safety stays with you. We provide the standard operating procedures (SOPs) you need to add the new workflows to your HACCP system.
Building block 1: seasoning sauces from bought-in ferments
You buy miso, shoyu and vinegar ready-made. With your team we turn them into sauces, marinades and base seasonings for your plant-based dishes. A miso glaze for roasted vegetables, for example, or a shoyu and vinegar base that rounds off pulses.
The fermentation itself happens at the producer. In your kitchen there's no maturing time, no fermentation equipment and none of the microbiological risk of that process. What's left is normal kitchen work with scales and a recipe.
One point belongs in the recipe from the start: miso and shoyu usually contain soy and often cereals containing gluten. These allergens have to be recorded and carried through all the way to service.
Building block 2: lacto-fermentation of vegetables
The vegetables sit in brine with 2.5% salt by total weight. Vegetables and water are weighed together.
Active fermentation runs at 18 to 22 °C, which gives cleaner results than a warm kitchen. The vegetables stay below the brine the whole time, with no contact with air.
No ferment starts in the cold room. At 2 to 6 °C the lactic acid bacteria are largely dormant, so the container only goes in there after the active phase, and keeps maturing there.
Kimchi works a little differently. The cabbage is salted and rinsed beforehand, so kimchi needs less salt than vegetables in brine. It ferments for 1 to 3 days at 18 to 22 °C, then goes into refrigeration and keeps developing there for months. In a warmer room, around 25 °C, 1 day or less is enough.
The safety parameter is pH. Salt, time and temperature alone are not enough to release a batch in communal catering. Every batch needs a measured and recorded value.
More on lactic acid fermentation in Knowledge
Which vegetables are suitable
For lacto-ferments we always use clean standard vegetables from controlled goods-in. We use stems and peels only case by case, because leftovers usually don't ferment well.
That's why raw peels are rarely a raw material for lacto. Especially with root vegetables, they bring soil microorganisms and spores with them, as well as bitter compounds. The result is failed fermentations. Unsuitable peels and inedible plant parts belong in a broth or a vinegar batch.
What this means in your kitchen
We start with your menu plan. Which plant-based dishes do you serve often, and which of them does nobody come back for a second time? We also look at how your stations are set up, which seasoning base is already in the kitchen and how much fridge space is free.
From that come sauces, marinades and base seasonings with fixed quantities. Where lacto-fermentation fits, we add raw materials, salt percentages, temperature ranges and holding times.
Training happens at the station, during normal operation. Your team practises the steps, measuring and recording pH, and spotting deviations such as mould, kahm yeast or off-smells. We support the first cycles because they reveal which instructions are still unclear and where a batch goes wrong.
We calculate the effort for your team in our proposal. We tell you which format suits you after the first conversation.
Where the limits are
Your own garum production is not part of this canteen offer. Garum needs 12 to 15% salt by total weight, 60 to 65 °C and 4 to 8 weeks. That ties up temperature-controlled equipment for weeks, even for batches made with brewer's spent grain.
House-made miso or shoyu matures over months. That goes beyond the space and planning horizon of a large-scale kitchen, so you buy these basics ready-made.
Fermentation does not make unsafe food safe. Plate waste, food returned by guests, food returned from the serving counter, spoiled goods and goods with an unknown storage history are excluded. Animal side streams are not part of this canteen offer either.
Batches with mould, a putrid smell or a pH above the limit are discarded completely. Skimming is not enough.
What you get
You get base recipes for seasoning sauces and marinades, matched to your menu plan, and SOPs for every station with quantities, temperatures, salt percentages and allergens. For lacto processes we add the specifications for temperature control, keeping air out and pH records, with the reasons for when a batch is discarded.
Start with one building block: a seasoning sauce for your menu plan, introduced at the station within a few days.
Frequently asked questions
What does fermentation consulting for our canteen cost?
It depends on the scope. A single seasoning sauce and a seasoning system across the whole menu plan are priced differently. How the initial consultation works and which formats there are is set out under Formats and price.
Do we need a fermentation specialist?
No. Trained kitchen staff run the system following the instructions. They need to stick to the process, measure pH and spot deviations.
Do we have to ferment ourselves?
The first lever is seasoning sauces made from bought-in miso, shoyu and vinegar; nothing ferments in your kitchen for those. Your own lacto-ferments only come in if your rooms and workflows allow it.
Are smell and taste enough to release a batch?
Smell and taste are for quality control. To release a batch, your team records the pH and checks the other control points in the SOP. The responsibility for this lies with you; every new process goes into your HACCP system.
Will this reduce what comes back uneaten?
We work on it, but we don't put a number on it in advance. What comes back depends on your menu plan, your serving setup and your guests. Anyone who gives you a percentage before seeing your kitchen is guessing. You can measure it yourselves: returns of the dishes concerned four weeks before, four weeks after.
How long does the introduction take?
A single building block is introduced at the station within a few days. A seasoning system across the whole menu plan runs over weeks, because we support the first cycles.
Tell us about your project
Name one to three plant-based dishes from your menu plan that taste too flat, plus your number of portions and how your stations are divided. We'll tell you whether the seasoning sauces alone are enough or whether lacto is worth it for you.
Write to hello@flavorfocuslab.de or use the enquiry form. We usually reply within 2 working days.
We're based in Berlin and usually work in Berlin and the surrounding area. We travel further afield if the scope justifies the trip. Just ask.