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Karol Kasierski

The 2 Minute Interview

Oh Karol, when you first came to visit us a couple of months ago and told us about your idea to open a Polish fast food deli in the middle of Mitte we were of course culinarily enthusiastic, but we were also aware of the endurance and staying power you’d need to pull it all off. Sure, there is a large Polish community in Berlin, but that is not enough to stand a chance in a culinary street fight. Two months ago, the deli opened with a bang (Occupy Brunnenstraße!) and since then Karol’s TAK TAK – Polish Deli has undisputedly emerged to being the King of Pierogi and Bigosh in Berlin. We got him to tell us about how he did it, why he did it and what these lovely dumplings are all about.

 

Name: Andrzej Karol Kasierski
Age: 34
City: Berlin, dude!
Job: caterer / marketing strategist
Shoe size: 46
Favourite Polish word: the genitive of Michael Jackson = Maikella Dschäcksona
Contact: info@taktak-polishdeli.de
What does „tak tak“ mean?
Yes yes! Say yes to Polish food! But in fact, I came up with the name because apparently I say tak tak tak tak a lot when I’m on the phone to Polish people and friends and colleagues make fun of me because of it. tak tak just sticks to your memory and the words look quite pretty, too.

 

What was the greatest obstacle you had to overcome during the founding of tak tak?
Sine I don’t have any rich aunts or other assets, I had to find investors.

 

Do you still like eating pierogi or are you starting to get sick of them?
I’m not sick of pierogi. But sometimes I do get sick of certain filings. But luckily that changes quickly. At the moment, I am in love with our turkey-sundried-tomato-feta filling. And we always try to offer new varieties, too, so it never really gets boring. Before the holidays we had a Berlin boar-buckwheat-red-cabbage filling, which was a big hit. In January we had winter vegetables mixed with red lentils and while I’m writing these lines, a new experiment is simmering on the stove. It’s probably going to be a filling with Polish smoked cheese, Brussels sprouts and buckwheat.

 

Do you prefer sweet or savoury fillings?
Savoury.

 

180.000 Polish people live in Berlin. How many of them do you know?
Definitely 3000% more than I did before the opening two months ago.

 

What aren’t you good at all?
Understanding how anyone could possibly like the colour pink.

 

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
In 10 years I’ll be 45. Hmmm… Either somewhere in the sun or still in Berlin.

 

The most beautiful place on earth?
I don’t know. I haven’t seen every place yet. But in summer, I enjoy spending time at my favourite lake.

 

Three things that belong in every fridge:
Beer, sausage and cheese.
Mum’s best advice?
Be on time. Be nice. And don’t fuck up.
How can tell, that you’re all grown up?
I’m not. And I don’t want to. But I do know the difference between whiskey and whisky now.
What is the most important invention of mankind?
Oh dear, here we go…this is going to be a bit pseudo-intellectual-philosophical. But I’d have to say freedom – physically as well as mentally – and that we have the chance to reinvent ourselves every day. Unfortunately, this invention is not yet available for everybody. 

Please, tell us a Polish joke.
I don’t know any. (‚Yeah, right!‘ Editor’s note.)

 

With which personality would like to down a Carlsbad Bitter?
I’ve got some serious boozing planned with Hildegard Knef, Harald Juhnke and Jim Morrison for the very, very distant future. Currently I’d like to go have some drinks with Joaquin Phoenix. But most likely, I’ll finish off a bottle with Jochen Hudlmaier some time soon.

 

What would you cook for us if we visited you at home?
The undisputedly best Bolognese in the world.

 

When did you last try something new and what was it?
I always take different routes. Apparently it promotes creativity.

 

What should no one know about you?
Who Bob is. (‚We know the answer.‘ Editor’s note.)

 

Which question should we have asked?
Whether it’s true that I think Celine Dion is the most disgusting thing the pop music industry has come up with.

 

Last Words:
“This is the strangest life I’ve ever known.“

 

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