Sven Schurig

Why did you become a grill master & meat sommelier?

"The magic of the fire and the great pleasure that comes with the experience has been one of my strongest emotions since I was a child. The profession of meat sommelier is a foundation for my creativity. You have to be knowledgeable to be able to deliver special services. Moreover, people have been meeting around the fire and enjoying together for thousands of years. This creates a future in shared enjoyment and must also make qualitative sense to me. So it was a logical consequence, so to speak, to develop from this a passion that deals more deeply with these issues and reflects my personal sense of values."

What is the best thing about your job as a grill master?

"The fact that people come together who all have a goal, eat delicious food and get to know each other. It's incredibly exciting to find out very quickly what human values my counterpart has. If this is then crowned by happiness in the eyes of my guests, who then also become repeat offenders, I am proud of my day's work."

What has been the biggest challenge so far?

"That was to find my own way among a large number of grillers, which reflects my quality standards and is recognized by others. I think I've done a pretty good job of that."

What does respect for food mean to you?

"Food is the basis of my work. If I use inferior products, I automatically desecrate my own work, because the end result just can not be as good as with optimal products. Therefore, I ask searchers on the Internet who only want to find the cheapest price to please keep surfing. I am not available for such things."

How important is sustainability to you as a meat sommelier in your grill workshop?

"That's a basic condition, because without this requirement you disappear into the masses of those who don't care at all, and then we're back to those who only want cheap and end up throwing away what was too much. I can handle that very badly and get a raised pulse. Sustainability includes serious and goal-oriented pre-planning up to the finish. That includes resource conservation, seasonality and the mindful provenance of my ingredients."

How exactly do you bring sustainability to your BBQ academy?

"It starts for me with education at the time of purchase. My semesters are not only filled with the moment of food creation in the optimal cooking process through energy absorption on the fire, but deal specifically with the ingredients and their individual characteristics. If vegetables or animals have been raised too quickly and uncharitably, then I usually notice this in the sensory perception at the time of purchase. Already at this point, this automatically prevents me from going to my academy. This knowledge is what I like to transport and also thereby form mindful participants. This makes me very happy, because so it begins in small things and provides in the sum for a respectful treatment of our planet."

What made Nesmuk knives different from other knives you've worked with before?

"I think it's the overall handling, because I come from Lusatia and there a word is a word. No messing around, but an announcement, just like the knives from Nesmuk. What I want to cut is cut, without ifs and buts. That feels great! What's more, working with these handcrafted masterpieces is a joy, because my mood improves abruptly when I unroll my knife bag and my friends who have become steel smile at me. Then I know that the day is my friend.

To this quickly told, because I was once booked in a wonderful outdoor kitchen for BBQ catering and should bring nothing but myself and my chef jacket. Hammer facility with outdoor pool and a top grill brand, which I also represent. But the knives were a horror. This will not happen to me again! I only exist with Nesmuk! So much for the difference."

What words would you use to describe Nesmuk knives?

"German workmanship, made with joie de vivre for joie de vivre."

Which Nesmuk knife is your favorite and why?

I love them so much, that's why I have almost all of them.

Why are good tools so important in your profession?

"For me, it's all about wholeness. If I already have my standards for the ingredients, everything has to be right for me. From the food, to the grill machine, to the knife."

What personal connection do you have to your cutting tool?

"As I described, they are personalities turned into metal. In my homeland, the east of the republic, is the cradle of German precision and subtlety. There, a man is considered a word and there is no...something like that, no or something like that and almost as if....

With us, there are clear announcements. A NESMUK is exactly the same. One cut and the matter is not only settled, but divided! That's how I am."

What fascinates you about really good (Damascus) knives?

"As a power plant mechanic once trained, you had to be able to rely on the tools of your trade, otherwise you wouldn't get very old in this profession. That was a long time ago, and I'm still alive. When I sometimes see knives on shopping TV at night that can be used to saw off iron poles to the neighbor's house, and then still use the same knife to cut tomatoes as if they were made of butter, I get scared.

Then I go to my kitchen, look at my Nesmuk, can go to bed with peace of mind and know, "Everything done right."

Where do you get your inspiration?
"First of all, I am inspired by my wife and, of course, our children. My wife is an incredibly creative and multi-layered personality who constantly surprises me. That spurs me on and she also gives me the necessary peace to develop new things. I am also inspired by nature itself and by being able to do what I have wanted to do since I was a child. If I can't be somewhere at the grill, I get nervous, but my wife always calms me down."