Even though NYE is probably more about drinking than eating there are still a bunch of German traditions that are worth mentioning and worth adding to our guide. We think the most important part of food on New Year’s Eve is not how good it looks and how original it is, but the sense of community it awakens and that we enjoy eating (and possibly also making) it together with our friends and loved ones.

Here is our pick of 5 iconic dishes to serve on New Year’s Eve in Berlin.

Fondue

This is a classic for New Year’s Eve, not only in Germany. Every German family has a Fondue Set and will most likely only use it every once in a while for NYE. Most people only know the cheese option, but you can also make it with broth or even chocolate. We recommend not only using bread for the fondue but also little pieces of meat and vegetables to dip into the cheese.

 

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Raclette

This is the second classic that is very popular for Germans on New Year’s Eve. It’s basically a little table BBQ. The set has little frying pans that you can use to fry pieces of meat and veggies and than bake them with a layer of cheese on top. It’s a fun process and quite tasty.

photo: Jules Morgan / CC (added filter)

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DIY Pizza

This is a very old tradition of my family and comes from a time where we didn’t have pizzerias or pizza deliveries. We basically just made our own pizza using the ingredients we like. It’s the best opportunity to use the real mozarella and not the crappy one, and you can choose all the toppings you like. To make the best of the space in the oven you can also make the pizza rectangular and fit the entire baking tray. Who says that pizza can only be round?

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Small Snacks

When you are hosting more people than you can actually cook for at a time you can do it the easy way and buy lot’s of bread and crackers and make some dips, cut some cheese and sausage, get some antipasti. Also ask all your guests to bring a little something to the party so in the end you will have a lot of small little things that people can snack on during the night.

photo: Brooke Lark

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Pfannkuchen / Berliner

The Germans have this tradition of having “Berliner” (jelly donuts) for NYE. You normally get them in the bakery. There is a chance you get one that is filled with mustard instead of the sweet jelly. This means actually good luck, even though it’s a bit gross. I personally like to customize the Berliners a bit with edible glitter, sprinkles, or chocolate. This way you can make all of them unique!

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Check out the other chapters of our

New Year’s Eve Guide to Berlin