Marcel Weidenmüller has travelled as far as Bahrain, Cape Town or Barcelona: the native of Falkenstein fed Formula 1 and DTM racing drivers and other celebrities with his catering service until recently. He is now head of the long-standing Weidenmüller bakery – it is a very responsible position and he enjoys creating delicacies like Moosmaa root bread.

Chocolate mousse, crème brûlée, rolls for breakfast or croissants: Marcel Weidenmüller has prepared all these at very different places in the world.

“People often prefer the simple dishes, like a really good pancake with raisins, to completely exotic things,” says the 35-year-old. He has catered for countless events in Germany, with personalities like Chancellor Angela Merkel on the receiving end. The foundation for this career was laid in his home town of Falkenstein. That is where he started his training in his parents’ bakery with his father Ulrich Weidenmüller. He then passed his master craftsmen exams as a baker, confectioner and pastry chef.

“I then wanted to see a bit of the world.”

When he worked in Austria, Marcel Weidenmüller gained the opportunity to take over the catering for a Formula 1 team in faraway Bahrain. A completely different world awaited him. “You need to be at your best, even if you are at your limit. I often have to work from 5 a.m. until midnight. I sometimes need to survive on three hours’ sleep in a hotel. But if the team wins, you’re delighted and join in the celebrations,” he says, with a sense of enthusiasm. He has a persuasive manner: he gained a contract in 2010 to support the Audi team at the German Touring Car Championships. He then went to Cape Town for six months with Porsche – including a spell working at the president’s palace for Nelson Mandela. He catered for 40 motor sports races with his desserts and baking skills around the world during the next few years.

Dubai, Valencia – but despite this, he repeatedly returned to Falkenstein.

“I never wanted to move away and commuted a lot. I sometimes went to the beach after the events, but then came home. I like being here and was always happy to arrive back in Falkenstein safe and sound.”

His friends and family – and wife and soon two small children – were waiting for him here. In the end, he faced an important decision: his parents were reaching retirement age. “I knew that I’d take over our bakery.” He has now been the boss since March 2017 and looks after 18 employees and six sales outlets.

"It’s a different kind of stress to catering for races. I bear a lot of responsibility for others here.” However, it was hard for him to say good-bye. “I was sad at the last event. I’d perhaps like to support one more race to gain some sense of closure myself.”

Things went mad after he withdrew from the exciting world of high society. Various newspapers were interested in him. One manager got in touch to supervise him. Others wanted to know about what the stars like eating. “ProSieben and Sat.1 even wanted to film here – cookery shows comparing Eastern and Western Germany and other formats. I turned them down – after all, we’re a small business making hand-made products.” He is able to find exactly what he is looking for in the Vogtland region: rural life, peace and quiet and the feeling of being at home.

“One week in a fairly large city is enough for me – then I want to get home.”

Everything revolves around the bakery at the moment. “My only hobby is my children.” The master baker usually starts work at 1 a.m. His Moosmaa loaf is something he has personally created: it’s root bread with local herbs.

“I spent a long time testing it until it was just right. It’s important for me to use nothing but regional products: the flour, the eggs and even the herbs come from here.”

Stinging nettles, wild garlic, marigolds and other herbs are all found in the Moosmaa loaf, which refers to one of the most important Vogtland legendary figures. The shape is supposed to recall the roots, under which the Moosmaa (moss man) lives. Marcel Weidenmüller wants to pass on the many experiences that he has now gained.

“We like training people. I’m happy if young people are interested in working as a baker. There’s plenty of variety available here.”