El Aleman Loco!
El Aleman Loco was a gem that I found during my visit to Subiaco street market one morning. It was a rainy day and I was looking for a comfort food when I stumbled upon Marco's stall. His Papas Locas was the first of many dishes that I already tried and purchased at El Aleman Loco.
One day I met him again at City Wine event ran by the Wine and Food Events WA and I asked him whether I could learn more about El Aleman Loco. Marco was helping out Pepe and Theresa at Las Empanadas stall and I tried the Salchipapas, the Peruvian version of Papas Locas! It was the combination of crispy beer battered chips, sweet potato chips, chorizo, Schüblig sausage, salad and three different sauces.
Salchipapas
Here's my brief interview with Marco :-)
Q: What did you do before setting up El Aleman Loco stall?
A: Before I started El Aleman Loco, I was travelling in South East Asia for some months and came to Australia as a backpacker. I did the typical backpacker jobs here like landscaping, making sandwiches at Subway, doing some farm work down south and also worked with Mimi from the food stall Sesame for quite some time which then introduced me to the "food market scene" in Perth.
Q: What inspired you to start a food stall that focused on the German-Spanish fusion food and why?
A: I was born and growing up in Germany and when I was 16 years old, my parents, sisters and I moved to Tenerife at Canary Island. Politically that island is a part of Spain where I also lived for 5-6 years. I thought to start a food stall that somehow represents who I am, a German with Spanish influence and introduce most delicious combination of both countries to the people of Perth.
My friends over there also introduced me to traditional Spanish food like Paella, Tortilla, Papas Locas, etc. It is a lot of fun to work in the food markets as I get to meet so many interesting people. Also... what is better than being able to try all the tasty food from other food stalls every single one of your work days!
Q: Your grandma must be a great inspiration in your cooking, especially with her home-made sauerkraut. Do you like cooking ever since you were little?
A: When I was little my great grandmother had one of those rocky roots cellar underneath her house where she would store all kinds of pickled or fermented fruit and vegetables in jars, so that might be one of the reasons.
Since I was little I always liked to help cooking or especially tasting food. Very often I'd just play around with the ingredients and added new spices and flavours. Later on, it was my hobby to cook for friends and family and it was just fun to cook something the traditional way (or from scratch) without any 'evil' additives and getting a good review for what I cooked.
I think it must also lie within my bloodline. I was told that my grandfather was a "Michelin/ star chef" in U.S. and my dad was always kind of an experimental cook at home. He would invent new and tasty dishes every week.
With the sauerkraut, I thought it would be doing something good for the people as sauerkraut is fermented and probiotic, so it contains many beneficial bacteria which help for people's general wellbeing (together with the delicious taste).
Q: What's your vision for El Aleman Loco in the future?
A: My vision for El Aleman Loco's future is to participate in many more events and festivals around Perth and also to try many new dishes throughout the following year(s) to bring a bigger variety of International Food to Perth. Who knows what else it might lead to, I am always open for new directions in my life!