Probier's doch mal
A portrait in video format can be found at the end
Anna Ehlgen and Steffen Runkel have developed the recipe for a modern children's cookbook. Just like with a dish, it was tested, seasoned, and refined until the final ingredients for the children's cookbook were harmonious. Steffen Runkel, a master's student in business engineering at the University of Siegen, supports his partner Anna Ehlgen in all situations, while Anna, as a graduate in nutritional sciences, brings mainly the professional background.
How did you come up with the idea for "Probier’s doch mal"?
The initial idea came from me. I've always been enthusiastic about cooking since I was a child, but through my studies in nutritional sciences, I found a new approach to the subject and developed an even stronger interest in nutrition.
I particularly enjoyed my internship at a children's cooking school in Cologne. However, due to the Corona pandemic, such events/schools could no longer take place, so I thought about how to bring cooking lessons to children's homes. So, last November, we started designing a children's cookbook.
What is innovative about your startup/children's cookbook?
In addition to vivid images and child-friendly steps, our children's cookbook is complemented by a corresponding app. Each dish comes with a QR code that calls up an audio file in which the children are explained the steps. In a quiz, they learn interesting facts about nutrition.
When developing the children's cookbook, we made sure that the dishes are wholesome, no refined sugar is used, and there is always a vegan option. There are also some gluten-free recipes.
What goals are you pursuing with your idea?
With our idea, we want to replace the traditional cookbook because we believe the concept has become somewhat outdated and not very contemporary. With "Probier’s doch mal," we want to combine print media and digitalization so that children can learn more independently.
How do you organize your collaboration?
Steffen supports me as my partner in everything, but he is mainly responsible for the technical background and the website. So far, I have always taken on the creative part of the development and focused on writing the book.
What was the biggest challenge in creating a children's cookbook?
First and foremost, I would say we approached the creation of the cookbook a bit naively. We didn't know beforehand how many everyday hurdles we would face and how exhausting it would sometimes be. But looking back now, we are proud of our end product and everything we have learned along the way.
Are you the publishers of the cookbook yourselves and independent app developers?
Yes, we are the publishers of our children's cookbook. We financed our printing through a crowdfunding campaign, so we didn't have to publish the book with a publisher.
However, we outsourced the app development. Steffen designed the screens himself, but the final development was done by software developers.
Did you try out the recipes at home?
Yes, we tested everything from home and came up with the recipes ourselves. Everything I tried in the morning was then served for lunch testing.
What drives you?
The whole project was simply a matter of the heart for us, so there was no turning back. I also found it fun to familiarize myself with new programs. Although it was also exhausting, there was never any pressure behind it.
What support did you receive when starting up?
We found support in the start-up office of the University of Siegen, where we had monthly meetings and were networked with other founders. In addition, we received financial support through the promised NRW start-up grant.
What advice do you have for young founders?
As a young founder, don't worry too much, just start and dare to do it.
Would you start again?
I think so - So far, the feedback has been very good. So we already have ideas for a children's cookbook volume 2.
This portrait is based on an interview with Anna Ehlgen in August 2021 and was written by Janice Gust.
Here for the homepage of the start-up.