Cooking oil shortage: the first Cologne brewery throws fries off the menu

Created: 03/29/2022, 17:22

By: Johanna Werning

Currywurst yes, but with fried potatoes instead of fries: This is the result of the lack of cooking oil in the first breweries in Cologne (Montage).

© Winfried Rothermel/Imago & Gottfried Czepluch/Imago

In the "Gaffel am Dom" there are no more fries for the time being.

The reason: the Cologne brewery does not get enough cooking oil.

It's the same with other restaurants.

Cologne – Not only the people of Cologne are suffering from the shortage of oil in the supermarkets.

It is becoming increasingly difficult, especially for restaurants in Cologne, to buy refills for cooking oil.

The catering establishments need the "liquid gold" especially for classics such as fries.

Even one of the most well-known breweries in Cologne has to take serious consequences.

The "Gaffel am Dom" is removing chips completely from the menu due to the shortage of cooking oil, reports 24RHEIN.

Cologne: "Gaffel am Dom" changes the menu - fried potatoes instead of fries

Innkeeper Erwin Ott confirms the

: Instead of fries, there will be fried potatoes as a side dish in the brewery in downtown Cologne from April 1st.

The reason: The suppliers could only deliver a fraction of the ordered amount of cooking oil, Ott continues.

There are no first reactions from the guests, but he has already been asked whether the change is an April Fool's joke.

After all, the "Gaffel am Dom" is known in the city for the good currywurst with delicious fries.

"I'd rather it was an April Fool's joke," he explained.

It is not yet possible to say how long the shortage will last.

There are delivery problems with both sunflower oil and rapeseed oil.

"We had to react," the managing director clarified.

In addition, cooking oil prices have risen significantly in recent weeks.

That's why the cooking oil on the supermarket shelves is scarce

In many supermarkets such as Rewe or Edeka, the cooking oil is currently often sold out.

The reason: Firstly, the Ukraine war: Ukraine with 51 percent and Russia with 27 percent are the world's most important export countries for sunflower oil.

But the consumers themselves also ensure that the oil is often sold out: many supermarket customers are afraid of not being able to get any more oil and therefore buy more than usual, the supermarket is not prepared for this and an artificial shortage arises.

Cologne: Brauhaus changes menu due to lack of oil – according to Dehoga not an isolated case

According to the industry association Dehoga NRW, the drastic step taken by the Cologne brewery is not an isolated case.

"We have a tense situation in which certain types of cooking oil, such as sunflower oil, are harder to get than usual," spokesman Thorsten Hellwig told

.

This could particularly affect companies that need a lot of oil.

Even the bagatelle has already reacted to the rising food prices.

How many restaurateurs will actually be affected and how long the delivery bottlenecks will last cannot be foreseen at the moment.

In addition, there would be inflation effects in many areas, it is said.

However, the situation is not that serious, explains the innkeeper from the "Gaffel am Dom".

Although the fries will be removed from the menu for the time being, potato pancakes and schnitzel will continue to be offered in the brewery, Ott explains.