Nikolaiviertel in person: Frank Möhler and Franky’s Best

Beef jerky and hot sauces straight from the Nikolaiviertel: we chatted with Frank Möhler about his passion for dried beef and the Carolina Reaper chili.

You opened your store in the Nikolaiviertel in August. Is this your first retail store, or do you have other locations?

I founded the company back in 2021, but this is now my first brick and mortar store. Previously, I had my production facility at the Moabit wholesale market and sold from there, as well as online, of course.

How did you end up choosing the Nikolaiviertel as your location, and were you familiar with the neighborhood before?

As a native Berliner, I was of course already familiar with the Nikolaiviertel and always thought it was a lovely area. I had been looking for a new location with a production kitchen for a year and a half, and then a business partner told me that something was available here. That was Michael Ruf from “Ick bin Berliner” – his shop is right next door. I like that the district is a tourist attraction and that there are so many great restaurants and shops with an artisan approach, like ours.

What came first, Franky’s Beef Jerky or the hot sauce—and how did you come up with the idea?

It was the beef jerky, which I came across in the US around 2000. I thought it was an exciting product, but it was much too salty for me and at first I didn’t like it at all. A few years later, I was in South Africa and discovered the local version, biltong. In addition to beef, they also use game, from ostrich to springbok, and season it differently and much more flavorful.

Was that the “lightbulb moment” that inspired you to make your own?

Not quite yet. That moment came later in London, where my sister lives. There’s a large South African community there, and South African shops that also sell biltong. Of course, I had to try it, and I thought it was really awful. It was quite chewy and nothing like the products I had tried in South Africa. That was the moment that really sparked my ambition, partly because there was nothing like it in Germany and I simply wanted to make something better. When I got back to Berlin, I started researching and experimenting, and after that there was no turning back.

How did you get into cooking and the restaurant business?

I completed professional training as a restaurant specialist and have extensive experience in the restaurant scene. This actually ranges from snack bars to restaurants with two Michelin stars. Over time, I was able to pick up many tricks of the trade that proved very useful in my own project.

For most people, jerky is “just” dried meat—but is that really true?

In general, yes, but there are important differences in processing and quality. The big manufacturers in the USA cure the meat beforehand and inject it with all kinds of additives. This makes the end product more shelf-stable and voluminous, but also—let’s say—spongy. This is not the case at all with my product, which is why you can also see the individual meat fibers. I only add my spice mixture to the meat, which is bound with soy sauce, and the dehydrator does the rest. It removes the water from the product with warm air, so it’s a very gentle processing method in terms of preserving nutrients.

So basically the same technique used for sun-dried tomatoes…

Yes, and drying is an ancient method of preserving food naturally while retaining vitamins and other nutrients that would otherwise be destroyed by high temperatures.

Your second major product group is hot sauce—how did that come about?

I’ve always loved hot sauces and had that in mind from the start for after the beef jerky business got going. I regularly attend the Berlin Chili Festival, which is of course a source of endless inspiration and a great opportunity to test product ideas and recipes—you get valuable feedback right away.

Speaking of feedback: one of your sauces won an award this year…?

Yes, that’s right. My Reaper sauce won silver in the “extra hot” category. Although when it comes to “extra hot,” I have to say that I’m not one of those people who tries to make the hottest product possible in terms of pure Scoville units. Yes, it contains Carolina Reaper, which is the hottest chili in the world, but I’m not interested in delivering “maximum pain”, but rather a great balance of flavor and heat.

What are your plans, and are there any new culinary delights we can look forward to?

Yes, Franky’s Best Chili Salt will soon be available, with a wonderful, special spiciness. And then my seasoning mixes will be available as standalone products for anyone who wants to season, marinate and dry their own meat.

Franky’s Best • Rathausstraße 19 • 10178 Berlin
Website: frankysbest.com • E-Mail: info@frankysbest.com