About us //
Since September 2013 we are running the Restaurant and Hotel Kogge in the heart of the maritime and charming city of Elsfleth. It is very important for us that you feel comfortable in the Kogge and that you are happy after your visit! Whether you live in the beautiful district of the Wesermarsch, are on business, on holiday by bike or boat - a visit to us is worth the journey. We look forward to welcome you.
Wir freuen uns, Sie begrüßen zu dürfen.
Your Kogge Crew //
Chef de Cuisine Jens Philipp Herlyn
When did you discover your love for cooking?
Herlyn:
After an internship as a cook on the North Sea island of Borkum, I immediately started training as a chef. But the joy of cooking really took hold of me when I was lucky enough to cook in the restaurant "Valentin's" in 2006, under Dirk Randerath as chef and mentor! I have built on this foundation and also developed myself autodidactically.
further development.
What is your favourite dish and which dish do you like to cook the most?
Herlyn:
I love to eat spaghetti alio e olio and my favourite thing to cook is veal cheeks in port jus. Sauces and jus are the most aesthetic and wonderful things for me!
Where else have you cooked?
Herlyn:
After years on Borkum, I did my military service as a chef in an officers' mess, then I was in Brake at Wilkens Hotel and have been chef at the Kogge since 2014.
What do you cook for your children?
Herlyn:
They like fresh fish nuggets made from home-caught pike-perch with vichy carrots best. This has the good effect that they like to let me go fishing in their free time (laughs). They like to watch me when I make smoked fish myself or make meat in the smoker.
Can you venture a view of the future? Will there still be restaurant where there will be hand-cooked food like yours?
Herlyn:
I think that the percentage of restaurants that work with convenience products, i.e. the chain restaurants, will become bigger. There will still be select restaurants that carry on the craft of cooking individually.
Thank you very much for the interview!
History of the House //
Elsfleth Maritime School
The history of this maritime house is inseparably linked with the history of Elsfleth. Elsfleth is the third largest municipality of the Wesermarsch and one of the oldest towns on the Lower Weser. Above all, the confluence of the river Weser, the river Hunte and its proximity to the North Sea predestined Elsfleth for early shipping and shipbuilding. Even today, the town is still closely linked to seafaring and the training of young maritime talents. The navigation school, founded in 1832, later became the Seefahrtsschule Elsfleth (Elsfleth Maritime School), which is now affiliated to the Jade Hochschule Wilhelmshaven / Oldenburg / Elsfleth as the maritime faculty. International Transport Management, Maritime Management and Maritime and Port Economics can now also be studied at this location.
House Visurgis
Out of the maritime tradition it was obvious, that in 1904 some navigation students at that time founded the "Nautische Verbindung Visurgis" in order to cultivate similarities and also to be a point of contact for the members of the association. In order to keep common things alive with joy, even if one had long left the active business of seafaring behind. This association, which cultivated camaraderie and emphasized both the cheerfulness and the seriousness of the profession, soon became an important factor in the social life of the city. The members of the association chose the then "Haus Visurgis" as their clubhouse and have been using the restaurant for their meetings, events and festivities ever since.
Alle zwei Stunden Shanty
The house itself has one of the most beautiful sights to offer: The clock, which, in conjunction with the carillon, is a spectacle for the eyes and ears every day. In 1988 Renate Janssen discovered the rusty dial with the watch hands, which had been owned by the maritime school until 1871, in the city of "Oberhammelwarden". It acquired the good piece for a price of 500 DM. After the restoration and the installation of an automatic clockwork by the clock construction company Hemmer from Bruchhausen-Vilsen. The clock shining in new splendour, was attached to the Haus Visurgis and extended by a chime, which plays since 8.00 o'clock every two hours a shanty sound. Every half and every full hour a ship's bell is struck. The founder family and shipping company H. W. Janssen would like to express their gratitude to the camaraderie of Visurgis: "Ever since the nautical camaraderie of Visurgis was founded, it has maintained contact with seamen all over the world. With this she strengthened the comradeship and the "feeling of belonging to Elsfleth".
