This 130-year-old building is held together by solid brickwork, cast-iron pillars and... cake. To be more precise: a stand with marvellous baked goods that have been an integral part of Markthalle Neun for over a decade. For a long time, it was Annette Zeller who ensured sweet consistency here with butter, sugar and a lot of patience. Today it is Anne Hoberg who continues to run the stall with her husband Jed - and with it an ethos: craft without compromise, cakes without frills, but with soul and history. The Goldmond Bakery shows how to bake a generational shift.

The basis is, of course, spectacular sweet baked goods. Not even at first glance. Because they appear almost sober. No piled-up wonders of cream, no playful decorations. But once a sober slice of sheet cake from Annette or a simple slice of pear tart from Anne finds its way into a mouth, eyes fall out of heads.

When Annette Zeller offered her cakes at the market for the first time in 2011, long queues formed - as if it was the first or last time there would be cake in Kreuzberg that day. Many of those who queued back then are still coming today. The legendary ‘Zitronenwolke‘ is still on display, now under Anne's direction and in the best company of chocolate babka, banana bread and ‘’Goldmöndchen‘’!

Annette Zeller comes from a Swabian family of bakers and is the fourth generation to bake. ‘Sitting on the sacks of flour, I was asked the multiplication tables,’ she jokes in the bakery in the basement of Markthalle Neun. She learnt the trade in her parents' business, passed her master's examination and then went her own way. She had her own patisserie café - and lost it again. At first, she retired from baking. But then came her pregnancy, and with it the desire to try again. Her first orders brought her back into the world of the sweet craft - the baking crisis was over. And when a new opportunity arose in 2011 with the reopening of Markthalle Neun, she seized it. At the time, Annette was still baking in her home bakery in Bohnsdorf. But the hunger for cakes in Kreuzberg grew. In 2021, she and her production team moved to Markthalle.

Since then, it's hard to imagine life without ‘Frau Zeller’. Apple and sour cream cake, cheese and poppy seed, marzipan and sour cherry, shortbread, Florentine, Engadine, the famous Piedmont hazelnut - and of course the legendary cloud cake. All without artificial additives, but with a large portion of experience, time and feeling. ‘Tastes just like grandma's!’ is still the best compliment she regularly receives.

But Annette already began to worry on the first day of the reopening: she could no longer cope with the responsibility and workload. The project was too big and even confectionery luminaries don't get any younger. A new generation was needed.

At the same time in New York, Anne and Jed are flirting with the idea of moving. Every time they visit Anne's parents in Berlin, Markthalle Neun is on the agenda. ‘Back then, the dream of having our own shop in Markthalle was born. The advert that Annette was looking for a successor came at just the right time. After getting to know each other for the first time, it took a while for us to come up with the idea: Annette wanted to continue baking - so I hired her as bakery manager.’ Annette and her creations didn't just disappear from the bakery - she stayed and shared her knowledge. Anne, on the other hand, brought her many years of experience from bakeries in Italy and New York - and new ideas. She added her own classics to the display, such as the fluffy chocolate babkas or the golden yellow ‘Goldmöndchen’, with rugelach based on a recipe from Jed's New York family. Anne relies on the same high-quality ingredients, traditional techniques and honest flavours. ‘For me, it's the flours that are so important. I love mills and the variety of flours, be it ancient grain, yellow wheat or spelt - that's what I liked so much about Annette, she has an eye for it.’

Generational change is a major challenge in the food industry - especially in the bakery and confectionery trades. According to the Central Association of the German Bakery Trade, the number of trainees in the bakery trade fell from 23,067 in 2013 to just 9,977 in 2023. High demands, long working hours and low wages make the profession less attractive for many, which poses existential problems for businesses.

However, the generational change at Goldmond Bakery has not only been the result of luck and timing, but also of careful planning and close networking around Markthalle Neun. What threatens to die out in the rest of the food industry is growing here with new and independent vigour. Annette Zeller not only brought the craft with her, but also many years of experience as an entrepreneur and knew how important it is to pass on her art. Anne Hoberg, with her international experience and training at the French Culinary Institute, brought freshness and creativity to the company. Their collaboration, based on trust and respect, and their shared love of simplicity and goodness has proven to be a recipe for success.

One thing is certain: it is the combination of first-class ingredients, traditional knowledge, a creative approach and people who are passionate about what they do that turns a cake into something special. Anne and Annette agree on this. And that's exactly what it's all about: Passing on knowledge, keeping the craft alive, inspiring new generations to bake. Markthalle Neun remains a place where talent and tradition meet, where people learn, try out and develop. And if all goes well, in 15 years' time, the same and new people will be lining up again - perhaps even in front of the next generation of bakers. But certainly with the same anticipation for the first bite.