Our Team
Da das qualitativ hochwertige Handwerk bei uns im Fokus steht, sind die Menschen, die dieses Handwerk ausüben besonders wichtig. Von Anfang an war es uns wichtig, sie und ihr Können sichtbar zu machen. Wir sind froh über und stolz auf unser Team!
Sophie
Sophie (she/her) is our head of sales in Neukölln: She is the pillar and soul of our sales team!
You might know her from another restaurants and coffee shop in the neighbourhood where she built her solid foundations in gastronomy prior to joining our team.
In combination with her experience in social work that makes her perfectly qualified to handle stress with the necessary calm.
She has been a founding team member and we are very very happy to have her!
Brendan
Brendan’s (he/him) path to us has probably been the longest of us all: all the way from Melbourne (Australia)!
And not only in terms of kilometers: he did a full university degree in film before following his passion to become a chef. Maybe that didn’t come as a surprise to his parents as that made him the third generation of successful chefs in their family.
On his way to Berlin, he took some remarkable stops in different pastry sections ranging from Heston Blumenthal, over Five Fields in London to the Pauly Saal in Berlin.
At Gorilla Bäckerei, Brendan leads our pastry section and many of those sweet enchantments you enjoy carry his signature!
We are very happy to have him!
Griselda
Griselda (she/her) has experience across the board in kitchens and pastry sections. She is originally from Buenos Aires (Argentina), but well settled into Berlin life!
When she is not laminating croissant dough (as in this picture), Griselda is touring half of Europe as a Tango dancer. Together with her partner, they are the European Tango de Pista and Milonga Champion 2020 💃.
She is a pillar of our pastry section and we are very glad to have her!
PIERRE
This is Pierre-Antoine (he/him), our head baker in charge of the bakery section. He is originally from France, born and raised in a beautiful agricultural setting not far from Paris. As for many in our team his path to the dough wasn’t straight: It were his studies in international business that led him to Berlin in the first place after spending time in Australia and Canada. But he quickly realised that the office world was not for him. So he threw himself into the culinary world - following a long passion. He worked in different kitchens, cafés and pastry shops such as Canal.
With time it's become clear that bread was his passion, so he returned to France to complete a full training as baker, working at a traditional stone mill near Nantes and a small artisanal bakery in Nantes. Following Berlin's calling, he returned to Berlin and became our Head Baker soon after.
Pierre is a very energetic and positive person and we are very happy to have him in our team!
JOEY
Joey (he/him) is our head of Front of House in Schöneberg.
He is originally from the south of the Netherlands. He is a trained cook and a trained graphic designer - what a chance!
Joey has spent the past years between great food and graphic design in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Berlin. Besides this he has always been writing about music and reviewing concerts for his own online magazine and Dutch music blogs.
He is a very welcoming and open person and we are very glad to have him in our team!
DAVID
This is David (he/him). Ever since his childhood up to now, chocolate has always captured his heart. Leading him on a delightful journey mastering pastries, chocolate and all things sweet eleven years ago. Beyond working in the kitchen, he loves hosting chocolate tastings for loved ones.
With experience in renowned pastry shops, David brings his expertise to our team. We're thrilled to have him crafting magic in our pastry team!
BRENDA
Let us introduce you to Brenda (she/her): our head chef in the kitchen in Schöneberg! Her roots are in the beautiful Galicia, Spain. Luckily for us, she chose Berlin to be her home and has been with Gorilla for over a year.
She has many years of experience in gastronomy ranging from fine dining to casual lunch and pastries. Her team is not only in charge of the great lunch and brunch plates you can enjoy in Schöneberg, but also supports the other sections. Since being in charge of our Brunch Menu she has created many tasty dishes. Her current favourite brunch item? The Spanish Breakfast Plate of course! A must-try if it’s up to Brenda.
We are very lucky to have her sparkling, bubbly personality in our team. When Brenda is around you know it’s going to be a fun working day!
LOTTE
Give a warm welcome back to Lotte (she/her). Without any doubt she is a familiar face to our regular guests by now. Lotte has been with us for over two years with a break in between to live in both Sweden and Albania. We are so happy to have her back at Gorilla!
Lotte was born and raised in Berlin. When you can’t find her at work she is probably at the gym or meeting friends. One thing is for sure - she always keeps herself busy, at work ánd in her private life.
Her favourite product at Gorilla? A classy and simple Pain au Chocolat but eaten in her own specific way (according to Lotte its best when first eating the outside flakey crust before diving into the rich buttery inside layers).
YU ANNA
We would like to introduce you to Yu Anna (she/her). About half a year ago she packed her bags to move from Nijmegen, The Netherlands to live in Berlin. As much as she loves selling bread and making great coffee, her passion and background lies within interior design
With Yu Anna on shift it’s guaranteed good vibes on the floor. Ever since she joined the Gorilla team we haven’t caught her without a big smile on her face yet. This girl is literally laughing all the time.
It won’t be a surprise to say that we are very happy to have her infectious positive energy in the team!