Special Report
Laying a Golden Egg!
Rudolf Tusky is an interesting character but Jeremy Clark says that he doesn’t give too much away about the secrets of his amazing egg-based business Gut Springenheide
The story of how this family became famous for a slightly unusual form of farming is centred in the picturesque town of Ochtrup, 300 KM south of Hamburg. I met Hr
Tusky and his charming daughter Barbara (pictured above) at the recent Hamburg Travel Catering Exhibition. The family farmhouse stands neatly in the German countryside and the farm has been the family business since 1844. Originally and up until fairly recently, the operation thrived on mixed farming including various crops and animals. The chicken farming side of the business came along approximately 50 or so years ago and it was not long after the egg production started that the ideas about what to do with the shells came along. I interviewed Rudolf Tusky on their busy stand at the Hamburg Show. The Germanic countries including Austria
and Switzerland have a long tradition of colouring eggs for picnics and especially over Easter. The traditional way was to cook the
“Removing the contents of an egg without breaking it is one thing – sterilizing it and refilling it with something is quite another challenge”
egg along with onion skins which leave a pigmentation and pattern on the shell. There is also a tradition at Christmas time for ‘blowing’ eggs (the term used to describe removal of the egg without damaging the shell through holes at either end) and decorating them to hang on the Christmas tree. So obviously it is only a step away from taking a blown egg, decorating it and filling it with something else. Although actually it’s done the other way around – the egg is decorated after refilling. Removing the contents of an egg without
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Metallic gold is just one of the many colours used on Gut Springenheide eggs; the factory at Metelen; a tomato and herb roll
breaking it is one thing – sterilizing it and refilling it with something is quite another challenge. Step into the scene Rudolfs’ eldest son Ralf Tusky who apparently is a bit of a technical wizard with egg shells. He invented a clever way of cutting a hole
into one end of an egg large enough for removal of the content (used to make the range of egg products including omelettes, quiches etc), sterilization of the shell and refill of liquid chocolate. This innovative part of the Gut Springenheide business started in earnest in 1989 and has grown at a careful and measured pace under the watchful eye of the founder,
Rudolf. Barbara Tusky was on hand to advise me of how the business has grown. Ralf’s technology includes the methods of sterilizing and filling and capping the eggs. Currently there are around 20 – 25 different designs in production including selected personalized eggs with logos in a variety of vivid and beautiful colours. Machines take care of all the colouring processes. The chocolate content is a praline mix which is sweet and high quality. Other fillings are available including a ‘crème brulee’. Gut Springenheide export the product to
many countries from the US to New Zealand. An interesting off shoot of the business is the market for empty egg shells. Most seem to go to the US where enterprising chefs fill them with delicate mousses and purees.
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