Abang Toto's is Cologne's unique Malaysian restaurant concept and fine-foods purveyor. Founded by passionate chef Chris "toto" Krebs and his business partner, Todd Lewis, their aim is to give authentic, yet modern Malaysian cuisine a permanent seat at the table in Germany and beyond
Chris' maternal roots stem directly from Malaysia. His mother, who was a great cook and was involved in catering in Switzerland, virtually infused the flavors and variety of Malaysian cuisine into Chris from day one. With everyday life as a child revolving around the family kitchen, it’s no surprise it’s where he always felt most at home.
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Counterintuitively, when Chris was finishing high school, his parents strongly suggested a career path away from gastronomy, but to be a chef was a non-negotiable for Chris.
Focused and motivated, he first trained in Interlaken, and then in other high-profile cities across the international gastronomy stage including Kuala Lumpur, Copenhagen, Chicago, Stockholm, just to name a few.
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Today, Michelin-trained and with over twenty years of professional experience, Christopher “Toto” Krebs is sure that now’s the time to give authentic Malaysian cuisine a prominent seat at the table in the German-speaking world. And with his mom’s old family recipes close at hand, he’s just the right person to do it.
Growing up in Tempe, Arizona, Todd has taken a more unusual path into the restaurant business. Prior to this venture, he has spent the past twenty years or so marketing business software - largely with Citrix and LogMeIn.
During his time generating demand for IT solutions, based in the US, Asia Pacific and Europe, he has always had a passion for finding the best places to enjoy delicious, ethnic cuisines. These places were not necessarily the most up-market ones, but those where you could really sense the owners cared about quality, authenticity and the customer experience.
When the perfect storm arose - restructuring at his company, chance meeting of his Chef neighbor Chris and the strong desire to do something different - he jumped in 110%.
As you might expect, Todd focuses his efforts on Abang Toto’s marketing and operations, yet still is quite capable in the kitchen, intent on making strides toward Sous-chef status.