The baking virus is spreading in the Netherlands and Germany…

…. and how this is reflected in Dutch-German business life. On Sunday evening, Dutch and German baking enthusiasts are once again glued to their screens for ‘Heel Holland Bakt’ and ‘Das große Backen’. Our guest author Katja Schleicher watched both programs and described what caught her attention. Because the sense of TV entertainment in a particular culture says a lot about the natural way of doing business.

TV format: sheet cake versus celebration cake

The German format is clearly very two-dimensional: contestants who bake, and a jury who judges. Ultimately, it’s all about the cakes – and about winning. The honoring of the ‘baker of the week’ on SAT.1 also reinforces this image. This ‘fuss’ is not to broadcaster MAX’s taste. This broadcaster prefers to focus on multidimensional perspectives in the conversations. But by German standards, this format is rather chaotic. This multidimensionality is also reflected in the way Dutch people do business. They prefer to keep several balls in the air and try out different possibilities. Including a certain form of (self)mockery, without losing respect. On the German side, it is initially important to provide clarity so that no misunderstandings can arise. Thinking everything through down to the last detail. Leaving as little as possible to chance. Framing. Keeping things (for now) manageable. Things get complicated faster than you think. At SAT.1, the producers have little confidence in the media skills of their baking jury. The jury members must stick to a fixed script, and their reactions may only relate to judging the participants’ sweet creations. This leaves little room for spontaneity, which can be traced back to the German need for certainty. The Dutch baking experts get more leeway and are even allowed to dance the tango once. These different ways of acting often cause misunderstandings and lack of comprehension in negotiations between Dutch and Germans. Those who want to be successful must first immerse themselves in the other’s culture.

Presenter: 'Neat within the lines' versus 'Long live the fun'

SAT.1 took no risks with presenter Enie van de Meiklokjes (Dutch name, but born and raised in Potsdam). Her outfits are often very cute, and she fits perfectly into the proper German format: sweet and friendly, an occasional joke, but she leaves nothing to chance and does not provoke emotional outbursts. And that is exactly what the Dutch audience expects from comedian André van Duin: grumbling about the theme of the show (or the lack thereof), witty remarks to both contestants and jury members. He plays the audience with the familiar mix of cheekiness and affection that the Dutch love (and which Germans often perceive as too blunt or downright offensive). This is no different on the Dutch-German workplace: Dutch people more often go for challenging but riskier assignments (“it will be fine”), Germans prefer certainty in business (“it could just go wrong”). Both variants can be successful as well as dangerous.

Jury: value judgments between individual and project

The feedback from the Dutch and German juries also largely reflects what happens on and behind the scenes in business: the Dutch jury is very critical of the baked goods but friendly towards the bakers (even if the baking totally fails). The German jury sees baker and baked good more as a unit and comments based on this. The same can be traced back to business discussions. Where Dutch people value building a good interpersonal relationship at the first business contact, it is also acceptable for something to go wrong during the collaboration without the entire project being questioned. In Germany, on the other hand, the acting persons often play a subordinate role: here, the result of the project is much more important. After all this, is it still surprising that a simple sheet cake with fruit dominates German bakery displays, while Dutch baking masterpieces mainly consist of colorful, complex sweets? Note: The author herself is totally not good at baking cakes and watches every Sunday with admiration the baking skills of hobby bakers on this and the other side of the border. 'Heel Holland Bakt', Sunday evening 20:20, NPO1 'Das große Backen', Sunday, 17:50, SAT.1