00:00This is no ordinary bistro.
00:03We get along great in the kitchen.
00:06It's not because of its location in Berlin's central government district.
00:10Rather, it's the team – Benjamin, Ani and Aljona.
00:14Here, people with and without disabilities work side by side.
00:20We just live it. It's not like we hide away.
00:24But that wasn't a given for head chef Alex.
00:27I used to be apprehensive.
00:30But can the reproach work in an industry where every minute counts?
00:39The kitchen is the heart of Bistro Marie here in central Berlin.
00:45Just a stone's throw from the Reichstag building.
00:49The kitchen serves fresh, local and seasonal dishes to a high standard.
00:55And Andreas is right in the middle of it.
00:58The 45-year-old employee joined last year.
01:01He used to work in commercial kitchens.
01:03But he doesn't remember them fondly.
01:08I had a lot of jobs, often in commercial kitchens.
01:11I was mostly just exploited, doing the lousy jobs no one wanted.
01:17At Bistro Marie, that changed.
01:19Here he's asked which tasks he feels confident handling.
01:26Here I do things I'm actually good at.
01:30Peeling boiled potatoes is tricky for me.
01:33But I can manage uncooked ones easily.
01:38Andreas, who can't read or write, always manages to keep his cool.
01:43Andreas does everything accurately at his own pace.
01:47He doesn't get stressed.
01:49If he can't manage something, he'll tell me.
01:54The team consists of 16 staff members, more than half of whom live with a disability.
02:01Tasks are assigned based on personal strengths instead of diagnoses.
02:07Aljona struggled to find work until she trained as a barista here.
02:12Her strength?
02:13A warm personality.
02:14As for Ani, it's her first job.
02:17What's her strength?
02:18A good laugh.
02:21It sounds simple, but it works.
02:24Many of the guests are now regulars.
02:28You come in with an open mind.
02:30If things take a bit longer, well, that happens elsewhere too.
02:35The pace picks up during the lunch rush.
02:38Still, the team tries to spot signs of overload early and reassign tasks.
02:44That requires attention and patience.
02:48Skills head chef Alex had to learn.
02:52I used to feel apprehensive around people with disabilities.
02:56If someone was missing an arm, I wondered, how do we shake hands?
02:59Now that fear is gone.
03:00The people are even friendlier.
03:05A big help for the team.
03:07Visual guides showing how dishes should look, along with clear instructions for kitchen and service.
03:14But routine only goes so far.
03:17What happens on a bad day?
03:21You're a good example.
03:22You have good days and bad days.
03:26When Benjamin is down, we figure out how to pull him out of that hole.
03:32Benjamin worked for the Berlin State Police and later in city sanitation.
03:37Then, a severe motorcycle accident changed everything.
03:42Since suffering a traumatic brain injury, he struggles with his short-term memory.
03:47After several stints in therapy, he retired early and joined a sheltered workshop.
03:52Feeling cut off from the rest of society, he wanted out.
03:55I'm back in the primary job market.
03:58That was my goal.
04:00We live by inclusion.
04:02It feels great and I manage well.
04:06In Germany, less than 1% of workers in sheltered workshops transition to the regular job market.
04:14Benjamin fought hard to earn his place at Bistro Marie.
04:17The father of two takes pride in the achievement.
04:22When he forgets something, he takes notes.
04:25Or asks.
04:32I developed strategies, like taking notes or setting reminders on my phone.
04:39It was eight years ago and things are much better now.
04:42I'm alive.
04:47Benjamin even served former chancellor Olaf Scholz here.
04:51That didn't faze him, though.
04:53For Benjamin, it doesn't matter if he's serving a chancellor, tourist or a regular.
05:00Everyone drinks coffee.
05:01I served the former chancellor Scholz, yes, but I drink coffee, too.
05:06Today it's Heike Hoibach, a politician from the SPD.
05:10Her office is just next door.
05:13She's the Bundestag's very first deaf lawmaker.
05:17It's special because it's an inclusive business.
05:21People with disabilities work here in various roles as a matter of course.
05:26That's how society should be everywhere.
05:29People with disabilities all around.
05:35But Germany is still far from that ideal.
05:39In 2025, the unemployment rate among severely disabled people stood at 12%.
05:46Roughly double the national average.
05:48Prejudice and a lack of support continue to hinder many disabled job seekers,
05:52despite nearly 1 in 10 Germans living with a recognized severe disability.
05:59Only 3% of people with disabilities are born with their condition.
06:0597% acquire it through accident, illness or age.
06:10People need to realize it could happen to them, too.
06:15It could happen tomorrow.
06:17It could happen to my partner, my parents, my children.
06:22We should all be fighting for inclusion.
06:27Benjamin knows about the hurdles of the job market firsthand.
06:30There are only around 1,000 inclusive businesses across the country.
06:36For the team, what matters most is that employers see their abilities rather than their diagnoses.
06:44They hope other employers will follow suit.
06:48Because it's good for people like me.
06:52And if inclusion can survive the lunch rush here, why not elsewhere, too?
06:57We'll be right back to you.
