Doubles has traveled far. All the way to Germany.
Beni is the man behind Beni Doubles, the only spot in Germany serving this Trinbagonian staple. Born in Germany with Trinidadian roots, he carries culture through food and shares it daily with a new audience.
This story is about heritage, pride, and putting Trinidad on a plate thousands of miles from home. It is also about what it means to represent a place through taste.
We sat with Beni for a 15-question interview to learn who he is, why doubles, and how Trini culture shows up in his life and business.
1. Tell us a little about yourself
My name is Beni Tonka. I was born in West Germany in the 1980s to a young, single
mother. While she worked and finished school I stayed with a Croatian/Serbian family.
They, along with my German grandmother, Änni, blessed me with my first feelings of home. Those early years were mostly European. We spent time between Germany, Italy, Spain and the former Yugoslavia–during cease fires. After my fifth birthday my mother married an American soldier. We later moved to the southeastern US then made our way to the Southwest. Trinidad and Tobago, I'd only heard of at the time; I had to wait
until my mid-twenties to learn about our intimate connection.
2. Who taught you about doubles and its place in Trini culture.
One morning during my first trip to Trinidad, my father–who I'd only met a few days prior–led me outside to the junction. Pop queued up behind a parked car. When we
finally got to the open trunk of the car, a lady, without looking up, slapped a pair
steaming baras onto a piece of wax paper. She dipped her spoon into a bucket, then
splashed the channa onto the baras, then used the same spoon for the shado beni,
tamarind and pepper sauces. It was a mess eating it, but I was hooked. Pop taught me
about doubles first.
3. What inspired the creation of Beni Doubles, and how did it start?
The sauces came first. Way before I set out to write my book, I obsessed about archiving
my family's sauce recipes. Tamarind Sauce and pepper sauce from Aunt Cynthia. Shado
Beni sauce from Uncle Starrick’s niece.
Creating a doubles business came later. Here and there an idea would pop up. I read up
on doubles history. I called Aunt Cynthia. She told me to talk to her daughter, April. Her
boyfriend grew up in a doubles household. He gave me some valuable tips. I watched
recipe videos online, I found vintage footage from old time doubles vendors and I relied on my taste memory. I combined all this with what my German grandma taught me about dough and her cooking rituals. I tested and tested. Then an opportunity presented itself to make some street food for an African Film Festival and a Caribbean Carnival
event (Soaked in Soca) in Cologne.
From the success of those events, I bought a small tent and I built an authentic doubles box with a carpenter friend of mine. Then we had to construct another one that we could dismantle and build up again. A procession of bigger and sturdier tents followed until we got lucky with the trailer we
have today.
4. What is the reaction of Trinis who find you abroad and realize your'e selling doubles?
It’s always surprise. Surprise followed by skepticism. Especially when they hear my
accent. But then they taste my doubles. Then they’re home. I always keep Trinis in mind when making doubles. My team does as well. One of my worst fears in this business is that a Trini shows up and says “This is not ah Doubles.”
Summerjam 2025 in Cologne was an overall success for us, but because of a flour decision I made, my baras turned out weak right through. I felt like I let the whole culture down.
5. What was the hardest part about making authentic doubles in Germany?
Understanding that Doubles is a process. One should let go of the idea of getting it right
the first time. And even once you get it right, external conditions like how weather affect
dough, humidity and frying oil temperatures, makes you adapt.
6. How do you source ingredients, and which ingredients are the hardest to
get?
The hardest ingredients to get are bay leaf and pimento. Bay leaf, I get from friends
travelling back forth to the Caribbean, but pimento…nope. The other ingredients, shado
beni included, I either source locally or find at Afro, Asia and Indian shops. Spices like geera and amchar I produce myself.
7. Have you had to adjust the recipe for the German market, or do you keep it
strictly traditional?
No slight pepper problem. We use squeeze bottles. The only pepper is in the pepper
sauce. And my condiments are a bit thicker than you’d get in Trinidad. Makes it a little
easier to eat. Other than that, no compromises.
8. What dish or flavour from Trinidad will always stay in your kitchen, no matter where you live?
Ciliment leaf. West Indian Bay. Pimenta racemosa.
9. How do Germans respond when they try doubles for the first time?
There’s this expression here in Germany, “Boah!” It’s basically ‘Weys!’ but with a long ‘y’.
That’s what happens 90% of the time. This goes for the countless non-Germans we
introduced doubles to over the past few years as well. They might not say “Boah!” but
their faces say it.
10. What questions do Germans ask you the most when they see doubles for the first time?
“How do I eat this?”
“Is it really spicy?”
They see the name and they ask “But what do you really call this dish?”
“Is it like langos?”
“Can you cut them in two?” …mad!
“If I ask for Doubles in Trinidad, is this what I get?”
On the rare occasion that someone asks me for cutlery I shake my head and say, “Sorry,
but I’ll get banned from Trinidad.”
11. What does it mean to you to represent Trinidad and Tobago in another country?
I’d love to collaborate with the Tourism Board. Doubles taste better in Trinidad. More people want to visit now.
12. What do you want Trinis back home to know about carrying our food
culture abroad?
Our food is something to be proud of and something to be shared. Let’s say ‘abroad’
refers to places outside the UK, US and Canada; places with less established Trini
communities. Most Trinis and other Caribbeans by extension I meet in Europe complain about there not being enough ‘real’ West Indian food options available.
Although a few people have mentioned an interest in starting something up, most of them are too busy with the full-time careers that carried them there in the first place.
If this is your situation, start simple with your favorite dish. One-item-menu.
13. What were the biggest challenges starting a Caribbean food business in
Europe?
‘This might not work.’ This, aside from ‘starting’ in the first place, was one of the biggest challenges we faced in starting the business. An idea that can either light a fire beneath you, or engulf you in flames.
14. What is your dream for Beni Doubles: restaurant, product line, or
something else?
My dream or vision for Beni Doubles is to keep serving our community and the growing
loyal fans on our journey so far. We hope they continue to introduce us to their communities and thereby, create more fans who do the same. To realize that we need consistency and we need empathy. One day, maybe sooner than we think, we’ll need a tiny hole-in-the-wall spot in a well-traveled location where people value food. We’re
growing, so we’ll see what happens.
15. What message do you want to send to young Trinidadians abroad who
want to start a food business?
Trust in Tabança. If you’re missing food from home, someone else is, too. Fill that void.
Trini food has a place where you are.
