Cabbage roll prep at Kitchener Schwaben Club continues decades-old tradition ahead of Oktoberfest

Kitchener Schwaben Club members prepared hundreds of cabbage rolls ahead of Oktoberfest celebrations.

Water was boiling and ovens were preheating bright and early at the Kitchener Schwaben Club on Saturday morning, as members prepared hundreds of cabbage rolls ahead of Oktoberfest celebrations.

According to members, the task has carried on since the club’s beginnings in the 1930s.

The work is done in shifts.

First, members of the Ladies Auxiliary arrived at 7 a.m. to begin preparing cabbages. Some brought their husbands along this year to help jumpstart the process, coring the cabbages before placing them into large pots of boiling water so the leaves could separate.

Elsewhere, women measured and shaped the beef and pork mixture that goes inside the rolls. About half a cup of filling is wrapped into each cabbage leaf, then rolled, sauced and baked halfway before being frozen. Roughly 1,000 rolls were expected to be prepared Saturday, ready to be finished during Oktoberfest.

For many, the tradition runs deeper than cooking — it’s about community, heritage and passing recipes down through generations.

“It’s part of our tradition,” said Lea Becker, secretary for the club’s Frauengruppe, who has been making cabbage rolls at the Schwaben Club for 15 years. “We all grew up making them ourselves with our families, and now we’re here doing it. That’s part of our club because we’re getting ready for Oktoberfest, and this is one of our biggest celebrations of the year.”

Becker said the hours of preparation are worth the effort.

“It’s nice to be passing on these traditions to our kids. So, we keep the recipes in our families, and I think it’s just a way of bringing people together. You don’t forget where you’ve come from and who you are. This is a big part of who we are, it’s always about the food.”

Alongside the cabbage rolls, the Schwaben Club will also offer rouladen, strudel and Black Forest cake during the festival.

“Oktoberfest is really important for our region,” said Lena Herold, vice-president of the Ladies Auxiliary. “We show everyone what German or Bavarian culture is like. So, when coming to Oktoberfest, you’re trying out the meals that are traditional to us…I think it’s good to try those things, experience them and that’s what these festivals are for. You get a taste of what these cultures are, and I think it’s good for us too.”

While Oktoberfest is still a few weeks away, the Schwaben Club’s Biergarten Festival — Oktoberfest Style — will kick off the season on Sept. 27.