What is soul? How do you get it?

Well, if Turkish-German filmmaker Fatih Akin’s interpretation is right, then it can be found virtually anywhere there is a homey environment with tasty food — whether it be fried fish and collard greens or traditional Indian and Spanish delicacies — and soul stirring music in the form of soul, funk, R&B and rock n’ roll.

Returning to his roots in native Hamburg, Akin’s new film, “Soul Kitchen,” surrounds a young restaurant owner, Zinos (Adam Bousdoukos), who serves up a number of heart-clogging dishes to neighborhood regulars who enjoy their meals with classic sounds. Nonetheless, the business is on the verge of collapse, and his girlfriend Nadine (Pheline Roggan), whom he adores, moves to Shanghai. Zinos believes that if he finds a manager to oversee the facility and flies to China, he can have both.

Naturally, the plan is easier devised than executed. With a new chef on board known for his gourmet displays of food, the concept detracts loyal customers who want the usual fare. After revamping the place to meet the needs of customers who may not be sophisticated themselves but have mature palates, it proves to be a success. Now Zino can fly to China and leave the restaurant in the hands of his ex-con brother Illias (Moritz Bleibtreu).

Both decisions, however, turn out to be catastrophic: Illias gambles the restaurant away to a shady real estate agent (Wotan Wilke Mohring) and his girlfriend finds a new lover. It will take guts to get one or both back.

“The idea for ‘Soul Kitchen’ has been there for a while now. I always think of my old friend Adam Bousdoukos and his Taverna in the Ottensen quarter of Hamburg,” Akin said in press notes for the film. “This was more than just a restaurant for us: It was a playground for adventure, a collecting tank, a place to celebrate, a home. I wanted to capture that feeling and way of life that I so deeply connect with…It’s about drinking, eating, partying, dancing and about home. I wanted to make a film about home, not one that is defined by any nationality, not Germany or Turkey. Home not as a location, but as a state of being and an attitude.”

Akin’s journey to make the film began in 2003. At the time he was just testing out his new word processing program. Bousdoukos, he said, had just broken up with his girlfriend. Akin typed in a few simple words: “Adam is heart-broken, the restaurant could be running better.” Within five days he had 20 pages of script and a complete first version.

However, the project was shelved in favor of others that were higher on his list of priorities. Akin had released “Head On” and “The Edge of Heaven,” both serious films that won accolades but placed further pressure on him to do similar work. “Soul Kitchen” may have been too lighthearted for his new fans. Nonetheless, Akin continued to develop the story line.

“‘Soul Kitchen’ is not the third part of my love, death and devil trilogy. The first two parts of the trilogy — ‘Head On’ and ‘The Edge of Heaven’ — were extremely strenuous and grueling, demanding a lot of sacrifice,” Akin said. “With ‘Soul Kitchen,’ I wanted to recover. It was supposed to be a finger exercise, something to remind me that life is not only about pain and introspection…I also wanted to make ‘Soul Kitchen’ before it became too late for it to be credible.”

But Akin found that “easy,” though it was in his vocabulary was not attainable. “Soul Kitchen” ended up being the most strenuous, most expensive, most complicated and most time-consuming of any of his projects.

“There is a strange philosophy in filmmaking that says: If you don’t suffer while you’re making the film, then it won’t turn out too good,” he said. “Up until ‘Soul Kitchen,’ that was just all talk to me, but making the ‘easy’ film had clearly taught me that lesson.”