Nicolas Schramm wins the 48th Rudolf Achenbach Prize

FRANKFURT AM MAIN. Germany's best young chef of 2024 comes from Hamburg: Nicolas Schramm from the Hygge Brasserie & Bar has won the Rudolf Achenbach Prize, the national youth competition organised by the German Chefs' Association (VKD). In the final, he narrowly beat the equally strong title contenders Jason Kröker from Landhaus Begatal (2nd place) and Jenny Stier from Betriebsrestaurant Antonis der Anton Häring AG (3rd place).

A total of nine trainee chefs who were about to take their final exams had qualified for the final round, which took place on 27/28 April in Frankfurt am Main, in the preliminary rounds of their VKD regional associations. Firstly, the finalists' theoretical knowledge was put to the test. The next day was the practical part - planning and preparing a four-course menu. As a special challenge of the Rudolf Achenbach Prize, the shopping basket remained under lock and key until the final. It contained the compulsory components quail and parsnip (starter), zander and apple (intermediate course), portobello, sweet potato and cauliflower (main course), as well as sea buckthorn puree and white chocolate (dessert). The additional requirement was to create a vegan main course.

The trainees had a total of six hours to complete this challenging task. In addition to individual skills, they had to demonstrate professional time management, mise-en-place, cleanliness, raw material processing and utilisation as well as work technique - skills that were scrutinised by a jury of six experts.

All trainees impressed with their outstanding performance. "It was fantastic to see the commitment and enthusiasm with which the young chefs went about their work in the kitchen and the great results they produced on the plates at such a young age," says Daniel Schade, President of the VKD. "These nine chefs symbolise the potential that lies dormant in the ranks of our young professionals, and it is up to us seasoned chefs to promote these talents." Katrin Achenbach, granddaughter of the company founder and Managing Director of Achenbach Delikatessen-Manufaktur, was also impressed and emphasised the importance of the competition at the award ceremony at the Best Western IB Hotel Friedberger Warte: "We have been organising this unique and highly respected competition for young chefs in the culinary world together with the VKD for almost five decades now. We are therefore always very proud of our participants when we meet them again years later in leading positions."

Attractive prizes for all and a new "Veggie Hero"

In addition to the competition prize of 1,000 euros, Nicolas Schramm received the main prize of a voucher for further education and training programmes worth 4,000 euros donated by the German Hotel Academy (DHA), while the runners-up each received 2,000 euros. All finalists were also delighted to receive staggered prizes and non-cash prizes donated by partners in the catering and hotel industry. Separate from the overall ranking, the special prize initiated by Antje de Vries was once again awarded for a plant-appreciative way of thinking and working. "Veggie Hero 2024" was awarded to Lilly Wehner.

Golden anniversary of the competition

Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the Rudolf Achenbach Prize. "We are grateful for the decades of good cooperation with the Achenbach Delikatessen-Manufaktur," emphasises VKD President Daniel Schade. "The Rudolf Achenbach Prize is an important competition for up-and-coming chefs in the culinary industry, and our shared ambition is to ensure that this remains the case in the future. For this reason, we are looking forward to giving the traditional competition a 'fresh coat of paint' on the occasion of its 50th anniversary and thus making it even more contemporary and attractive for aspiring chefs.

The final menu 2024 by Nicolas Schramm: 

• Two kinds of quail with parsnip puree, pickled red onions and a Chinese leek pancake
• Pike-perch fillet confit in smoked butter, beurre blanc, curry brioche and apple, celery and tarragon salad
• Portobello with parmesan herb crust, mushroom jus, roasted cauliflower and baked sweet potato
• White chocolate and sea buckthorn mousse on grapefruit cake with burnt almond ice cream

The finalists:inside 2024

1st place: Nicolas Schramm | VKD-Landesverband Nord | Hygge Brasserie & Bar (Hamburg)
2nd place: Jason Kröker | VKD-Landesverband NRW | Landhaus Begatal (Dörentrup)
3rd place: Jenny Stier | VKD-Landesverband Baden-Württemberg | Betriebsrestaurant der Anton Häring KG (Bubsheim)

4th place:

• Abellya Cenineputri Adytia | VKD-Landesverband Niedersachsen | Hotel Höpke (Bad Laer)
• Simon Bosch | VKD-Landesverband West | Behl's Genusshotel im Brennhaus (Blankenbach)
• Johanna Falke | VKD-Landesverband Mitteldeutschland | Bernstein Acamed Resort (Neugattersleben)
• Nicolai Schiefele | VKD-Landesverband Bayern | Stadthotel Kachelofen (Krumbach)
• Jannes Vieweg | VKD-Landesverband Berlin-Brandenburg | Maritim proArte Hotel (Berlin)
• Lilly Wehner | VKD-Landesverband Hessen | Hotel Goldener Karpfen (Fulda)

Veggie Hero 2024: Lilly Wehner

The jury 2024

• Burkhard Weizsäcker | Gate Gourmet GmbH (Frankfurt a.M.) a.D.
• Max Zibis | Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank (Frankfurt a.M.) | RAP winner 2011.) | RAP winner 2011
• Nadin Pospech-Demmler| Atlanta Hotel International (Leipzig)
• Sophia Birlem | Landesberufsschule für Hotel- und Gaststättenberufe (Tettingen) and catering professions (Tettnang/Lake Constance)
• Michael Nehrdich | RATIONAL Deutschland GmbH (Landsberg am Lech)
• Hans-Peter Achenbach | Achenbach Delikatessen Manufaktur (Sulzbach)