14 trainees pass JRE Enjoyment Academy

On 8 April, a total of 14 students from the JRE Genuss-Akademie in Bad Überkingen successfully passed their JRE supplementary examination.As part of their graduation ceremony, the newly qualified graduates were treated to culinary delights by the team of JRE member Markus Waibel and JRE Membre d'Honneur Ralf Straubinger at the "fine dining RS" gourmet restaurant at Staufeneck Castle in Salach.

The JRE Genuss-Akademie complements the traditional three-year training programme to become a chef in a Jeunes Restaurateurs and DEHOGA Akademie establishment with an additional qualification. Here, the trainees are trained for the special requirements of top gastronomy - including by alternating JRE chefs. It was precisely for this additional qualification that the students were tested last Tuesday. And they were examined by five top JRE chefs: Nico Sackmann ("Schlossberg im Sackmann Genusshotel", Baiersbronn-Schwarzenberg), Daniel Fehrenbacher ("Hotel Restaurant Adler", Lahr-Reichenbach), Franz Berlin ("Hotel Kronelamm", Bad Teinach-Zavelstein) and Nicolai P. Wiedmer ("Eckert", Grenzach-Wyhlen) assessed the performance of the budding chefs.

"All trainees passed at a very high level. We can be proud of our trainees," said a delighted Benjamin Maerz ("Hotel Rose & Maerz - das Restaurant", Bietigheim-Bissingen), who was responsible for organising the additional JRE examination. Emil Gundermann ("ZEIK", Hamburg) performed best, followed by Fabian Heid ("Hotel Hirsch", Fellbach-Schmiden) and Ann-Sophie Schmitz ("Hotel & Restaurant Spielweg", Münstertal). First place was awarded a scholarship of 5,000 euros, which will be credited to a training account. Second and third place were rewarded with high-quality prizes from partners Zwiesel Glas and De Buyer.

Examination in teams of two

During the test, the trainees were divided into teams of two, with each team preparing a total of three different spoon dishes per person, each with three components. The teams worked with previously selected product groups. The menu included kohlrabi, trout, duck breast, North Sea crab, veal, rhubarb and blossom honey. The ingredients for the test were provided by JRE partners Deutsche See and FrischeParadies. JRE Genuss-Akademie partner Winterhalter also supported the test. "Creativity, teamwork, presentation and flavour were assessed both as a team and as an individual performance," explains Maerz.

Festive graduation at Staufeneck Castle

The graduation ceremony was the highlight of the day. The team from the "fine dining RS" gourmet restaurant at Staufeneck Castle in Salach served a set menu in a festive setting. In addition to the newly qualified gourmet craftsmen and women, their companions, representatives from Winterhalter, the DEHOGA Academy, Benjamin Maerz, Nicolai P. Wiedmer, the headmaster of the Paul Kerschensteiner School Peter Pohlner and the class teacher Mrs Melcher were also present.