Decision at the Rudolf Achenbach Prize

FRANKFURT AM MAIN. The final of the Rudolf Achenbach Prize will be decided on 12 and 13 May. There will be a few new features at the anniversary edition: in the graffiti-covered industrial location of the Naxoshalle, the finalists will cook in food trucks - both finger food and a three-course menu for four people. As in previous years, the shopping basket will remain a black box and the secret of the ingredients will only be revealed on the final day. To mark its 50th anniversary, the German Chefs' Association (VKD ) and Achenbach Delikatessen-Manufaktur have given the renowned competition a fresh look - this was particularly evident in the two semi-finals following the digital application phase. Almost two dozen second and third-year trainee chefs cooked at two locations to reach the final. All semi-finalists were given two possible shopping baskets with compulsory and optional components, for which they had to submit menus. Just like in the final exam, they only found out which of the two baskets had been selected on the day of the competition.

Final ticket times six

The starting signal was given on 20 March at the State Vocational School Centre in Aschaffenburg, where 16 trainees met at the cooker. The shopping basket for the three-course menu included char and fennel for the starter, saddle of veal and dry bread rolls for the main course and pineapple and coconut milk for dessert. The 35 or so guests in attendance and the BSZ students who were responsible for the service were impressed by the trainees' creative dishes. In the end, the eleven jury members decided on the spot who would win a ticket to the final: Jula Fenella Kutsche from the Maritim Hotel in Cologne, Moritz Range from the Traube Tonbach in Baiersbronn, David Stadler from Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa in Baden-Baden and Dennis Straubmüller from the Posthotel Alexander Herrmann in Wirsberg showed the best culinary flair and prevailed against their twelve competitors. In addition to the menu design, working methods in the kitchen, presentation and flavour, the overall assessment also included the work schedule, which the trainees had submitted in advance.

Nine days after Aschaffenburg, the excitement continued at the vocational schools in Cuxhaven as seven talented young chefs battled it out for the last two coveted places in the final. They each had to create a three-course menu for six people from a shopping basket of salmon trout and cucumber, poularde and green asparagus as well as quark and rhubarb. Two trainees from Berlin secured victory and a ticket to the final: Isabelle Lorenz from the Hotel Telegraphenamt and Jonas Tamm from the Maritim pro Arte. They impressed both the 30 or so guests and the six-member jury with their performance. In addition to reaching the final, the six trainees from Aschaffenburg and Cuxhaven were delighted to receive certificates and high-quality prizes from partners and supporters - including gifts and vouchers from Transgourmet, knives from KAI and pans from AMT.