Kitchen Impossible: proxy competition

The duel between Tim Mälzer and Max Strohe takes a new turn in season 10 as they send their best chefs into the race. Tim's chef Sebastian Brugger competes against Max's former deputy chef Clara Hunger, who now cooks at the pop-up wine bar Nullkommaeins in Hamburg. She sends him to Gothenburg and pushes him to his physical limits right from the start. Choosing the right type of meat puts Sebastian's trust in his own taste buds to the test.

The challenges

Sebastian Brugger in Gothenburg (Sweden): In this special episode of "Kitchen Impossible", the duel between Tim Mälzer and his old familiar rival Max Strohe takes a new turn. After five intense challenges, the two no longer compete directly against each other in season 10, but instead send their best chefs into the race: Tim's chef from the Bullerei Sebastian Brugger will compete against Max's former deputy chef from the tulus lotrek Clara Hunger. Max Strohe and Clara Hunger send Sebastian Brugger to Gothenburg to join Max's former sous chef. Will the experience Sebastian gained during his year in Sweden help him to master the challenge? Right at the start, Clara pushes him to his physical limits and sends him high up into the treetops of the climbing forest. The tactic works and the supposed knowledge advantage almost vanishes into thin air when analysed. The choice of the right type of meat causes Sebastian to ponder and results in the usual "Kitchen Impossible" tightrope act - in which his confidence in his own taste memories is put to the test.

Sebastian Brugger in Porto (Portugal): Sebastian Brugger's journey takes him to the Michelin-starred restaurant Euskalduna Studio in Porto. Before Sebastian takes on this top-class challenge and is served an aromatic curry with the exclusive king prawn, carabinero - the legendary "red jewel of the sea" - and a sophisticated tartelette, his personal "It doesn't taste good, it doesn't exist" premiere awaits him in the Municipal de Matosinhos market. Under time pressure, he has to prepare a dish for the market guests with three ingredients in the shortest possible time. The aim? To keep Sebastian as busy as possible in order to lure him out of his shell when the box arrives during his market challenge.

Clara Hunger in Schützen am Gebirge (Austria): Max Strohe's Michelin-starred restaurant tulus lotrek in Berlin stands for a cuisine that, according to the restaurant's name, prides itself on being classically French without actually cooking classically French food. Tim Mälzer makes use of this information and, together with his chef Sebastian, confronts Clara twice with French cuisine and classic cooking techniques. First, they travel to Austria to meet French chef Alain Weissgerber, who is competing against Tim in 2022. In his restaurant Taubenkobel, he serves French classics with regional products, among other things. But before that, Clara will be tackling another classic, namely a classic cake: Sachertorte. How will she react to Sebastian's feint?

Clara Hunger in Lège Cap Ferret (France): Clara Hunger's second challenge, organised by Tim Mälzer, now takes her to the cradle of the culinary arts, France! The original chef is none other than Mélanie Serre, to whom Tim was sent by his rival Viktoria Fuchs in season 7. In Lège Cap Ferret, Clara thus meets an original chef who has worked for great French cooking legends such as Joël Robuchon and now serves a dish that combines two French classics in one dish: The pâté en croûte and the ratatouille. How well Clara will do with this combination of two classics remains the big question until the final cut before service.

The opponents in profile

Clara Hunger, age: 30, place of birth: Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance
Clara's passion for cooking began in her grandmother's kitchen, where she first picked up a wooden spoon. She began trying out her own recipes at an early age. At the age of twelve, she tried to recreate her grandmother's cheese sauce and although she was unhappy with the result and left her room in frustration
frustrated with the result and disappeared into her room, she was surprised when she returned to see the whole family gathered around the pot enjoying her sauce. This was the first dish that Clara had cooked all by herself. From then on, she began to cook regularly for the family. Everyday life consisted of "kitchen battles" on TV, homework and cooking in the evenings. Clara completed her training as a chef between 2016 and 2019 at Tim Mälzer's "Bullerei" in Hamburg. Over the course of her career, Clara has learnt many facets of cooking and has mastered the classic preparation of meat, fish and vegetarian dishes. Nevertheless, she would not describe her style as classically French.
Molecular cuisine does not suit her - she believes that this method would be difficult for her and prefers to stick to her tried and tested techniques. Her way of working is often intuitive and lively, whereby she does a lot of things simultaneously and a certain amount of chaos in the kitchen is not uncommon. For her last meal, Clara would go for Italian cuisine without hesitation. Her absolute favourite dish is spaghetti vongole in white.

Sebastian Brugger, age: 41, place of birth: Marktoberdorf in Allgäu
Sebastian Brugger was practically born into the world of cookery. His grandmother was a chef in the "Seiler" restaurant in the Allgäu and his mother always cooked for the whole family at home. From an early age, he actively helped out and learnt about traditional cooking - because both women attached great importance to high-quality, traditional craftsmanship. Thanks to his experiences as a child, there was no question that he would choose a different career path. While still at school, he completed two internships in different catering establishments to gain his first experience outside the family environment. After successfully completing school, Brugger began his professional career in 2000 at the Michelin-starred "Landhaus Henze" in Probstriet. There he quickly showed that he was a master of both traditional and Michelin-starred cuisine. After completing his training in 2003, he stayed at "Landhaus Henze" for another year before moving to the north of Germany.