Kitchen Impossible: Best Friends Edition

In the Best Friends Edition, Tim Mälzer challenges his friends Mario Lohninger and Edi Frauneder, who both have a special connection to New York City. The challenge begins with Levantine cuisine, one of the oldest and most significant culinary traditions in the world, to draw the pair out of their shells. Eventually, they find themselves cooking at ‘Mesiba’ in Brooklyn, where the party atmosphere and competitive spirit are put to the test.

The challenges

Mario Lohninger vs. Edi Frauneder in NYC, Williamsburg (USA): In this year’s Best Friends Edition, Tim Mälzer challenges his two Austrian friends, Mario Lohninger and Edi Frauneder. All three share a special connection: New York City, albeit in different ways. First, Tim Mälzer tries to draw his opponents, Mario Lohninger and Edi Frauneder, out of their shell with Levantine cuisine. It is one of the oldest and most significant culinary traditions in the world – and it is certainly a style of cooking that at least one of his two opponents has no interest in. To start with, the two Austrians take a stroll through Brooklyn and visit Edi’s first flat, until they are surprised by the black box. The cooking eventually takes place at ‘Mesiba’, which translates as nothing less than ‘party’. It remains to be seen to what extent the party atmosphere will prevail over the competitive spirit in this challenge. After all, Mario and Edi have never before cooked together – yet against each other – in a kitchen.

Tim Mälzer vs. Edi Frauneder in NYC, Midtown Manhattan (USA): The threeof them set off for the shop premises Tim Mälzer had rented at the time, before Mario sends his friends Tim and Edi to Bryant Park. As Mario Lohninger is the one choosing the culinary challenge for his two opponents this time, they fear the worst. Thanks to Mario’s many years of professional experience in the city, he has an excellent network. Edi’s home advantage works in his favour in at least one respect: he recognises the plate in the box and who sent it straight away. But Mälzer wouldn’t be Mälzer if he let that intimidate him – yet Tim Mälzer’s eccentricities are sometimes unfathomable.

Tim Mälzer vs. Mario Lohninger in NYC, Manhattan (USA): Mario Lohninger’s career path is directly linked to the events of 9/11, and so Mario’s past leads him to the memorial and straight on to Edi’s restaurant ‘Schilling’, which is located in the Financial District. No sooner have they arrived than Edi surprises the pair with the black box. The analysis of the Indian dish turns into an amusing and friendly exchange of banter, in which Tim Mälzer clearly sees himself as the superior one. But Mario Lohninger’s hero’s journey has only just begun with this analysis, and so the challenge becomes a surprising journey for all three contenders.

Edi Frauneder, age: 47, place of birth: Vienna, Austria

Edi Frauneder was born in Vienna into a family of bakers – in 2001, he moved to his adopted home of New York. In the city that never sleeps, he immediately opened several restaurants where he delights his guests with authentic Austrian cuisine. Today, he is a welcome guest on television programmes across the US. He has already appeared as the winner of ‘Iron Chef America’, as a judge on ‘Chopped’, on ‘The Dish’ and as the season winner of ‘Knife Fight’. In the eighth series of “Kitchen Impossible”, he took part as a rival chef in the US edition and lost to Tim Mälzer by just 0.1 points in his adopted home. In the ninth series, the rematch will now take place in Germany. - In season 8 of ‘Kitchen Impossible’, he made his debut as a rival chef in the US edition and lost to Mälzer by just 0.1 points in his home country. Season 9 brought the rematch, which he won by a margin of 2 points. In series 10, he is now competing in the Best Friends Edition for the first time.

Mario Lohninger, age: 51, place of birth: Saalfeld
Wiener schnitzel and Kaiserschmarrn feature on the menu all year round. Otherwise, his cuisine is hard to pin down – it is Alpine and Mediterranean, French and Japanese, North American and Frankfurt-style – which can be explained, amongst other things, by his career highlights: “Obauer” in Salzburg, “Tantris” in Munich, “Spago” in Los Angeles, “Guy Savoy” in Paris, “Danube” in New York, to name but the most notable. Mario Lohninger’s culinary style is a creative fusion of traditional Austrian cuisine with international influences. He places great emphasis on seasonal and regional ingredients, which he combines with modern techniques and global flavours. His dishes are renowned for their innovative presentation and balanced flavour combinations, which harmoniously blend tradition and modernity. He describes his standards for his dishes as “[…] Japanese-style ruthlessness – it simply has to be perfect […]”.
- As well as appearing in a number of short TV segments, Mario Lohniger also featured in an episode of “Ready to Beef” and has been a guest on “Kitchen Impossible” twice. In the third series, he went head-to-head with Tim in a direct duel and narrowly lost that battle. Two years later, in the fifth series, he took part in the Christmas special, which he unfortunately failed to win whilst competing alongside Tim. All good things come in threes, so he’s back for the anniversary episode to prove his skills once again.