The eleventh series of Kitchen Impossible starts in April

COLOGNE. The eleventh series of Kitchen Impossible starts on VOX on 12 April. The channel has now announced the duels and destinations for the episodes. As previously reported, Tim Mälzer took a break from the cameras last year – and is handing over to Roland Trettl for three episodes during this time. After many years, the popular First Dates host and top chef Roland Trettl is thus returning to the role of host on “Kitchen Impossible”. Another new feature is the Team Edition: for the first time, three top female chefs – Cornelia Poletto, Elif Oskan and Viktoria Fuchs – will take to the kitchen in rotating pairs to compete on equal terms. However, the programme’s format remains unchanged: once the black box is opened, there is no turning back. An unknown dish, unfamiliar techniques, maximum pressure and zero excuses. Culinary adventures full of uncertainty and the potential for a spectacular fall await the participants.

Many of the locations in the new series are closely linked to Tim Mälzer’s life story: emotional encounters in Marrakesh, a dish close to his heart in Mallorca and a high-pressure challenge at the three-star restaurant“Haerlin” in Hamburg– at the “Vier Jahreszeiten” hotel, his very own “living room”, as he calls it. Here, the famous black box becomes an emotional test of endurance. Also featuring: Michelin-starred chef Alexander Herrmann, the Hamburg duo Jo & Cozy from the restaurant "Salt & Silver", the Austrian father-son team Helmut and Philip Rachinger ("The Rachingers"), and in the "Best Friends Edition", DFB chef Anton Schmaus and two-Michelin-starred chef Matthias Diether from Tallinn.

For three episodes of the series, Tim Mälzer had asked Roland Trettl to take over for three episodes due to his time away from the cameras. The top chef from South Tyrol combines international class with razor-sharp precision and knows exactly how to make his opponents sweat. The Roland Trettl episodes feature family reunions, showdowns with former professional colleagues and a special dash of Trettl charm. The popular "First Dates" host Roland Trettl will be competing against, among others, two-star chefs Martin Klein, Lukas Mraz and two-star chef Hans Neuner.

The duels and destinations of the 11th series

12 April: Tim Mälzer vs. Salt & Silver:

• Tim Mälzer: Marrakesh (Morocco), Vila Alva (Portugal)
• Jo & Cozy from Salt & Silver: Le Tampon (Réunion), Ericeira (Portugal)

19 April: Roland Trettl vs. Martin Klein:

• Roland Trettl: Amsterdam (Netherlands), Tórshavn (Faroe Islands)
• Martin Klein: Cologne (Germany), Helsinki (Finland)

26 April: Tim Mälzer vs. Alexander Herrmann:

• Tim Mälzer: Hamburg (Germany), Alcúdia (Mallorca)
• Alexander Herrmann: Rödental (Germany), Santa Teresa Gallura (Sardinia)

3 May: Roland Trettl vs. Lukas Mraz:

• Roland Trettl: Berlin (Germany), Bratislava (Slovakia)
• Lukas Mraz: Karlstad (Sweden), Brașov (Romania)

10 May: Team Edition:

• Elif Oskan & Viktoria Fuchs: AIDAnova (Denmark)
• Viktoria Fuchs & Cornelia Poletto: Willemstad (Curaçao)
• Elif Oskan & Cornelia Poletto: Krün (Bavaria, Germany)

17 May: Tim Mälzer vs. The Rachingers:

• Tim Mälzer: Arles (France), Steinbach am Attersee (Austria)
• Philip & Helmut Rachinger: Građani (Montenegro), Bangkok (Thailand)

24 May: Roland Trettl vs. Hans Neuner:

• Roland Trettl: Frisange (Luxembourg), Tsaghkunk (Armenia)
• Hans Neuner: Lazise on Lake Garda (Italy), Ehrenhausen (Austria)

7 June: Best Friends Edition:

• Tim Mälzer & Matthias Diether: Edinburgh (Scotland)
• Tim Mälzer & Anton Schmaus: Kirriemuir (Scotland)
• Anton Schmaus & Matthias Diether: Pitlochry (Scotland)

The chefs

Salt & Silver: Johannes Riffelmacher (Jo) and Thomas Kosikowski (Cozy)

Best friends Johannes Riffelmacher and Thomas Kosikowski – known as “Jo” and “Cozy” for short – represent a culinary movement with Salt & Silver that challenges traditional restaurant concepts. Travel, surfing and cooking shape their philosophy and merge into an authentic overall experience. Years ago, they gave up their careers in the media to follow their dream. And they did so as self-taught chefs with no formal culinary training. In Season 6, Episode 49, their restaurant Salt & Silver was already the original location. Here, Monika Fuchs had to prove herself by recreating Simon Lindow’s tamales with king oyster mushrooms and dips. Now the chefs themselves must step up to the plate to compete against Tim Mälzer.

Martin Klein

Martin has little time for short-lived trends. It is far more important to him to remain open-minded and curious, to look around, gather inspiration and embrace new ideas. In doing so, he places great emphasis on seasonality and works consciously with the seasons. Whether it’s molecular culinary heights or traditional regional cuisine – as head chef at Ikarus, “the landing spot for top international chefs”, Martin has seen just about everything and acquired an incredibly broad culinary repertoire. In series 9 of “Kitchen Impossible”, Martin Klein appeared as the original chef in the duel between Hans-Jörg Bachmeier and Tim Mälzer. Bachmeier had to recreate two challenging dishes at Ikarus: scallops with gooseberries and rose, and a white asparagus panna cotta with grapefruit and lobster. Martin Klein had already stood at the stove as Tim Mälzer’s opponent in Season 5 and again in Season 10 – though he lost both duels.

Alexander Herrmann

Alexander Herrmann has made a name for himself with his modern, elegant gourmet restaurant in this long-established family business. His menus thrive on exciting contrasts, as well as the combination of regional Franconian ingredients with international influences. In 2016, Alexander Herrmann faced Tim Mälzer for the first time in the first series of "Kitchen Impossible" and lost the duel. Five years later, he returned for the "Best Friends Edition" and once again faced Tim Mälzer and Tim Raue – but he did not win this edition either. In the ninth series, Herrmann competed for the first time alongside his long-standing business partner and executive chef Tobias Bätz. In this unique set-up, each of them took on a challenge, with their points being added together, whilst Tim Mälzer had to tackle both tasks alone. Nevertheless, the Franconians were narrowly defeated. In series 11, Alexander Herrmann is now returning solo once again – with the clear aim of finally defeating Tim Mälzer.

Lukas Mraz

For as long as he can remember, Lukas Mraz has wanted to be a chef. One might think his love of cooking was in his blood from birth. His great-grandfather ran a coffee house in Vienna, his grandfather a Beisl (Austrian pub), and his father is none other than two-Michelin-starred chef Markus Mraz of the restaurant “Mraz & Sohn” in Vienna’s 20th district. And it was his father, Mraz, who first sparked his son’s passion for the profession, bringing him and his brother Manuel – two years his senior – into his daily workplace to help out from a very young age. Even whilst still at primary school, Lukas Mraz could prepare mayonnaise or a béchamel sauce, noting down the recipes in his own little cookbook. "Kitchen Impossible" is nothing new to him; he first faced off against Tim Mälzer in Season 4 and most recently in Season 9. To this day, Lukas Mraz remains an undefeated contender on Kitchen Impossible.

Elif Oskan

Elif Oskan is the creative force behind “Gül”, where a contemporary, distinctive interpretation of Turkish cuisine is created. Warmth and an exceptionally positive aura characterise Elif both as a person and in her interactions with her team and guests. On the restaurant’s website, she writes that laughter should never be missing from the workplace – and that, for her, love is the most important ingredient at “Gül”. Elif Oskan appeared alongside Markus Stöckle in the 8th series of “Kitchen Impossible” and won the duel against Tim Mälzer.

Viktoria Fuchs

Viktoria Fuchs’s great passion is game dishes, to which she adds a cosmopolitan twist using Asian ingredients and techniques. She boldly reinterprets Black Forest classics and combines regional cuisine with Far Eastern flavours. Most of the game comes from the private hunting grounds of her father and her partner Johannes Schneider, who is also responsible for the patisserie and the in-house cheese dairy. In season 5 of "Kitchen Impossible", she competed as the original chef and served braised venison shoulder with potato dumplings. In season 6, she eventually went head-to-head with Tim Mälzer.

Cornelia Poletto

Cornelia Poletto has devoted her heart and soul to Italian cuisine – refined with subtle Nordic influences. She particularly values the simplicity, authenticity and unadulterated flavour of Mediterranean-Italian cuisine. What fascinates her most is the art of getting the best out of excellent produce, creating aromatic sauces and treating food with respect. On "Kitchen Impossible", she was defeated by Tim Mälzer in season 7, but in season 10, together with Anna Sgroi – against Mälzer teamed up with Gennaro Contaldo – she managed to defeat him. Now, in season 11, she is competing in the team edition alongside and against Elif Oskan and Viktoria Fuchs.

Philip and Helmut Rachinger

The Mühltalhof hotel and restaurant is a traditional family business, now run by Philip, the sixth generation of the family. The culinary style is deeply rooted in the region and consistently focused on sustainability and authenticity. In Season 6 of "Kitchen Impossible", Sepp Schellhorn sent Tim Mälzer to Philip Rachinger at the Mühltalhof. There, Philip, as the original chef, served the dish Blunznschädl and Leberschädl. In a later episode, Philip competed alongside the Healthy Boy Band against Sepp Schellhorn and Tim Mälzer – and emerged victorious.

Hans Neuner

Neuner’s culinary philosophy has propelled him into the top tier of European chefs in no time at all. Guided by the motto ‘Keep it simple’, he creates minimalist dishes using regional ingredients that impress with their clarity, lightness and precision. Their first encounter on "Kitchen Impossible" took place as early as Season 2, in which Hans Neuner defeated Tim Mälzer. In Season 7 (Best Friends Edition), he welcomed the duo Tim Mälzer and Tim Raue to his restaurant as the host chef. Season 8 finally saw the three friends face off directly: Neuner came third with 10.9 points, behind Mälzer (13.2) and Raue (12). In Season 9, Neuner returned for the Christmas special and teamed up with Tim Raue to take on Tim Mälzer and Johann Lafer – with success. The next duel follows in Season 11: Hans Neuner versus Roland Trettl.

Matthias Diether

Matthias discovered his passion for cooking in his early adult years. At weekends and during the school holidays, he regularly helped out at his uncle’s restaurant, who also ran his own cookery school. These early insights had a lasting impact on him and laid the foundation for his culinary career. Today, Matthias Diether runs the only restaurant in the Baltic region to have been awarded two Michelin stars. The top chef appeared as the opposing chef in the Baltic edition of the 9th series of "Kitchen Impossible" and lost to Tim by the narrowest of margins – a difference of just 0.2 points. In the anniversary series (series 10), he also took on the role of the original chef for Martin Klein.

Anton Schmaus

Lugano, Stockholm, New York – and Regensburg: Anton Schmaus of "Storstad" cooks intuitively. The result is exclusive yet purist – and has already won several awards. "I want to offer modern, relaxed cuisine here – casual fine dining of the highest standard, with no need for a tie," he says. In season 8 of "Kitchen Impossible", Anton Schmaus appeared as the original chef – Tim Mälzer had to cook for the German national team, for whom Anton Schmaus has been head chef since 2017. In season 9, which began in February 2024, Schmaus was once again part of the programme and one of Mälzer’s opponents. Tim Mälzer narrowly won the duel with 11.5 points to 11.4.