Berlin Partner celebrates the culinary highlight of the year and looks back on 20 years of Berlin Master Chefs

For the 20th edition, the Berlin Master Chefs create a world-class menu for the gala dinner

Berlin Partner will honor the best restaurateurs of the capital region at the gala dinner while looking back on 20 years of Berlin Master Chefs who are synonymous with Berlin’s development into a center of haute cuisine as well as for trends and innovations in national and international cuisine. On the occasion of this anniversary, the gala dinner will take place for the first time in the urban ambience of Kraftwerk Berlin, where around 500 guests will enjoy the exquisite dishes and exemplary service of the best chefs and hosts of Berlin and the region. The award winners and their teams will serve a world-class menu and prepare it live on cooking stations in the auditorium – so there will be enough time to discuss the gala menu with the guests. An after-dinner party will take place for the first time, starting at 11pm.

Honorary Award of the Jury for Prof. Dr. Dieter Großklaus
For the 20th anniversary, the Berlin Master Chefs Jury will present a special honorary award at the gala to Prof. Dr. Dieter Großklaus, who has been involved from the start when Berlin’s first Master Chef was named in 1997. As the first chairman of the Berlin Master Chefs Jury, Prof. Dr. Großklaus has significantly shaped the format and remained faithful to the jury to this day as Honorary Chairman. The governing mayor of Berlin, Michael Müller, will award Prof. Dr. Dieter Großklaus the “Honorary Award of the Berlin Master Chefs Jury” today: “The annual award for the best chefs in the Berlin-Brandenburg capital region has gained recognition far beyond Berlin. It has made a decisive contribution to the reputation of the capital city’s upscale restaurant culture. The diversity of the gastronomy scene and the excellent restaurant culture are calling cards and, in particular, important economic factors for our city. Professor Dr. Dieter Großklaus is a worthy winner. He has rendered outstanding services as one of the founding fathers of the ‘Berlin Master Chefs’ with his great commitment to Berlin’s gastronomy scene.”

Großklaus, who has a degree in veterinary medicine, came to Berlin in 1949. As a food hygiene expert, he initially worked at the Freie Universität. He later became President of the Federal Health Office and President of the World Association of Food Hygienists. The World Health Organization (WHO) awarded Prof. Großklaus the “Health-for-All Gold Medal”. He has also received the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. His high level of professional expertise has also earned him great recognition in the gastronomy scene – including as “Bailli de la Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs”.

The evening menu
The dinner will start with homemade fennel bread, pork crackling rolls & onion, fennel greens & butter and lard with apple from the “Best Berlin Host 2016” Viktoria Kniely’s Herz & Niere as well as starters from the restaurant of “Gastronomic Innovators 2016” Boris Radzcun and Stephan Landwehr: an entire lettuce with vinaigrette, Baltic cod ceviche, fennel salad with Parmesan and pears as well as Pomeranian beef tartare. Afterwards, the winners of the Berlin Master Chefs 2016 will each present an entremets and a main course. Markus Semmler, “Berlin Master Chef” from Restaurant Markus Semmler will delight taste buds with peppered tuna and lemongrass, quince jelly, pickled shallots and wild herbs followed by a breaded poulet noir breast with creamed celery, wild broccoli and truffle jus. Daniel Schmidthaler, “Regional Master Chef 2016”, owner and chef of Alte Schule Fürstenhagen knows how to make a convincing starter with carrot, ham stock and apricot kernel oil as well as a main course with red deer, plum and wild horseradish. The “Newcomer of the Year 2016”, Max Strohe from tulus lotrek, will spoil guests with mushrooms, pata negra, cherries and almonds, followed by ox cheeks, mole, corn and plums. Crispy pork belly with sweetheart cabbage gremolata on pepper coulis as well as a potato dumpling with apricot kernels, vegetarian mushroom jus and fermented red cabbage are some of the culinary artworks by Rosa Lisbert, the “Most Fashionable Berlin Restaurant 2016”.

In addition to showing their art live, the award winners will also be honored at the gala. The award winners at the 20th edition of the Berlin Master Chefs will receive individually hand-painted plates from the Royal Porcelain Manufactory in Berlin as well as a personalized magnum bottle of Pommery Brut Royal from the laudators – all of them members of the Berlin Master Chefs Jury. The winners include Viktoria Kniely, restaurant manager and sommelière at Herz & Niere as “Best Berlin Host 2016”, as well as Boris Radczun and Stephan Landwehr as “Gastronomic Innovators 2016” for the Pauly Saal, Grill Royal, dóttir and Le Petit Royal, among others.

A look back over 20 years of Berlin Master Chefs
By honoring the Berlin Master Chefs, the best at cooking, hospitality or in the scene, Berlin Partner is presenting the upscale restaurant culture as a calling card of the city – because with culinary specialties from world-class gastronomy to streetfood, from established old-timers to creative newcomers, Berlin has a culinary range of international standing. Berlin Partner has been fostering this dynamic development for 20 years already.

“Berlin Partner is proud to actively promote the fantastic development of the local gastronomy scene with this Master Chefs format. After reunification, Berlin had lost its reputation as a gourmet metropolis. At the time, Berlin Partner demonstrated its pioneering spirit and believed that the city would once again become a leading food metropolis. Together with Berlin Master Chefs, we have built a brand with international appeal for Berlin as a center for gastronomy over the years. My hat goes off to our 123 excellent Berlin Master Chefs, who have promoted Berlin’s food scene with tireless commitment, incredible creativity and the highest standards. A special thank you to our jury, which, with its broad expertise, selects the best of the best each year,” says Andrea Joras, Managing Director of Berlin Partner.

Berlin Partner has set itself a new challenge for the next 20 years: to raise the international profile of the Berlin Master Chefs format even further. This process started last year already when the Master Chefs accompanied Berlin’s presentation at the World Expo in Milan. As part of the be Berlin pop-up lab, the Master Chefs toured Germany and Israel earlier this year and will now make their way to Great Britain. There are also plans to introduce an exchange program for chefs with other global metropoles next year. The goal is to make Berlin internationally synonymous with unique culinary diversity and quality.

Facts and figures from 20 years of “Berlin Master Chefs”

• 123 chefs and restaurateurs have received an award in one of the various Berlin Master Chef categories.
• There have been roughly 700 nominees over the past 20 years.
• Former award winners include TV stars chefs of national fame.
• Numerous Master Chefs have also enjoyed successful international careers:
  Berlin Master Chefs now work from Estonia to Barcelona and from Canada to Thailand.
• Berlin Master Chefs have cooked for famous visitors to Berlin, such as US President Barack Obama. Even the German Chancellor appreciates the culinary arts of the Master Chefs.
• Promoting young talent is a major priority for Berlin Master Chefs: numerous younger award winners completed apprenticeships with previous Master Chefs.
• More than 5,500 visitors, some of whom have traveled a long way, have attended the past 20 years of Master Chef gala dinners.
• More than 100 different dishes have been prepared by the award winners at the past 20 years of gala dinners.
• Over 1,000 plates will be prepared at each award winner’s cooking station on the evening of the gala.
• Up to 4,500 porcelain dishes from KPM are used for a single gala dinner.
• Around 1,000 flower pots have been used over the past 20 years of Berlin Master Chefs.