Vitality, gourmet enjoyment and creativity: These are the nominees of the Berlin Master Chefs 2023

They represent gastronomic diversity and culinary Berlin: The “Berlin Master Chefs”. An independent jury of twelve, consisting of food journalists and experts, has now nominated the five candidates in each of the following categories: “Berlin Master Chef 2023”, “Rising Star of the Year 2023”, “Berlin Host 2023”, “Berlin Scene Restaurant 2023”, “Berlin Kiezmeister 2023”, “Berlin Bar Culture 2023” and “Gastronomic Innovator 2023”.

Dr. Stefan Franzke, CEO of Partner für Berlin: “Berlin is a city that surprises with culinary delights, that keeps reinventing itself, especially in gastronomy. This is also shown by the nominations of the Berlin Master Chefs this year. They stand for Berlin’s quality and strength of restaurant culture, for the culinary spectrum, innovation and creativity with international appeal.”

From a total of 205 candidates and catering establishments proposed by the jury, the jury selected five nominees for each category at its meeting; the Gastronomic Innovator will only be announced at the awards ceremony. What is new this year is that teams have also been nominated.

A lot of new things have happened in gastronomy: Sustainability with topics such as zero or low waste are reflected in the jury’s proposals, but also future trends and internationality. And also girl power: Never before have so many female chefs and hosts been on the shortlist of Master Chefs as this year. There is also news from the jury: In addition to the appointment of four new jurors, Tina Hüttl and Dr. Stefan Elfenbein were confirmed as jury chairs.

Jury Chair Tina Hüttl: “It was incredibly fun to be able to vote on the best of Berlin’s gastronomy with this jury, which was expanded by four new members. I am an absolute fan of this year’s shortlist. From the well-loved local Syrian pastry shop to world-renowned restaurants, there really is something for every taste – across all city districts, price ranges, nationalities and culinary cultures. Berlin’s gastronomy shows once again that it simply never stands still. Even if you think you have eaten everything before, you are guaranteed to be surprised again and again by new, unusual and inspiring places.”

Dr .Stefan Ivory, Chairman of the jury: “The dice have been cast, the jury has decided, and more candidates than ever before since the founding of the Berlin Master Chefs were up for election in the six categories this time. The clear message: Berlin’s gourmet variety continues. Two groups stand out. On the one hand the new Berliners, for example from Israel, Syria, Sri Lanka, Korea, the Netherlands, Italy, Canada or also with Croatian roots, who will be at the top in 2023 as Master Chefs, Rising Stars and proud hosts. And on the other hand, the women who no longer 'only' successfully assert themselves in male-dominated places as they have recently, but now, as in Hallmann & Klee, Pars, Happa and Dòttir, simply do their own great thing together. Invaluable input also comes from the four new jury members, whom we, the Chair, warmly welcome.”

The expert jury consists of the following jurors:

• Dr. Stefan Elfenbein, Chair of the jury, author for the magazines “Der Feinschmecker” and “Foodie”
• Tina Hüttl, Chair of the jury, Berliner Zeitung
• Felix Denk, Editor of the Tagesspiegel
• Prof. Dr. Dieter Grossklaus, “Chaîne des Rôtisseurs” (Honorary president)
• Lorraine Haist, freelance journalist and author for various newspapers and magazines
• Stefanie Hofeditz, freelance journalist, B.Z
• Alexandra Laubrinus, Managing director of Berlin Food Week
• Clemens Niedenthal, Editor of Tip & Ressortleitung Food
• Nikolas Rechenberg, Gourmetwelten
• Annika Schönstädt, freelance author for Tagesspiegel, Zeit online, Feinschmecker
• Dr. Erwin Seitz, freelance journalist, book author and gastronomy critic
• Jan-Peter Wulf, specialist journalist and founder of nomyblog

The result of the election of the Berlin Master Chefs 2023 will be announced at the Gala Dinner on 18 November 2023. The winners up to now of the Berlin Master Chefs since the award ceremony began in 1997 have been communicated in a chronicle. Further information on the Berlin Master Chefs project and its history can be found at: https://www.berlin-partner.de/netzwerk/berliner-meisterkoeche/. The Berlin Master Chefs can also be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BerlinerMeisterkoeche and on Instagram @berlinermeisterkoeche.

The Berlin Master Chefs
In 1994, Partner für Berlin as a company for capital city marketing set itself the task of marketing Berlin. This includes promoting, supporting and implementing measures that serve the capital and Berlin as a business location. With the brand “Berliner Meisterköche” (Berlin Master Chefs), Partner für Berlin profiles the upscale restaurant culture and the diversity of the gastronomy scene in the capital as an important economic factor and figurehead of the city, because good food and good business belong together. Since 1997, people from the gastronomy sector and culinary concepts have therefore been awarded annually in various categories of the Berlin Master Chefs. Former award winners include Sonja Frühsammer, Tim Raue, Sebastian Frank and Cookie Heinz Gindullis.