It’s been a long time since someone managed to infuriate Tim Mälzer as much as Anton Schmaus. The tasks that the star chef had come up with for the hamburger stunned Mälzer: “No one has fucked me like you in a long time.” And that, even though it was a feast that had to be cooked over an open fire in a slum…
Anton Schmaus is someone who has made Tim Mälzer extremely happy in the past – the Hamburg native was already allowed to play football with the German national soccer team and cook for them as part of a task. For Mälzer it was a dream come true, for Schmaus it’s everyday life. He has been the team’s head chef since 2017. Schmaus also runs the restaurants “Storstad”, “Sticky Fingers”, “Aska” and “Proviant” as well as the wine bar “Tipsy” in Regensburg.
Anton Schmaus visits the “Avli” restaurant on the Greek island of Kefalonia: In Greece, Schmaus is treated to typical regional cuisine, made by a chef who has trained in star cuisine. The task is not a problem at first glance. The task: Greek salad moussaka
Tim Mälzer has to go to chocolatier Julius Persoone in Bruges: What Anton Schmaus organized with Mälzer was a bit of a dream concert. The Hamburger was not only allowed to choose the destination country himself, but also the time at which the box was handed over. But the task is nothing less than a culinary provocation. The task: chocolates
Anton Schmaus cooks in a private apartment in the slum in Nairobi: private house instead of star-rated kitchen – in one of the largest slums in the world, the head chef of the national football team is allowed to cook a traditional dish. The task: Omena with brown ugali and green vegetables
Tim Mälzer cooks for Elaine Asp in Östersund, Sweden: It is anything but mainstream cuisine that Tim Mälzer has to cook in Sweden. He is treated to traditional Sami dishes. New territory! At least he can choose the dishes he wants to cook himself…The task: reindeer blood pancakes and reindeer tongue with spice puree
“Kitchen Impossible” keeps them all small – including Anton Schmaus. In Greece he literally experiences a high at first, but then makes a real crash landing when cooking. He had previously boastfully stated that he believed the task was too easy for him. After his “Kitchen Impossible” premiere, chastened and purified, he had to admit: “This is not a moussaka, but a massacre.”
In Belgium, Mälzer practices a strict attitude of refusal. Want to recreate chocolates from a top chocolatier? He doesn’t see that at all. He whines and nags and doesn’t want to do the task. After all, it’s not about cooking, but a completely different craft. “It’s a blind flight, but not a great one. Not one that I can approach as a chef,” he says, and he also demonstrates this on site. The young chocolatier’s sad face spoke volumes.
In Kenya’s largest slum, Kibera in Nairobi, Mälzer wants to give his opponent Schmaus “a lesson in humility.” In this completely different, very poor world, the Regensburg star chef is supposed to recreate a traditional Kenyan dish. And that too over an open fire in a private apartment. But the generous hospitality of original chef Millicent Atieno makes up for almost any adverse circumstances. Kibera, Schmaus concluded, was the “probably the craziest experience” of his life.
In the middle of nowhere in Sweden, or as Mälzer put it: “Santa Claus lives closer to the highway”, the Hamburger has to try Sami dishes. The chef is thrilled; after tasting it, he raves about the dish: “It’s really good, warming, comforting. It’s Swedish fondue.” However, one whose ingredients are not exactly on the standard shopping list: reindeer tongue, blood, cloudberries. The task awakens Mälzer’s ambition, he is in his element – and the jury later likes that too.
After Richard Rauch put a damper on “Mister Kitchen Impossible” at the season opener and beat him hands down, Tim Mälzer is now on a real run. Against Anton Schmaus he gets his third win in a row with 11.5 to 11.4 points. However, he offers the star chef the draw. After his performance in Belgium, that’s more than fair.
“Kitchen Impossible” can be seen on Vox every Sunday from 8:15 p.m. This and later all other episodes of “Kitchen Impossible” can be streamed on RTL.
Transparency note: Der stern is part of RTL Deutschland
