For the season finale, “Kitchen Impossible” really turns things up a notch. Two celebrity chefs throw down the gauntlet to Tim Mälzer: Juan Amador and Lukas Mraz. The Viennese star chefs have decided to crush Mälzer – or as Amador calls him “prepotent Hamburger something” – in a duet. They underestimate how much “Mister Kitchen Impossible” loves the special episodes of the cooking show, after all, in these he can finally really annoy someone. Said and done.
In the “Best Friend’s Edition” each chef sends the others to a location of their choice, where they have to recreate the original dish at the same time. The chef who scores the most points after two challenges wins.
Mälzer chose not just any Piefkes as opponents for the “Best Friend’s Special”, but rather two Austrian star chefs. Juan Amador currently runs the best restaurant in Austria and has been awarded three Michelin stars. Lukas Mraz is considered a culinary prodigy and has already achieved two stars. The Viennese restaurateurs have known each other since Mraz completed a school internship at Amador almost 20 years ago as a 15-year-old.
Juan Amador and Lukas Mraz in Berlin: The Vienna Brigade has big plans. They want to put Tim Mälzer in his place with the competence of their five Michelin stars, but they immediately have to put a damper on it. Mälzer sends the competition to one of the very best, the only three-star chef in Berlin: Marco Müller. They both know which original chef is waiting for them the first time they look into the box. Amador says he recognized the handwriting immediately. The groans are loud, especially since he has to deal with his hated fish, carp. The dish: carp ribs and carp tartare
Tim Mälzer and Juan Amador in Florence in Italy: Lukas Mraz sends Mälzer and Amador to Italy, of all places, even though he is the self-proclaimed best Italian chef outside of Italy – although he specializes in Nonna cuisine and not necessarily the extravagance that is served up to him in Florence. The two chefs are supposed to recreate an “eel on the road” or “fish in the bottom” in Massimo Bottura’s Osteria. He is also a three-star chef, but in the kitchen they meet none other than the first Mexican star chef in the world: Ana Karime Lopez. The dish: Anguilla in Carrozza
Tim Mälzer and Lukas Mraz in Nagoya (Japan): The task that Juan Amador has chosen for his opponents is no less challenging. In Japan, the home of precise cooking, maltsters and mraz are supposed to receive training in humility. Japan in “Kitchen Impossible” means shooting at very small sparrows with very big guns, according to Mälzer. And Mraz also knows: “In Japan you can only lose. Japan is the final opponent.” While Mälzer doesn’t know what to do with himself at times, the Austrian star chef is absolutely in his element – or so he thinks. The dish: Taiwanese Mazesoba
Tim Mälzer is a master of analysis. Unraveling dishes is one of his core competencies and has often given him an advantage over the competition on “Kitchen Impossible”. But this time he is dealing with two chefs who also have a very refined palate. How lightly Juan Amador tastes the ingredients is masterful. However, Lukas Mraz is hardly inferior to him in terms of analytical genius. Looking back, they can hardly believe how precise the two of them are and congratulate each other. But analysis alone doesn’t make a plate…
Tim Mälzer can do a lot, but best of all he can be really annoying. Psychological terror is part of his strategy – to the chagrin of Juan Amador. In Italy, Mälzer spouts one cocky statement after the next and then doesn’t even take any notes about the dish. Why should it be, it’s just pasta and stuffing with fish. “You didn’t write anything down? You’re such an arrogant pig,” Mraz laughs cringingly in retrospect. Amador, on the other hand, has little to smile about on site. Mälzer chatters nonstop, follows him around while he goes shopping, and teases him. Mälzer’s strategy is working. You can almost see how the Austrian loses his interest in life before he has even set foot in the kitchen. Confused, he states: “My main task is to simply ignore him. He’s embarrassing.” In the end, the two chefs are in a head-to-head race that pays off. In any case, the original chef is not very impressed. She says she would never serve such plates to her guests.
Juan Amador’s stated goal is to relegate Tim Mälzer to third place. He would even be satisfied with second place. Mälzer doesn’t need to be told that twice. He takes a fifty out of his pocket and slaps the bill in front of the Austrian’s bib. “I’ll bet that I won’t end up in third place,” said the Hamburger. Later, Mälzer even doubled the bet.
In Japan, Tim Mälzer becomes very quiet. The task was fantastic, but he couldn’t do anything with it. “It’s a type of Asian noodle dish that I don’t know. How I can put it together like that – I’m out of it,” he admits straight away. Lukas Mraz is completely different. The Austrian loves Japanese cuisine and even claims that this dish is his favorite dish, which he regularly prepares on Sundays. A disgrace that works. Mälzer is visibly shaken. He says he is at an absolute disadvantage in the analysis. As a result, he almost becomes Mraz’s student, hanging on his coattails while shopping and docilely checking out a lot of things in the kitchen. You’ve rarely seen him so focused and calm in a “Kitchen Impossible” duel. “Looks like a cooking class,” Amador sums it up.
Lukas Mraz is taking part in “Kitchen Impossible” for the third time, and the 33-year-old wins for the third time. “I feel a bit like Đjoković – undefeated,” jokes the Austrian during the evaluation. And Mälzer also comes out of the match as a winner, he takes second place and thus wins the bet against Amador. The three-star chef scored the fewest points. Anyone who watched him work on the show saw that this says nothing about his cooking skills.
Episode 1: With cardinal cuts and volcanic cuisine: Testicle chef Richard Rauch flattens Tim Mälzer
Episode 2: “Bachmeier pulverized” – no one has ever let Mälzer get naked so charmingly
Episode 3: Haute cuisine instead of a charcoal grill: Tim Mälzer grills the fire master Stefan Wiesner
Episode 4: Maltsters and feasters make “Kitchen Impossible” hardcore again – culinary torture between slum cuisine and blood dishes
Episode 5: Tim Mälzer completely in love: In a duel against the best chef in the Baltics, he becomes a cuddly cat
Episode 6: Visiting friends? Tim Mälzer gets naked in Hamburg
Episode 7: The only true one is himself: Tim Mälzer, one is no longer enough
“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
