Tim Mälzer needs the challenge: In the seventh episode “Kitchen Impossible” just one opponent is no longer enough for him, he needs two. TV chef Alexander Herrmann and his partner Tobias Bätz test the limits of “Mister Kitchen Impossible”.
In the seventh episode of “Kitchen Impossible” Tim Mälzer meets two top-class opponents who compete as a team: Alexander Herrmann and Tobias Bätz, who have been awarded two Michelin stars. Herrmann is known to many as a TV face. He was a judge on “The Taste” and is competing on “Kitchen Impossible” for the third time. Together with Tobias Bätz he runs the restaurant “AURA by Alexander Herrmann & Tobias Bätz”. This time Herrmann only has to complete one culinary task, the other his partner Tobias Bätz. As usual, Tim Mälzer faces two challenges.
These were the highlights from the “Kitchen Impossible” match between Tim Mälzer and Alexander Herrmann and Tobias Bätz
Those were the tasks
Alexander Herrmann in Paris (France):
Alexander Herrmann is heading to the Mecca for gourmets: Paris. At the beginning, Tim Mälzer treats Alexander Herrmann to a luxurious boat trip with champagne on the Seine, then brings him back down to earth. In one of the most elegant brasseries in Paris, he is first served an intensely smelling selection of cheese, because Tim knows full well: Alexander doesn’t like cheese at all! Luckily, his “Kebbeh with Citrus Sauce” challenge doesn’t contain cheese – but that doesn’t make the task any easier.
Tim Mälzer in Antwerp (Belgium):
Alexander Herrmann and Tobias Bätz send Tim Mälzer to the cathedral of star gastronomy, the time-honored “The Jane” by star chef and DJ Nick Bril. The task is grilled lobster with steamed mussel flan and razor clam salad.
Tobias Bätz in Bourges (France):
Tobias Bätz has the unforgettable opportunity to follow in Tim Mälzer’s footsteps from days gone by. In idyllic Bourges, France, Tobias Bätz meets Tim’s old friend Enzo Caressa. His challenge: a Tarte Tartin. The whole thing is then evaluated by Enzo’s family. What Tobias Bätz doesn’t know at this point is that there will be a second box: a cassoulet, i.e. hearty French home cooking.
Tim Mälzer in Bonn (North Rhine-Westphalia)
A stab in the back for maltsters in Bonn: First he becomes a surprise juror in the “Chef of the Year” cooking competition, then he also has to recreate the winning dish: venison with pickled plums, cauliflower cream and venison jus.
Fanboy moment for Tim Mälzer
The restaurant “The Jane” has been on Tim Mälzer’s bucket list for a long time. And so it happens that he is welcomed in Antwerp by none other than star chef and DJ Nick Bril. Mälzer is absolutely thrilled. “It’s an absolute honor,” he says more than once. The restaurant is located in an old “cathedral” and is one of the best restaurants currently available. Mälzer’s ambition is awakened – he even refrains from making fun of the flowers and crunch that garnish the plate.
The most embarrassing moment
Back in Antwerp at “The Jane”: Mälzer competes with two-star chef Nick Bril and claims that his dish could be of similar quality in terms of taste. He says that before he even cooks it. He later admits: “Wow. I’m rarely uncomfortable with anything.” Ultimately, Mälzer is not entirely wrong with his statement. Even celebrity chef Bril has to admit that Mälzer comes dangerously close to his lobster dish – even if the TV chef has taken a different route.
The most beautiful dish
A good meal awakens emotions. Alexander Herrmann cooks in Paris in the brasserie “Tawlet Paris” with Tara Habis, 31 years old, with Lebanese roots. Their dish is typical of Lebanon. Kebbeh Aranabiye are hollow beef balls with bulgur, accompanied by a rice stew with chickpeas cooked in a citrus-based tahini sauce. The task is so challenging for maltsters because there are so many aromas coming together that make analysis impossible. For those who eat the dish, it is a comfort food and shows how wonderful it is that the world is moving closer in culinary terms.
The moment of surprise I
In Bourges, Tobias Bätz gets his first challenge: Tarte Tatin from Mälzer’s friend Enzo Caressa. “The supreme discipline,” as the star chef himself says, which he has to prepare in three hours. The jury is none other than grandmother Tatin’s granddaughters. Just when he thinks that he has mastered his task well and is having dinner with the family, Bätz receives his next box. Surprise! The box is empty, the dish is already on the table in front of him: cassoulet, a traditional bean stew with bacon, pork knuckle, duck and three types of sausages, which the star chef has to prepare for the original chef’s friends. Bätz impressed with his cassoulet, and the jury immediately wanted to award the two-star chef a third.
The moment of surprise II
The opposing duo Herrmann and Bätz managed a huge coup. As soon as he arrived in Bonn, Tim Mälzer was handed a black chef’s jacket in front of the Hotel Kameha Grande. And before he knows it, he is sitting at the table as an honorary jury member between jury president Dieter Müller, vice president Sebastian Frank and many other high-profile colleagues to determine the “Chef of the Year 2023”. Six finalists have to demonstrate their skills in this three-course culinary competition. For the main course, the chefs are given a black box with various ingredients and have to put together a dish from them without preparation. Immediately after the winner is announced, the “Kitchen Impossible” box is brought onto the stage and it is announced to the entire audience that Tim Mälzer has to cook the winner’s main course.
The winner
This time Mälzer has taken on two opponents to prove that he is Mr. Kitchen Impossible. He should be right. Alexander Herrmann and Tobias Bätz wanted to bring him down in the star restaurant, but they only aroused his ambition – especially since he was allowed to cook for one of his idols. The perfidious task of having him cook in a cooking competition and let his colleagues from the world’s star kitchens judge did not work for his two opponents. In the end the trophy goes to Tim Mälzer. “I challenged Europe’s culinary elite to storms of enthusiasm with my craft,” says the TV chef cockily. In the end, Mälzer wins with a very thin lead of 12.5 to 12.3 points. Herrmann and Bätz accept the defeat calmly.
This is what the other “Kitchen Impossible” episodes of the season have been like so far
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 Schmaus make “Kitchen Impossible” hardcore again – culinary torture between slum cuisine and blood dishes
Episode 5: Tim Mälzer is 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
“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 viewed at RTL+ be streamed.
Transparency note: The star is part of RTL Germany