TV follow-up report
“Kitchen Impossible”
Tim Mälzer at rock bottom: A boy band brings down the old masters
Sepp Schellhorn (left) and Tim Mälzer have had better times on “Kitchen Impossible”.
© RTL / Endemol Shine
The small finale of “Kitchen Impossible” becomes a battle of generations. Two old but wise men prepare to read the culinary riot act to the young kitchen hooligans – and are stripped off themselves.
Tim Mälzer was in a better mood. In season seven, he struggles to keep the mood above zero. Even in the small finale of “Kitchen Impossible” he is briefly in emotional free fall again and wants to give up. This time he even had his “brother in spirit”, Sepp Schellhorn, at his side. It’s just stupid that it’s similarly sensitive – and the competition knows it too. In the end, the two old hands literally competed against the next generation. Felix Schellhorn and his cronies from the art and culinary collective “Healthy Boy Band” had no lesser goal than “to destroy Sepp and Tim”.
The highlights of the small finale of “Kitchen Impossible”
These chefs had to prove themselves:
Tim Mälzer and the Austrian award-winning chef Sepp Schellhorn, who fought a “really dirty fight” in the last season (read it again here), fraternize to put the next generation of chefs in their place: The Healthy Boy Band (HBB ) with Philip Rachinger, Felix Schellhorn and Lukas Mraz. Although they claim “There is no thing the Healthy Boy Band is really good at” (e.g.: There is nothing the Healthy Boy Band is really good at), they are still stirring up the international gourmet scene. They move between fine dining and “trash food”, classic gastronomy and performance art.
These were the tasks:
Mälzer/Schellhorn in Zurich, in Switzerland at “Rosi” with Markus Stöckle: cordon bleu and potato hybrid
The Healthy Boy Band cooks gluten-free at Mario Lohninger’s in Frankfurt am Main: Frankfurt green sauce, chitarra with tomato sauce, frivolous Mozart
Mälzer/Schellhorn travel to Denmark. In Copenhagen at Christian F. Puglisi they prepare pizza & burrata
The Healthy Boy Band is allowed to go to London. In England, the three of them are allowed to do magic in Johannes Nuding’s “Sketch”: Langustine in 4 variations
That touched the heart:
Tim Mälzer and Sepp Schellhorn together have more than 60 years of kitchen experience. They don’t really have to prove to anyone that they can cook. However, this “Kitchen Impossible” episode was anything but a great moment. Little would succeed. Sepp Schellhorn experienced his personal dumpling gate in Zurich. After Mälzer had first tried to get his buddy out of the blackout with aggressive goading – “Pull yourself together”, “Man, turn on your brain”, he showed what true friendship is. He relieved Schellhorn of the task. It was just one of many moments that showed how close Mälzer and Schellhorn are.
The biggest surprise:
The Healthy Boy Band’s entry into the “Kitchen Impossible” game was anything but smooth. Mraz and Rachinger got into such a fight in Frankfurt that even the spectators found it difficult to bear at times. Mraz, gripped by ambition, played the supreme chief and didn’t allow a second opinion. Rachinger rebelled like a teenager against the authoritarian behavior, first treated himself to a “glass of beer” and shifted his collaboration to know-it-all commenting. Although his appearance bordered on refusal to work, he often actually had the better instincts, but still remained unheard. This day, they later summarized, was probably the lowest point since the HBB was founded in 2017. The only one who wasn’t bothered by the alpha male demeanor was Felix Schellhorn. According to his own statement, he had “really no stress at all”. What the three showed in London was almost a miracle: real teamwork.
The absolute low point:
What the Healthy Boy Band had come up with as a second task for the two Grand Seigneurs was tantamount to a coup. Mälzer and Schellhorn should bake pizza. The two were anything but happy about what one might think a rewarding task. They had hoped to work their way through top cuisine. “They just want to punch us in the face,” summarized Schellhorn. Mälzer was on the verge of giving up, hurt in his ego. “You’re my friend, I’m slipping into a culinary depression, I’m going home and you’re doing it alone,” said Mälzer to Schellhorn. The HBB played a devilish game with the emotions of the opponents – and the strategy worked. Mälzer and Schellhorn got bogged down. The dough failed, the pizza oven was way too hot, the overall result was a disaster. “I can make a better pizza at home with the food processor in 30 minutes,” summarized the frustrated Mälzer. “We delivered crispbread with broccoli and bratwurst.”
stress or what? The Healthy Boy Band (from left: Rachinger, Mraz, Schellhorn) wasn’t just for fun.
© RTL / Endemol Shine
That was fun:
The Healthy Boy Band is unconventional, rowdy, humorous. There was little to see of that in Frankfurt. In London, on the other hand, the youngsters turned up the heat. Discipline and order actually prevail in Nuding’s kitchen. Well-shaven and freshly ironed cooking is done there. Despite this, the three of them show up in cricket outfits reminiscent of scenes from “Clockwork Orange” and painted war paint on their cheeks with sepia ink. On top of that, Rachinger took a spirited sip from the whiskey bottle. “I wouldn’t normally let people like that into my kitchen,” says the original chef, “but it fits. It’s a funny bunch.”
Youth with a harder punch
Mälzer and Schellhorn lost the small finale of “Kitchen Impossible” with 9 to 12 points. However, not because the Healthy Boy Band would have cooked so much better. In the meantime, the two old hands were so emotionally off the roll that they ended up digging their own pit.
This and all other episodes of “Kitchen Impossible” can be found at RTL+ be streamed.