“The Kitchen Battle”
ZDF show celebrates 15 years of existence in three ways
On the occasion of 15 years of “Die Küchenschlacht” there are three anniversary episodes. The first runs on January 16 with Cornelia Poletto (front). There are, from left to right, Thomas Martin, Alexander Kumptner, Max Strohe, Viktoria Fuchs, Milena Broger and Christoph Rüffer.
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The popular ZDF cooking show “Die Küchenschlacht” celebrates its 15th birthday from January 16th to 18th with three anniversary episodes.
The ZDF cooking show “Die Küchenschlacht” celebrates its 15th birthday. For the anniversary, three special episodes will be broadcast, which will follow an unusual pattern, as ZDF announced. Over 3,360 episodes, around 2,380 hours of broadcasting, almost 4,000 amateur chefs and more than 13,000 dishes have been marveled at since it was first launched.
The longevity of the format is also due to the ratings: at the beginning of November 2022, the show reached its highest daily rating to date with a market share of around 20.2 percent. An annual average of 15.7 percent market share was recorded in 2022, also a show record.
This is how “The Kitchen Battle” usually works
Since January 2008, “Die Küchenschlacht” has been running at 2:15 p.m. on ZDF from Monday to Friday. After the command “To the pots, get set, go!” six talented amateur chefs have 35 minutes to demonstrate their culinary skills. One participant is eliminated every day until two candidates compete against each other in the final on Friday. A prominent chef moderates the show and provides the candidates with professional tips. At the end of each day, an expert judge decides who makes it to the next round.
For the anniversary, the pros are allowed to work
For the three anniversary episodes, however, the broadcaster has thought of something else: These are designed like “kitchen parties”, without jury ratings or amateur chefs. Instead, six professionals cook one dish per show, and the presenter also prepares something. At the end there is a lot of experimenting and swapping. In each episode there should be two “Best of” single players with amusing reviews.
The first anniversary episode with Cornelia Poletto (51) runs on January 16th. In it, Alexander Kumptner (39), Thomas Martin (56), Christoph Rüffer (49), Max Strohe (41), Milena Broger and Viktoria Fuchs (33) cook together. The second special episode on January 17 with Nelson Müller (43) asks Sarah Henke (40), Robin Pietsch (34), Tarik Rose (52), Björn Freitag (49), Richard Rauch (37) and Fabio Haebel hotplates. The third and last special with Johann Lafer (65) can be seen on January 18th. Ali Güngörmüs (46), Meta Hiltebrand (39), Karlheinz Hauser (55), Ralf Zacherl (52), Mario Kotaska (49) and Zora Klipp (32) will demonstrate their skills.