German Team takes top honors followed by Czech and LATAM Teams
Aramark’s International group hosted the inaugural International Chef’s Cup in Prague, Czech Republic on April 28, 2022. Winning the competition was German chef Henning Hartwig, followed by Czech chef, Jiří Malina. Guillermo Nhicolas Hurtado Oses, representing Aramark’s Latin American operations, rounded out the top three.
The International Chef’s Cup competition is an extension of Aramark’s European Chef’s Cup that launched in 2016 and had previously been held in cities including Berlin, London, and Barcelona. The competition was expanded this year beyond Europe to include representatives from Aramark’s International operations from around the world. Nine teams competed with chefs representing countries and regions including: BeLux – Belgium and Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Ireland, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Spain, South Korea and LATAM - Chile, Argentina, and Mexico.
“To even get to this competition, many excellent chefs compete against one another in their respective countries to earn the chance to represent their geographies on the world stage. The nine teams that competed in Prague are the best of the best.”
Competitors prepared a multi-course fine dining menu, half vegetarian, with a shared plate for two as the starter. The teams had to work with an unknown ingredient and local Czech ingredients, which the competitors learned of the day before.
Deciding the competition was a panel of technical and taste judges consisting of well-known international chefs including Czech culinary celebrities Radek David and Marek Fichtner as well as Michelin star head chef Jörg Leroy of Germany and Peruvian culinary star Juan Danilo.
German chef Henning Hartwig took top honors with a creative menu starting with vegetarian foie gras with raspberries, brioche, Greek yogurt, perch fillet, and cauliflower. He and his assistant Attila Bakony served roast venison loin with pumpkin, walnuts, and blue cheese as the second course (pictured), and dessert was cream of yeast, rhubarb, strawberries, and thyme.
Czech chef Jiří Malina and his assistant Romana Flídrová took second place with a perch baked with hazelnuts, tomatoes, and parmesan crumble as the first course and a roasted loin of venison with celeriac and bacon-stuffed croquettes as the main course. Cremeux of dark chocolate, raspberries, vanilla espuma, and lime meringue was served for dessert.
The LATAM team, which represents the region of Chile, Argentina, and Mexico, and consisted of head chef Guillermo Nhicolas Hurtado Oses and his assistant Alejandro Andrés Ponce Opazo, came in third. This team started with a caramelized leek and whitefish dish that was served with a fried quail egg. The main dish was venison in hazelnut butter served with a poached carrot and a duxelles stuffed potato. Dessert included a glazed chocolate bar, raspberry-celery sauce, custard praline ganache, and marinated raspberries.
“We are extremely proud of the creativity and culinary talent that we have around the world,” said Carl Mittleman, Chief Operating Officer of Aramark’s international group. “To even get to this competition, many excellent chefs compete against one another in their respective countries to earn the chance to represent their geographies on the world stage. The nine teams that competed in Prague are the best of the best.”
“Seeing the camaraderie of our culinary teams working together through the common language of food was a great thing to be a part of and we are already looking forward to next year’s event, which will be held in Santiago, Chile,” continued Mittleman. “While this was a competition, the feeling was more like a group of colleagues that creatively supported and respected each other. It was exciting to see the friendships being built among the participants.”
