Tim Mälzer reveals why the new "Kitchen Impossible" season is so special for him and what he misses most in the Corona crisis.
Tim Mälzer (50) again invites his cook colleagues to duels at the stove. The sixth season "Kitchen Impossible" starts on February 14th (Sundays at 8:15 pm on VOX or via TVNow). In an interview with the news agency spot on news, the professional chef tells how the corona pandemic is shaping the new episodes in a special way and why he liked to face Tim Raue (46) and Alexander Herrmann (49) at the same time. Mälzer also tells how he is doing as a restaurateur in the Corona crisis and how he looks back on the virtual cooking party on his 50th birthday.
The new "Kitchen Impossible" season stays at home this time. What are you missing from the show?
Tim Mälzer: The cliché that such a trip to another country brings with it. When you go to Italy, you build a culinary chain of associations with people. Everyone tastes Italy as soon as you travel to it. That was a tad more difficult, because you first have to conjure up this taste verbally from Baden-Württemberg. Otherwise nothing was missing, we have a lot of great people, great dishes, great original chefs, very cool challengers and wonderful stories – everything just written in German.
So it's not just typical German cuisine on your plate?
Mälzer: We call the season a home season and Germany is home to many other influences. We actually travel all the pots in the world during the season. Sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees and it's fascinating to see the willingness with which we open up to culinary delights when we are on vacation. And actually we have everything right here on our doorstep. I think this is a quintessence that we are all just noticing that you don't have to look that far, but rather see in your immediate surroundings what fascinating and great dishes there are to discover.
Because of the travels, it was always particularly exhausting for the "Kitchen Impossible" chefs. Have you come to the stove fitter for your tasks?
Mälzer: Not necessarily. In that case, I drove a lot to avoid contact. A trip like this to Heidelberg can take nine hours, and it takes just as long to take the plane to New York. That is already exhausting, you are also not 20 anymore. As always, I was focused on the task itself and pulled through. With my colleagues, I could just feel how they enjoyed the show. Finally cooking again with purpose and purpose and for a guest.
How did you experience the general mood of your fellow cooks and what about your own?
Mälzer: Due to the first and second lockdown and the renovation work, the "Bullerei" has been closed for a year except for three weeks. You have real longing and want so much to be able to do what you want again. I chose the profession because I have a passion for it. I miss people, I miss being a guest and host myself. So are we all. But we try to ignore the gray clouds that the outside world has given us. You shouldn't give the situation too much space. The calm also gave us time for creativity, which we made great use of.
Among other things, you have created various food boxes. What else is planned there?
Mälzer: We were very lucky that we were able to deal with our boxes, there will now also be one for "Kitchen Impossible" with which you can bring the show home with regard to smell. We will continue to send boxes diligently so that we can be creative and maybe to compensate for part of the losses on our own, without being dependent on the financial arbitrariness of politics. We will never be able to turn it into a company in the traditional sense that compensates for the losses. But in any case we can keep our employees busy and maintain a vision for the future. Because if we have ever walked through the valley of tears, then of course we all hope that very good times will come our way.
This season there is a triple duel with Tim Raue and Alexander Herrmann. Isn't the idea of losing to two colleagues a lot worse?
Mälzer: Basically, I don't know what it feels like to lose because I always win – at least in my memory (laughs). I'm really a bit bothered there. Sometimes I meet colleagues who competed against me, who beat me and in my memory I won. I have a perception that is borderline. In this case, it was fascinating to see because we were a classic love triangle. We were partners and opponents at the same time. The two got together to perform against me and vice versa. A little sapling game of the very highest order. This combination of the loudmouth Raue, the food professor Alexander Herrmann and the maltster from Pinneberg was really fun.
Are there any other candidates that you were particularly pleased about?
Mälzer: The first opponent Lucki Maurer is a great pleasure for me. I don't judge the chefs based on the rating system, but how much the person or the food touches me. And he is right at the top of my eternal "Hall of Fame" because I really admire and appreciate what he does. The only thing that left a small scar on my soul is that I had to cook one of his dishes. I think that's outrageous because I love being his guest and I never analyze what he's cooking. I just enjoy. And suddenly something very emotional was remodeled into an analysis project. I moaned a lot. Otherwise, I got to know Sepp Schellhorn, an opponent from Austria, as an incredibly warm-hearted, very philosophical, but still very great person. A real discovery that also has the potential to turn into real friendship.
Have there been situations again where you thought: Why am I doing all this?
Mälzer: Sure, every time the black box is served to me. I always feel like a striker with constant jam. Every time I enter a competition or a task that I cannot handle. There will never be a 10 out of 10 and every time I fail and let the television watch me do things wrong. But it's fun because the tasks educate me, teach me and show me my personal limits. Initially, my puke outweighs me, and then humility.
You started a virtual birthday party on your 50th birthday. Were you satisfied with the day given the circumstances?
Mälzer: It was a brilliant festival under the existing conditions. I think we really managed to bridge this distance. Lots of great people and friends tuned in and surprised me with beautiful things, like self-composed songs by Olli Schulz and Thees Uhlmann or a serenade by Rea Garvey. And I cooked with so many people at the same time – it was semi-public, but somehow it also had great intimate moments.
"Planning" is a difficult word these days. But what do you want to do in 2021?
Mälzer: We are now looking forward to doing what we want to do again, i.e. being able to be hosts. That we can fill our lives with life again. I already have as many sounds, smells and videos in my head as it could be. Most of us do it with passion. We are like little puppies that are let off the leash to play in the dog park. Except that the meadow is still closed.