Presenting the 6 chefs competing in the German semi-final of Chef Balfegó 2024

The German semi-final of the VII edition of Chef Balfegó will be held in Munich on 14 October. The BMW Welt EssZimmer by Käfer from Munich is the scenario chosen for 6 exceptional chefs to showcase their talent working with Balfegó bluefin tuna in front of a professional jury, who will decide on the German representative in the 2024 Chef Balfegó Grand Final. Here are the 6 chosen chefs:

1. Jay Lee, from the Junsui restaurant (Meerbusch)
2. Josef Weig, from the Storstad restaurant* (Regensburg)
3. Julio Pizarro, from Pizarro Fine Dining (Groß-Gerau)
4. Marvin Böhm, from the Aqua*** restaurant (Wolfsburg)
5. Maximilian Hühnergarth, from Barra Berlin (Berlin)
6. Sascha Kurgan, from Skykitchen Berlin (Berlin)

The 6 candidates will cook in the spectacular kitchens of the BMW Welt, an exceptional scenario for such an important date in our calendar. As a new feature, the German finalists will compete for a place in the final with a single dish, using any part of the tuna. One recipe, one chance to win over the jury and earn a direct place in Madrid.

And, once again, there is a jury of 3 of the most prestigious chefs in Germany. They are Tohru Nakamura;from Tohru in der Schreiberei** (Munich), The Duc Ngo; from the restaurant Le Duc Berlin (Berlin) and Christian Sturm-Willms, from Yunico* (Bonn).  It will be their job to assess, score and decide who will become the eighth and last finalist of Chef Balfegó.

After a morning preparing the dishes, the BMW Welt will host the awards ceremony, which will open at 19:00. The event will start with a kaitai ceremony, that celebrates the art of cutting a 150k Balfegó bluefin tuna with expert precision. All the attendees will enjoy a menu designed and prepared by our team exclusively for the occasion, where they will taste different parts of the bluefin tuna. During the cocktail, the winner’s name will be announced, and who will immediately become Germany’s representative in the 2024 Chef Balfegó.

The grand final of the contest will be held on 28 October in Madrid, already with the following finalists:

• Cristóbal Muñoz, from Ambivium* (Peñafiel, Valladolid);
• Lander Cornago, from Arzak*** (San Sebastián);
• Pablo Zuazu, Via Veneto* (Barcelona)
• Paula Gutiérrez, Víctor Gutiérrez* (Salamanca)
• Rui Silva, Euskalduna Studio* (Porto, Portugal)
• Brandon de Bruin, De Krome Dissel* (Heelsum, Holland)
• Leonardo Viola, from A-Spurcacciuna (Savona, Italy)

Our partners

Again this year, in Munich we have the support of our partners: TheFork, Fagor Professional, Le Nouveau Chef, Caviaroli, Porto Muiños, Minami Cuchillos Japoneses, Gin Raw, Oro Bailén, Trivio, Yamaaoi, Chatka Seafood and Alte Grafschatft.