Gourmet at work: TV chef Johannes Lafer with a “Kitchen Battle” candidate
Photo: ZDF. All rights reserved.
While the late-night cooking shows from Kerner and Lanz have gotten lost and the Saturday “Lafer! Lights! Tasty!” was discontinued, the afternoon “Kitchen Battle” is still there – for 15 years and more than 3,500 broadcasts.
Every weekday at 2:15 p.m. there are initially six amateur chefs cooking, and then on Friday there are only two amateur chefs cooking under the supervision of a professional. This program has admirers not only among older people. Some young people only started cooking because they saw the “kitchen battle” and wanted to apply as candidates. Swabian housewives, East Frisian firefighters, Italian ballet dancers and Austrian insurance brokers work hard under time pressure and questions from the master of ceremonies. At the end, a judge, often a star chef, comes and tastes the dishes at a round white table. A court won’t do it.
This show has a seriousness that is unusual on TV
The presenters include the country’s most experienced television chefs. The strict Cornelia Poletto confidently holds the reins and cooks casually on the side. Mario Kotaska is a charming chatterbox. Nelson Müller is the jovial moody bear. But the biggest gun in the “kitchen battle” is Johann Lafer. The mustachioed Styrian always speaks too loudly, even calls into the studio. “My Liabba, welcome!” He likes the dishes he prepares himself best. He tenderly tastes his chickpea meatballs and praises himself: “I couldn’t make them better!”
With the care of a pianist, he leans over a bowl of salad or cuts into a piece of meat. Then he chews slowly and grins. “That still needs some oomph! A little more salt on it, you know?” Or: “That’s the perfect mix. Burnt on the outside and still cold on the inside.” He calls out to a talented Brazilian: “So, Brazil. Carnival! What’s going on in Flensburg?” On the other hand, the soulful person isn’t stingy with praise.
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The actual tasting is always a celebration of semantics, because not even Johann Lafer interrupts the juror. And the amateur chefs are never demonstrated by the experts. There is a seriousness that is unusual in television. Chefs probably call it “love of the product”.