Four chefs from Gothenburg and Gothia Towers head to Culinary Olympics

No less than four chefs from Gothia Towers will be lining up to compete in the Culinary Olympics in Germany on 22–26 October.
“It’s totally unique! The fact is that we have become something of a breeding ground for promising young chefs,” says Krister Dahl, Director of Concept Development for F&B at Gothia Towers, who will be part of the judging panel at the event.

Three of the chefs in the Swedish Olympic team – Fredrik Andersson, Kalle Bengtsson and Eddy Zippert Gilborne – and one member of the junior national team, Kasper Kleihs, actually work at Gothia Towers.
Fredrik will also take over as captain of the Swedish Culinary Team after this event.

Why is it that Gothia Towers is so well represented?
“I suppose it’s partly to do with my background,” says Krister, who headed the hugely successful Swedish Culinary Team for ten years and is the only person in the world to have four golds from the Culinary Olympics.
“We are good at supporting and pushing one another. It’s actually difficult to find good chefs, but we have created a culture that attracts many talented individuals.”

Krister himself will have a rather special role at the Culinary Olympics in Erfurt: he will be on the six-man jury judging “Restaurants of Nations”, one of the two subdivisions at the championships.
“I will be rooting for Sweden, of course, that’s inevitable,” he admits.
“But it’s the same for the other judges, they also have to judge their own countrymen. There’s a professionalism among the jury; marks are reported openly and you have to be able to justify the marks you award.”

Sweden are the reigning Olympic champions – in both the senior and junior category. And naturally ambitions are high. Even judge Dahl, who was Swedish captain at the previous Culinary Olympics four years ago, agrees:
“Yes, obviously I hope that our chefs can defend the title. It’s a strong team with all the qualifications to succeed.”

Gothia Towers will not only be represented at the Culinary Olympics this autumn, but also at several other prestigious food and restaurant competitions:
Fredrik Andersson achieved a well-deserved second place at the Global Chef Challenge in Greece on 27 September.
Anton Husa had a good showing at the world championship for junior chefs in the UK on 30 September.
Gustav Gansund will compete for the title Waiter of the Year and Anton Husa for the title Rising Star of the Year at Restauranggalan at Cirkus in Stockholm on 17 October.
Fredrik Borgskog, Pastry Chef at Upper House, will compete in the international final of Valrhona C3, the ultimate chocolate dessert championship, in New York on 24 October.