The chefs from the Board of Trustees of Vienna Pensioners’ Residences competed as a national team in the communal catering category in Stuttgart.
Vienna (OTS) – This year too, Team Vienna, the chef cadre of the Houses to Life, won the coveted silver medal in the catering category at the world-renowned, international Culinary Olympics! Team Vienna managed to impress the expert jury and the audience with a deluxe 3-course menu on the day of the competition on February 6th in Stuttgart.
With sustainability and regionality to Stockerlplatz
On this day, the menu, which had been kept secret until then, was finally presented to the public. It started with a crisp, fresh starter variation made from Waldorf salad, black walnut and apple cress decorated with a bread stick in the shape of the Vienna Ferris wheel. We continued with either a delicious vegetarian creation made from peas, figs, plums, pumpkin, mushroom dashi and celery or a meat-reduced main course consisting of a parsnip and potato puree with veal cheeks on cabbage and peppers. The finale was a tempting chocolate nougat dessert. When it comes to ingredients, great importance was placed on sustainability and regionality.
Great performance at the top level was convincing
Once again, Team Vienna was the only team where apprentices also competed. The IKA/Culinary Olympics is the oldest, largest and most diverse international culinary competition in the world. Full of passion, professional teams work on the perfect interplay of ingredients, preparation and presentation. New culinary trends emerge in fair competition. Robert Guschelbauer, head of gastronomic management at Haus zum Leben: “I am overwhelmed by the skill and team spirit of our chefs! I would like to thank Team Vienna and especially our team captain Peter Löscher! That was a great performance at the top level. We couldn’t wish for a better business card for our fresh kitchens and as employers and apprentice trainers.” The fact that Team Vienna was able to compete as the Austrian national team in the communal catering category also made all employees of the houses for living and the pensioners’ clubs happy Pride and joy, says Guschelbauer.
Just missed the gold medal
Peter Hacker, Executive City Councilor for Social Affairs, Health and Sport and KWP President, says: “The fact that a team of cooks from the fresh kitchens of our houses for living is awarded a silver medal at a renowned, international competition like the IKA Olympiad in Stuttgart – and would have won more gold with just three points – shows how seriously the city of Vienna takes catering for its pensioner residents. It also provides an excellent certificate for the apprenticeship training at the Houses for Living: Our Vienna team was once again the only team in which trainees were also able to shine.”
Only the best for the residents of the houses to live in
Christian Hennefeind, managing director of Haus zum Leben, concludes: “Gastronomy is an extremely important area of our 30 Haus zum Leben. This starts with the purchase of primarily regional food with a high organic content, continues with the constant training of apprentices and employees and ends with the fresh delicacies on our residents’ plates every day. Today’s award is both a nice confirmation and great motivation for us to continue on this successful path.”
The Kuratorium Wiener Pensionisten-Wohnhäuser (KWP) or the houses for living are the largest provider of senior care in Austria with 30 pensioner apartment buildings in 21 districts of Vienna. It offers the most nursing and residential places in the country. In addition, thousands of older people throughout Vienna visit the 150 pensioners’ clubs for the city of Vienna every day, which are also run by the KWP. The catering area with around 800 employees operates a research kitchen for people with chewing and swallowing difficulties and supplies the around 8,500 residents with meals every day from the in-house kitchens and patisseries. The company also trains 130 apprentices every year.
Questions & Contact:
Marketing & Communications Department
Board of Trustees for Vienna Pensioners’ Residences (KWP)
Seegasse 9, 1090 Vienna
Tel.: +43 1 313 99 170232
E-Mail: presse@kwp.at