Gourmet chef André Kneubühler relies on 3D printing for the presentation of his sophisticated dishes. At the "Golden Chef", the most important Swiss cooking competition, he achieves third place with this - also with the help of Sintratec technology.
Cooking at the highest level
27-year-old André Kneubühler was born in Brugg and now works as a sous chef for Tanja Grandits, Switzerland's best female chef. Her restaurant, which has been awarded 19 Gault Millau points and 2 Michelin stars, is one of the most renowned kitchens in the country. But André does not only prove his culinary skills there: In the last six months, he took part in the "Golden Chef", the most important and largest Swiss cooking competition, and prevailed - first in the preliminary round, then in the semi-finals - against strong competition. So the professional chef then stood in the grand final at the end of May 2021 together with 3 fellow competitors.
For the final, André came up with a very special form of presentation in addition to refined fish and meat dishes. Following the given theme of "Swissness", he created - with the help of his sister, who works in the 3D printing sector - a show plate with various, typically Swiss decorative elements. Due to their complexity, the specially created designs were additively manufactured. "I decided to use 3D-printed parts because it is the ideal material for me to be creative and make all kinds of shapes," André explains.
André's final fish and meat dishes were presented on a 3D-printed serving arrangement.
With 3D printing to third place
Sintratec sponsored various components for the production of André's superstructure: The mountain range, various Edelweiss vases and plates, as well as a 1:1 model of the Matterhorn were produced from sturdy PA12 nylon using the selective laser sintering (SLS) process on the Sintratec S2 system. Then André and his team cleverly combined the white-painted 3D parts with magnets so that small gold plates could be fixed to them with the food. In addition to his cooking skills, André was probably able to convince the jury of this year's competition with this sophisticated presentation: he was voted third best Swiss chef, just behind the winner Paul Cabayé and the second-placed Stéphanie Zosso.
Various elements of the presentation plate such as the mountain chain, supports and flowers were laser-sintered.
Potential for star gastronomy
Even though the use of additive technologies in the culinary industry is nothing new, André's perception of 3D printing has changed a lot through his collaboration with Sintratec. "With you, the parts were almost perfect and I rarely saw that with 3D printing," he points out. The gourmet chef also sees some potential for this industry in the future: "Sintratec technology definitely has its justification in star gastronomy - it offers a lot of creative freedom and is particularly suitable for special serving arrangements," André sums up. We are already looking forward to the next tête-à-tête between high-tech and haute cuisine!
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