The search for the Free Chef of the Year continues for the seventh time

By: Ipacs Tamás Date: 2025. 01. 17. 08:44

This year, the METRO Gastro Academy will once again host the Chef of the Year competition, which will be held in amateur and professional categories. What is new is that from this year onwards, the organizers will place even greater emphasis on sustainability, which is why only seasonal ingredients will be included in the list of optional ingredients, and mandatory ingredients will also be prescribed.

Kuti Szelenge’s dessert that won second place in the amateur category in 2024

Allergen-free, safe
The aim of the competition, organized for the seventh time in 2025 by Csak a Mentes in the professional and amateur categories, is to draw attention to the importance of allergen-free, healthy nutrition, and to demonstrate that it is possible to eat deliciously and variedly without allergens – all of the dishes and desserts prepared in the competition are gluten-, sugar-, dairy-free and vegan. The category winner will be awarded the title of Chef of the Year for one year and will receive valuable prizes.

Focus on creativity
This year, for the first time, there will be mandatory ingredients to use, so the competitors will need even more creativity and imagination; in the spirit of sustainability, the ingredients to choose from will be exclusively seasonal products. Entrants can enter the competition in both amateur and professional categories. The final of the Chef of the Year competition will be held on February 20, preceded by semi-finals in both categories, at the METRO Gastro Academy.

Important information
The application deadline is January 24, 2024, for which you must fill out the online form at the following link and meet the application requirements:

Az Év Mentes Séfje

• January 28, 2025. Amateur category qualifier
• January 29, 2025. Professional category qualifier
• February 20, 2025. Finals for both categories
The competition announcement with the required ingredients and the competition process can be found at the following link:

Az Év Mentes Séfje – versenykiírás

Jury:
The dishes will be scored and evaluated by a jury of professional experts: Zsófi Mautner, gastroblogger, writer, presenter, Gréta Stőhr, healthy lifestyle expert, hostess of Hungary’s first and only plant-based cooking show, founder of the first vegan chef and cooking school owner, writer, Zoltán Kovács, head chef of Napfényes Restaurant, vegan chef, Csaba Ádám, owner-chef of the former Olimpia restaurant, György Molnár, master chef, teacher, gluten-free gastronomy expert.
The jury is chaired by Gergely Zsolnay, chef, horticultural engineer, nutrition expert, and winner of the professional category of the 2023 Chef of the Year competition. The hostess of the competition will be actress Dóra Szinetár.