TV chef Tim Mälzer is known for his self-confidence, which was well on display during his appearance on Kitchen Impossible (Vox) on Sunday evening. During the show, he was challenged by Munich restaurateur, Graciela Cucchiara, to recreate the simple Italian dish of gnocchi with pesto Genovese, a dish close to Graciela’s heart since she is of Italian-Argentine descent. However, Mälzer was not fazed by the challenge, repeatedly stating, “I’m the best Italian chef outside of Italy!”
Despite Mälzer’s confidence, Graciela had a trick up her sleeve. She claimed that her pesto Genovese was the “best in the world,” and that Mälzer might struggle due to his “thick hands or fingers.” Mälzer took offense, jokingly correcting her with “sausage fingers.” However, when he arrived at the “Osteria Baccicin Du Caru” in Genoa, he quickly found himself in a state of sweaty exhaustion. Crushing the basil leaves for the pesto proved challenging, taking Mälzer 40 minutes to complete. Meanwhile, chef Gianni had analyzed Mälzer’s mistake, stating that it would have been easier had he removed the pine nuts at the bottom.
Mälzer continued to fight with his mortar and pestle, with the cook Rosella helping to dab the sweat from his face as it was almost running into his pesto creation. The test eaters were meticulously selected and included one claiming to be the “President of the World Pesto Championship in Mortar, which takes place every two years in Genoa.” Mälzer cooked up a storm, securing 72 points, which was one point more than Graciela’s score for her roulades with Bohemian dumplings in the Czech Republic.
For the second round, Mälzer found himself struggling again; this time, with a pumpkin. He had to peel and cut it into pieces for the preparation of the Argentine stew “Locro.” However, he quickly made the vegetable his number one cooking enemy, exclaiming, “Pumpkin is one of nature’s mistakes. What a filthy vegetable. I hate pumpkin!” In the end, he still managed to score an impressive 90 points for his dish.
With a total of 16.2 to 13.4 points, Mälzer was able to secure victory once again. He joked, “Then maybe I’m the best Argentine chef outside of Argentina.” Mälzer’s confidence shone through yet again, proving he is a force to be reckoned with in the culinary world.
