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Olivia Thorbek Jensen Wins Culinary Competition for Young Talents – Rising Star 2024

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4. February 2024

Olivia Thorbek Jensen enchanted the judges with her dessert presentation, which secured her victory in the young chefs’ talent competition – Rising Star 2024 in Gudhjem, Bornholm.

Svinkløv Badehotel, Noma, and Bocuse d’Or. This year’s Rising Star participants have gathered experience from prestigious places before stepping into the kitchen for Sol over Gudhjem’s esteemed talent competition for young chefs. Olivia Thorbek Jensen from Kathrines Støvlets Hus, André Skjødt Andersen from Hotel Frederiksminde, Stine Hartvig Pedersen from Restaurant Domæne, and Magnus Rosendahl from Bistro RK were the four contestants competing for the talent prize. They all delivered main courses and desserts at a very high level, incorporating several elements from Bornholm.

A Complete Dessert

Seated at the judges’ table were some of Denmark’s most renowned and award-winning chefs: Artur Kazaritski (winner of Sol over Gudhjem 2023), Francis Cardenau from Cardenau, Brian Mark Hansen from Søllerød Kro, and Daniel Kruse from Det Røde Pakhus. The four judges agreed that Olivia Thorbek Jensen delivered the competition’s best dessert. However, it wasn’t a foregone conclusion that she would win. After the main course, Olivia Jensen was tied for third place with Stine Pedersen, so she had to bring out the big guns for the final hour.

It turned out that Olivia had spent her time wisely in the training kitchen on her dessert. With a total score of 212 points for her dessert presentation, Olivia landed in first place with the highest score of the year for a single dish. The judges were, to say the least, impressed with the presentation, “Olivia’s dessert had it all. She put a great deal into the storytelling with lovely childhood memories from Bornholm like pancakes, chocolate cream, honey, and roses,” said Francis Cardenau, “and the dish was just complete. It was

varied in texture and flavor. It was cold, warm, and had both crispy and melted elements. Très magnifique! Stine also surprised us with her dessert, which earned her second place. She made an incredibly beautiful and delicious chocolate mousse that was simply world-class.”

Women at the Top

Besides the title of this year’s Rising Star, Olivia Thorbek Jensen also won a prize check of 20,000 DKK, the keys to an Audi Q4 e-tron for a month, and a trip to Turin in Italy with Lavazza. And it was an incredibly proud and humble chef who won the competition: “It’s a huge recognition that all the hard work has paid off, but that it was so good was an incredible experience,” says Olivia Thorbek Jensen and continues: “The other participants are really sharp, so I knew I had to deliver my absolute best. Winning is a huge dream come true.” Olivia works daily in the kitchen at Kathrines Støvlets Hus, but already by Monday, she will step into the Bocuse d’Or kitchen, where she will assist the Danish candidate for the European Championship in March. In other words, she is an inspiring role model for the new generation of talented Danish chefs.

Rising Star was created to bring more role models into the chef industry. That it ends with two girls at the top, we are incredibly happy about, but gender distribution is not our starting point when selecting participants,” says Mikkel Marschall, director of Sol over Gudhjem. “Olivia and Stine do not end up at the top because they are women. They win because they are good, and we selected them precisely because they are good. We have been watching Olivia for a long time, who has made herself noticeable in various competitions and kitchens. While Kenneth Toft-Hansen (restaurateur at Svinkløv Badehotel and former Bocuse d’Or winner) recommended Stine when I asked if he knew any young aspiring chefs. Our starting point is always to get the best who can be role models for the next generation.

Sol Over Gudhjem Rising Star 2024 is made in collaboration with TV2 Bornholm. The competition is broadcasted on TV2 Bornholm on February 3rd and 4th and other TV2 channels on February 6th, 2024.

About Sol over Gudhjem:

Sol over Gudhjem is Denmark’s largest cooking competition. A gastronomic event, held in Gudhjem on Bornholm during the summer since 2009. Today, the competition attracts more than 8,000 foodies, visitors, tourists, and journalists from all over the world. In addition to the cooking competition, Sol over Gudhjem also includes a dessert competition, the Product Prize, the Canteen Prize, and a food market. Sol over Gudhjem has helped draw attention to Bornholm as a gastronomic mecca.

Besides the main competition, Sol over Gudhjem also features the talent competition Sol over Gudhjem Rising Star, which celebrates aspiring Danish chefs, and the business club “Kaffeklubben”.