Andreas Becker from Trier is the VKD’s new president
The 19th General Assembly of the German Chefs’ Association (Verband der Köche Deutschlands e.V. , VKD) concluded on 14 September 2013 in Karlsruhe. The agenda contained the elections of a new president, executive committee and board as well as amendments of the statutes and reports on the activities of the association. Approximately 200 chefs participated in the 2-day event, which was excellently prepared by the Chefs’ Association in Karlsruhe (Verein der Köche Karlsruhe 1898 e.V.) under the direction of Klaus Müller.
The German Chefs’ Association has a new president: Andreas Becker, Kitchen Director Vereinigte Hospitien Trier, will be guiding the fortunes of the largest professional chefs’ association. Robert Oppeneder, who did not stand as a candidate again after a successful term, wished his successor lots of strength and circumspection in performing his new task. While running for the highest position amongst the German chefs, Andreas Becker was able to prevail against his two competing candidates: Andreas Rohde, Event Organiser of the Landgut Gühlen and Kitchen Director of the Rehabilitation Clinic Hohenelse in Rheinsberg and Ralf Meneghini, Trainer and Application Coach at Palux AG in Bad Mergentheim. He was elected with 856 members casting their votes in favour of the new president.
The Executive Committee was also elected through postal voting ahead of the General Assembly. Karl Haaf from Calw was reinstated in the position of Vice President as the only candidate for the Southern Region. From the Eastern Region, Detlef Richter, Director of Training at the Akademie Berlin-Schmöckwitz in Berlin, exchanged his duties as member of the board for the position of Vice President. For the Northern Region, Johann Grassmugg, Operations Manager of the Marina Restaurant at the Travemünde Yacht Club, came out as the winner. At present, there is no Vice President for the Western Region; however, they will register a candidate at a later stage. In his region, Andreas Becker ran as a candidate for both the position of President and Vice President.
In his inaugural speech, Andreas Becker called upon the Delegates Assembly’s team spirit, which was met with great applause. “You and your knowledge are of vital importance.” At the same time, he thanked his predecessor for his “wholehearted dedication” at the helm of the VKD over the last few years. In the future, the professional association is planning to provide the public with more information on professional issues and the culinary teams’ activities. Promoting young professionals remains one of the board’s top priorities.
Andreas Becker considers himself to be a team player and places great importance on a close cooperation between his fellow directors and the board. During his term of office from 2013 to 2017, he will be assisted by a team of both new and experienced board members.
The Overall Board of the VKD will be supplemented by the six Directors of the VKD’s Expert Committees. They were elected by open ballot by the delegates who met in Karlsruhe:
Rainer Werchner, Managing Director of Hela Gewürzwerk Hermann Laue in Austria, as Chairman of the JAK Committee (Youth, Exhibitions, Competitions, Culinary Art)
Karl Nafz, Product and Quality Manager at the University Clinic in Tübingen, will remain in his position as Chairman of the GVS Committee (Communal/Large-scale and Company Catering, Event Catering, System Catering);
Bernd Malter, Product Development and Quality Assurance as well as Training at the Enchilada Franchise GmbH in Gräfelfing and Managing Director of the Kochstudio Malter in Mertingen, will stay in his position as Chairman of the GMF Committee (Gastronomic Segment, Trade Shows, Associations, Companies/Partners);
Siegfried Wintgen, Owner of “Gesundheitsbewusstes Kochen” [health-conscious cooking] in Salzburg, will take over the position of Chairman of the EuG Committee (Nutrition and Health);
Prof. Dr. Gerald Wetzel, Director of the International Institute of Hospitality at the Baltic College in Schwerin, continues in his position as Chairman of the BAP Committee (Professional Training and Further Training, Examinations and Seminars (BAP);
Andreas Buss from Marburg took the position of Chairman of the MEK Committee (Membership Support, Media, Marketing & Communication, IT).
Franz Nass, the owner of the holiday park “Fichtenweg” in Winterberg, was re-elected as speaker of the various Federal State Associations.
The 19th General Assembly of the VKD took place under the patronage of Karlsruhe’s Mayor, Dr. Frank Mentrup. In his speech, he praised the dedication of the Karlsruhe chefs in his city. There were also a number of players from the industry who participated in the Assembly: During the Assembly, Katrin Moos-Achenbach of Achenbach Delicatessen and Walter Seubert of Seubert Delicatessen received the VKD’s highest award for their 50-year membership; Georges Knecht, President of the Hotel & Gastro Union as well as Andreas Bader brought greetings and congratulations from Switzerland; in addition Wieland Kniffka, Managing Director of Messe Erfurt, and District Manager, Anke Fischer, were also amongst the first people to congratulate the new VKD Board.
For information please contact:
Deborah Schumann
Freelance Journalists
Public Relations and Media Liaison of the VKD
On behalf of the German Chefs’ Association (VKD)
Tel.: +49 611 7239 239
Mobile: +49 171 316 4178
www.vkd.com, www.kochrebellen.de
Email: [email protected]
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