The new president of the Austrian Chefs Association (Verband der Köche Österreichs – VKÖ) is Alois Gasser. The VKÖ-board passed him a vote of confidence in the ge- neral meeting of the association. Gasser, native from Salzburg, will lead the VKÖ in the next four years. He will be sup- ported by his two vice-presidents Helmut Deutsch and Mike P. Pansi. Apart from one vote – Gasser himself abstained from voting – all the board members voted for the new executive committee.
With this credit of trust comes a huge responsibility for Gasser and his team. There are many tasks they will have to cope with. The objectives of the new president are di- verse and ambitious. At the centre of atten- tion will be the advancement of the chef- profession and the professional youth. The young cooks shall again become a much more important part of the association. One goal is to bring the VKÖ and its issues and matters closer to the youth. Especially the encouragement of further education will be a very important path in this field.
Furthermore the topics sustainability in gas- tronomy, regionality and healthy cooking are on top of the agenda of Gasser and his team. To achieve these ambitious goals, there will be developed a new and accurately de- fined philosophy for the VKÖ. This will help to guide our members and also to repre- sent the association outwardly in the best way possible. In the future the VKÖ will not just be a silent listener when it comes to to- pics concerning everyone working in the branch. It will actively contribute its point and its arguments to achieve the best pos- sible outcome for all chefs.
The Verband der Köche Österreichs was established in 1902 and includes about 1300 members. The VKÖ has various federal sections which are acting on regional level.Verbad des Koche des
