Jürgen Mädger honoured with the Gaspart Bonet Foundation award

Jürgen Mädger honoured with the Gaspart Bonet Foundation award

During the 83rd HOTREC General Assembly in Lyon, Mr Jürgen Mädger received the Gaspart Bonet Foundation award for his outstanding services promoting young talents and sustainability.

Mr Mädger is the founder of the so-called ‘Mini-chefs’, an initiative which today radiates beyond Germany and into other European countries (e.g. Austria, Finland, France and Switzerland) as ‘Europe Mini-chefs’.

The idea of a mini chef club was born between 1989 and 1992 from Mr Mädger’s former hotel in Bartholomä (Baden- Württemberg, south-west Germany). The club motto is: health through proper nutrition in an intact environment.

Children aged 10 to 11 participate in a two-year project. They are equipped with professional cooking clothes and playfully explore health and nutrition topics. This project contributes to

successfully shaping the nutritional behaviour of children and families without a commercial background and in a sustainable and long-term way.

“I am extremely pleased about this international award for our project Europe Mini-chefs. Since it first started in 1989, we have been able to teach more than 30,000 children the importance of health through proper nutrition in an intact environment in a practical way and with a lot of zest for life. We can only secure our future if we pass on our knowledge and skills to our children”, says Jürgen Mädger, founder of the Europe Mini-chefs, thanking his European industry colleagues for this special honour.

“We are delighted to present this award to Mr Jürgen Mädger for making a difference in the way young generations can approach our industry and learn to understand the value of a sustainable, healthy gastronomy. The ‘Mini-chef’ project is a valuable example of how we can communicate to our youth the great value that our industry holds”, commented Mr Jens Zimmer Christensen, President of HOTREC.

For further information: www.hotrec.eu

Press Contact:                   Ms Alessia Angiulli, Communications Manager | [email protected] | + 32 (0)2 504 78 48

The Gaspart Bonet Foundation award is delivered twice a year to a personality who has remarkably contributed to the European hospitality industry. Mr Miquel Planas, famous artist and chairman of the Sculpture Department of Fine Arts of the Fine Arts Faculty of Barcelona, designed the award.

HOTREC is the umbrella association of Hotels, Restaurants, Bars and Cafés and similar establishments in Europe, which brings together 46 National associations in 35 countries, and is the voice of European hospitality. HOTREC mission is to represent and champion its interests towards the EU and international institutions, foster knowledge sharing and best practices among its members to promote innovation and act as a platform of expertise for the hospitality sector.