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Ronny PietznerGerman Chef Ronny Pietzner entices diners with color and presentation, whether delicately filling a tiny pepper with soup or drizzling a balsamic reduction over a dish. During a recent visit to Johnson & Wales University, where he was honored as the 136th Distinguished Visiting Chef® (DVC), Pietzner shared these and other techniques for creating visually appealing and nutritious dishes with more than 200 Culinary Arts students.
At just 24 years old, Pietzner is the youngest person ever to serve on the German National Culinary Olympic Team, as well as the youngest chef to be honored by Johnson & Wales University. During his apprenticeship years, he decided that his goal was to become one of the best chefs in Germany. Since 1998, he has worked at a series of prestigious hotels and restaurants. Currently, Pietzner is executive chef at Krongut Bornstedt, a restored royal farm in Potsdam, about 10 miles outside of Berlin and appears on a German television show called “Musikantensheune.” Pietzner was assisted with food preparation and lecture translation by Uta Schepers, a Culinary Arts student from Germany studying at Johnson & Wales courtesy of a scholarship from the F. Dick Foundation. During his demonstration, Pietzner stressed the importance of nutrition, citing healthy cooking methods and small portions. When challenged by a student about the use of heavy cream in his recipes, Pietzner responded that “fat is good” in moderation … and was greeted with a round of applause. Pietzner encouraged students to enhance their education by participating in as many competitions as possible. His motto: “You’ll never become excellent without a lot of training.” Pietzner won two gold and two silver medals at the Culinary Olympics in 2000. For all of his accomplishments, however, he said he continues to learn from other chefs, including the more experienced members of the National Team. A fan of the ingredients and dishes native to the Brandenburg Marches region of East Germany, Pietzner used some common elements of this cuisine in the recipes he prepared, including rabbit, walleyed pike and sea buckthorn (a berry): Symphony of Vegetables with Red Onion Vinaigrette Mustard Soup “Rotisseur” Style with Cauliflower Puree and Rabbit Loin Duo of Arctic Char with Walleyed Pike, Vanilla Infused Cucumbers and Marbled Potato Tart Old Prussian Almond Paste Farina with Strawberries in Wine Jelly, Chocolate Delicacies and Sea Buckthorn Compote |
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