Here is the winner of Chef of the Year 2023

The final of Chef of the Year 2023 was decided at Annexet in Stockholm. It was Desirée Jaks who won and can call herself Swedish champion in professional cooking.
– In my opinion, this was the best final ever, says Johans Dahlbom, chairman of the jury.

During the Chef of the Year competition, the eight finalists served dishes of hot and cold lobster and reindeer. New for this year were the moments “cook soup on a nail” and “you take what you have”, which were presented the day before the final.

Desirée Jaks receives a medal from Prince Carl-Philip

Desirée Jaks receives a medal from Prince Carl-Philip Photo: Samuel Unéus

Desiree Jaks led both at halftime and when it was time for the winner of Chef of the Year 2023 to be named. Going forward, she hopes to make the industry more attractive.

– I hope that this win can give me the opportunity to have a stronger voice in the development of the industry where we can work sustainably with the entire chain and make the industry more attractive to new generations. It feels like we are in a generational shift, says Desirée Jaks.

At the award ceremony at the Annex, the 28-year-old from Stockholm received the Gastronomic Academy’s dairy medal in gold from Prince Carl Philip, patron of Chef of the Year, as well as a prize check for SEK 250,000. Also on stage was Jonas Dahlbom, Chef of the Year 1996, and chairman of the jury.

– It has been consistently high quality this year. In my opinion, this was the best final ever. We in the jury have had a difficult task and it has been even, but in the end I can say that the right person won, says Jonas Dahlbom.

In second place came Henric Herbertsson and in third place Oskar Persson.

Klas Lindberg, Prince Carl-Philip and Helene Kugelberg, CEO of Chef of the Year.

Klas Lindberg, Prince Carl-Philip and Helene Kugelberg, CEO of the Chef of the Year. Photo: Samuel Unéus

Desirée Jaks is currently creatively responsible at Restaurant Spesso. She has previously worked at restaurant Agrikultur for over 4 years, where she started as a cook and finished as head chef together with Filip Fastén, who won Chef of the Year 2014. Before that, Desirée has worked, among other things, at restaurant Sjön in Jönköping.