Sebastian Frank
At 33 years old, Sebastian Frank is already a very successful chef. Since 2010 he has been serving up finest Austrian cuisine at
Restaurant Horváth in Berlin, Germany, reaping praise from guests and professional critics. Sebastian is not only the proud owner
of Restaurant Horváth, but also a number of accolades such as a Michelin star; winner of ”Koch des Jahres 2011“; eight out of ten
“Gusto-Pfannen” from the renowned German gourmet guide, and 17 Gault Millau points. Restaurant Horváth is just the beginning.
His goal is to make his cuisine known beyond the country’s borders.
The cooperation with Friedr. Dick came about thanks to a competition: “I took part in a competition supported by Friedr. Dick –
‘Koch des Jahres‘ – and won. Now I’d like to give something back, and immediately agreed to work on this book and app. I’d like to use it to
show how to combine high-quality produce and knives at the highest level.“
Sebastian Frank can list the criteria for a perfect knife on the fingers of one hand: Sharpness, balance and weight. He sees these
criteria fulfilled in Friedr. Dick’s knives. ”In my experience, Friedr. Dick makes very strong, robust knives which you can genuinely
use in any situation“ believes the star chef. He does, however have a favourite Friedr. Dick knife, the Usuba knife. “It feels so good
in your hand“, Sebastian says, justifying his decision.
Although he has chosen a vegetable knife as his favourite, this chef particularly likes preparing fish. He confides during filming
that he used to do this a couple of hundred times a day. Even today, he likes preparing fish and pays attention to where they come
from, how fresh they are and how they were caught. For Sebastian Frank, cooking does not just involve passion, but also a sense
of responsibility.
At the beginning of his career, it wasn’t obvious that Sebastian Frank should go on to become an award-winning chef. “When
I was 13, my mother put me in a home economics course at school. This included cooking, and I kind of liked it. At 14, I began
training to be a chef”. Afterwards, he went on to not only to become a chef in Steirereck in Vienna, which for many years has been
considered one of the best restaurants in the world, but also to gain valuable experience in the Interalpen Hotel Tyrol as a sous
chef.
Despite his many awards and excellent reviews, the chef has remained pleasantly down-to-earth: ”I think I’m a pretty modest
person, and I rarely – if ever – get fits of stellar ambition“, the Austrian who has now made Berlin his home admits. This can be
seen on set. Sebastian Frank smiles for hours into the camera, never complains, and is always in a good mood. The one time he
accidently cuts himself, the wound is quickly attended to, then he goes on cutting and chopping. You can see the results: a quite
special book and app on how to cut properly.