Ida Bauhn is “lost for words” as she wins Sweden’s Chef of the Year

Early yesterday morning six chefs took the stage to compete in Årets Kock – Sweden’s Chef of the Year. Ida Bauhn, the head chef at one Michelin-starred Nour in Stockholm, was the only female candidate. At the end of the day she slammed it, claiming the win with 774 points – 116 points more than runner up Jesper Wallqvist and the third best result ever since the competition started in 1983.

At first, whilst catching her breath, Ida appeared completely overwhelmed by her own accolade. “I don’t know how I feel, I’m lost for words,” she says. “I can’t tell you what I did to achieve those points, I’ve just been living in my training bubble and it looks like I got it right.”

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During the course of the day she had completed cooking a four-course menu that had to include one hot and one cold snack with vendace roe (löjrom), a seafood starter with no red listed products and a main course from ingredients revealed the very same morning the competition started (The main product to showcase in the dish was an organic Beijing duck from Gotland island. It was such a unique poultry, chef Eric Vildgaard of three-starred Michelin restaurant Jordnær in Copenhagen, a member of the jury, said he wanted to put it on his menu). To round out the meal, the last assignment was a sweet or salty cheese dish containing only Swedish cheeses.

“The cold starter was my biggest worry and it’s been like that since day one,” says Bauhn. “I decided to use langoustine but I’ve been changing the recipe all the time and the way I cooked it today at the competition was a completely new version that I’ve never done before.”

Also on the jury that determined Bauhn the runaway winner was Prince Carl Philip. “It’s so fun to be on the jury, it’s my twelfth time I think, but it’s still such a difficult task as the chefs are cooking at such a high level,” the Prince told TV4 reporter Carolin Björnerhag. “We’re talking about small details that make a difference.”

Though it was evident that Bauhn was the competition’s top candidate, she had hesitated applying for years. “You get wiser the older you get and I came to realize that I can’t start this journey too late either,” she says. “It’s not going to be easier to do it later down the road and it’s going to take a few years – maybe five, of training to win.” Actually it didn’t; 33-year-old Bauhn nabbed the win her first competing year.

Given that winning Årets Kock comes with various gigs and responsibilities, Bauhn will step back somewhat from her day-to-day responsibilities at Nour, continuing to work in more of a background, advisory role.

While female chefs have been deservedly earning the spotlight in Sweden lately, up until recently Årets Kock was dominated by men. In the last four years, three women have been awarded the gold medal. Bauhn joins the ranks of Desirée Jaks who won gold in 2023 and Jessie Sommarström, who claimed the title the previous year. Before that, the last woman to win the competition was Kristina Pettersson way back in 1988.

“It feels fantastic to be a role model next to these names,” says Bauhn. “Previously, I felt a bit uncomfortable in that position and it’s taken me a few years but when I gave birth to my daughter, Stella, it struck me what it means to be a role model and how important it is.”