Markus Podzimek

Markus Podzimek (2012)

Markus Podzimek (born October 31, 1975 in Siegen ) is a German master confectioner and maître chocolatier .

Life

Markus Podzimek was born in Siegen as the son of master confectioner Albert Podzimek and his wife Susanne (née Heimann) . After successfully completing school and attending a business school, he completed a three-year apprenticeship as a pastry chef. This was followed by stays in various pastry shops in Germany, France and Switzerland. After passing the master craftsman's examination at the Cologne Chamber of Crafts and studying business administration, Podzimek began his career as a chocolatier.

He gained fame through his achievements at Patisserie Oskar , the Grand Prix of Chocolate Art and the World Chocolate Masters. After taking 3rd place in the “Grand Prix of Chocolate Art” in 2004, he was awarded the Patisserie Oskar in Vienna in 2005 for his exhibit “The tempting sweet sin”. At the World Chocolate Masters 2005 in Paris he reached 8th place with his work “Europe” and has since been one of the top 10 chocolatiers in the world.

Markus Podzimek is one of those pastry chefs who appear regularly on TV and radio shows. Since the end of 2013 he has had his own TV show “Lecker Backen” on WDR television. He runs his own chocolaterie , a coffee house with a restaurant in Siegen as the flagship store of Confiserie Heimann and since 2009 an online shop. The company was founded by Podzimek's great-grandfather Gustav Heimann in 1912. It now has four branches with around 85 employees.

In 2013, Markus Podzimek was appointed "NRW-Genuss" ambassador for pleasure for the Siegerland-Wittgenstein region. In 2014 it made it into the Feinschmecker-Handbuch for the second time, which is one of the most important restaurant guides in Germany. This makes “Das Naschwerk” in Siegen one of the 450 best cafés and roasters in Germany.

Podzimek currently lives with his wife in Neunkirchen , North Rhine-Westphalia , where the family business is located.

Creations

Podzimek's creations include the Rubens ball from Siegen . In 2008 Podzimek first cooperated with the winemaker Sebastian Keller from Mallorca and in 2009 with the winemaker and oenologist Miguel Besoain from Chile to perfect the combination of wine and chocolate. In addition to pralines, truffles and hand-scooped chocolate, Podzimek also creates extravagant spreads.

Competitions and Awards

2004: International Patisserie Grand Prix of Chocolate Art in Vienna, 3rd place
2005: International Patisserie Grand Prix of Chocolate Art in Vienna, 1st place with The tempting sweet sin
2005: World Chocolate Masters in Paris, 8th place with Europe
2009: Jury member at the international Grand Prix of Chocolate Art in Vienna
2013: Ambassador of pleasure for the Siegerland Wittgenstein region