Elisabeth Johan represented the Bailliage of Austria in the 2021 International Final held in Paris, France.

Currently she is Chef Entremetier with the Restaurant Florian in the Parkhotel in Graz, Austria. The hotel has been an integral part of the history of Graz for decades. Cordiality, authenticity and tradition are the foundation for the unique flair and atmosphere of the hotel and its restaurant. Behind the success of this traditional hotel stands the Florian family, who have been running this legendary house since 1935.

These are the questions posed together with her responses:

Have you always wanted to work in the hospitality industry?
As a young teenager, gastronomy never came to me in the sense of wanting to work in an office or something similar. By chance, I ended up in the gastronomy sector and with complete pleasure to this day.

From where does your love of culinary arts come?
Of course, many cooking shows play a big role, be it via Netflix or the like. Nowadays, you only need to refresh the start pages in the social media and you are virtually flooded with “star dishes”. The posts serve to make me want to educate myself even more and adapt to these great dishes.

What inspires your culinary creativity?
On the one hand by very classic French, but also Austrian cuisine. Once you understand and master the classic craft dishes, you can use them as building blocks to implement them in a modern way and “even” better. Of course, you also look at the dishes of the best chefs, which they conjure from the simplest ingredients and create “world-class” dishes. This serves as an incentive for me to become even better.

What do you think are the most significant trends or challenges faced in the industry today?
The guest must finally begin to understand that good food, which is prepared by professional chefs who have learned for years, costs money and must be priced accordingly on the menu! In addition, our industry has to fight with the work/life balance. Hospitality has anti-social hours. Free time is valuable to employees.

The numbers show that women chefs drop out of the industry much sooner than men. Why do you think this is happening?
Once a woman gives birth, the child is her first priority. It is almost impossible to combine a baby and gastronomy. As a cook, you cannot just say to your boss, “Sorry, I can’t come today, my child is sick”. In our industry, every employee counts, and good employees are not a dime a dozen. Most of the time, we are understaffed and it is difficult for a woman with a small child at home to find her way back into the working world.

Has anything affected your entry into other culinary competitions?
You want to measure yourself against other people, as is usually the case in life, that’s the most normal thing in the world. You always want to find out for yourself how good you are!

What advice would you offer to young women wishing to start a culinary career today?
In this industry overcrowded with men, we can only show what craftsmanship, taste and ambition we women have. I would advise any young woman to take a look at this great, exciting industry, get to know and love it.

Has participating in the International Jeunes Chefs Rotisseurs Competitions together with ongoing membership of the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs helped you with your career?
My reputation among colleagues and employers has certainly increased considerably. You go to work with even more pride in yourself and of course my colleagues and employers see that.

What do you think is the future of restaurant/food business over the next five years?
I am honestly afraid that it comes to a “two class society”. Either you go out to eat and a restaurant uses more convenience products because it cannot afford skilled workers. The classic meal out with friends, where you get “honest” dishes at reasonable prices could die out. We absolutely must start to retain professionals who are paid appropriately with guests paying realistic prices.

How do you see your career development during this period?
I started my apprenticeship in restaurant which did not attach much importance to quality, so I successfully applied to one of the best hotels in my city (Graz). In the Parkhotel Graz I finished my training gaining a Distinction. To this day, the Parkhotel is my employer. I have worked my way up from apprentice to Chef Entremetier. In competitions outside of the Chaîne, my greatest successes include being Champion of Young Chefs Styria and a member of the Austrian Youth National Team which won the Silver Medal at the Culinary Olympics in Stuttgart.