Master of Wine Romana Echensperger once again led through the evening. With confidence and humour, she guided guests through the menu and programme, which also included the presentation of five Fine Food Days Cologne Awards. Participants of the opening and jury members – food blogger Laura Herrmann (Köln-isst-gut), food critics Julia Floss and Carsten Henn, and representatives from KölnTourismus with Julia Hövelkamp and Jürgen Amann – decided on this year's awards.

The pinnacle of the awards is the annual Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognises decades of outstanding culinary achievement. Following Vincent Moissonnier (2023) and Dieter Müller (2024), this year Gabriele & Hans-Stefan Steinheuer were presented with the award. Their restaurant „Alte Post“ has held two Michelin stars since 1999. The laudation for the successful restaurateur couple was given by long-time three-star chef Dieter Müller. Visibly moved, the Steinheuer couple accepted the award. Gabriele Steinheuer used the occasion to emphasise that success „is always a success of the team.“.

Mirko Gaul, who accepted the „Chef of the Year“ award from presenter and previous year's winner Julia Komp („Sahila“), also praised his team: „I am very pleased about this award, but it is not just for me, but for my entire team,“ said the head chef of the Michelin-starred restaurant taku at the Excelsior Hotel Ernst.

With the newly introduced „Event of the Year“ award, the Fine Food Days Cologne aim to reward establishments that have embraced the motto „Great People – Crazy Places – Genius Food“ in a particularly original way during the festival. The award went to Denis Steinheuer (Head Chef at Gruber's Restaurant) and Luis Rüsing (Rüsing Photography), who together offered a pop-up event in Rüsing's photography studio titled „Multi-sensory Supper Club“. Presenter Petra Hermann (kggk agency) praised: „Everything was perfect here, from the original idea to the exceptionally flawless execution.“

Also new is the „Newcomer of the Year“ award, with which the Fine Food Days Cologne aim to recognise the idea, courage, and perseverance that are necessary in today's times to successfully launch a new restaurant. The award went to a chef well-known in the Cologne culinary scene: Joschua Tepner, head chef of „The Dutch“ in Cologne-Junkersdorf, accepted the award from presenter Franz Gruber (Gruber's Restaurant).

The „Apprentice of the Year“ award goes to the up-and-coming hospitality professionals who achieved the best results in their practical exams in 2025:
Ida Stahlhoven from Restaurant Pottkind in Cologne as best female chef,
Chiara Krein, a hotel specialist from Maternushaus – Conference Centre of the Archdiocese of Cologne, and Fabio Andrea di Gennaro, a restaurant specialist from Le Moissonnier in Cologne, received their awards from presenter Jürgen Blank (Excelsior Hotel Ernst).

Fine Food Days Cologne 2025: A Summary

The final at Flora was the highlight of the 14-day gourmet festival. The sixth Fine Food Days Cologne had kicked off with the sold-out „Meet & Taste“ opening event at the Kartäuserkirche site. This was followed by more than 30 events hosted by the restaurants, which are organised as an association. In total, more than 2,000 guests attended the events.

„The festival has once again shown that fine dining, in addition to its culinary finesse, plays an important social role by bringing people together. Our restaurants are not only an economic factor but also a social one – they are places of exchange. Without them, many encounters would not happen,“ sums up Michael Stern, Chairman of the Fine Food Days Cologne association. Accordingly, the board sees the awarding of the network award by Benny Schmidt, b-a-star, as confirmation for all the effort.

The festival has taken further successful steps with the first festival wine (organic winery Pflüger, Pfalz) and the first cookbook published by Fine Food Days Cologne, „Genial einfach“ (DuMont Verlag, €29).

The Fine Food Days Cologne 2026 will take place from 30 August to 13 September 2026.