The winner of the 2026 Sol over Gudhjem Dessert Competition has been announced, with renowned chef Erwin Lauterbach, owner of Saison Food, and Daniel Kruse, chef and owner of Det Røde Pakhus, taking home the coveted title. The duo impressed both judges and spectators with their elegant interpretation of a classic Danish dessert: a flambéed red berry pudding paired with a sophisticated bread pudding crafted from surplus croissants.
The annual competition, held as part of Denmark’s celebrated gastronomic festival on the island of Bornholm, featured four teams competing for the prestigious award and accompanying prizes.
This year’s competition introduced a new challenge: each team was required to incorporate a surplus ingredient from a Danish producer into their dessert. The initiative was designed to encourage chefs to explore resource efficiency and showcase the value of ingredients that might otherwise go to waste.
Lauterbach and Kruse selected surplus croissants from local bakery Bager Dam, transforming them into a refined bread pudding. Their winning plate combined Bornholm rhubarb, Madagascar vanilla, a foam of Callebaut Velvet White Chocolate, and Lavazza’s Tales of Napoli coffee, creating a dessert that balanced nostalgia, technical precision and contemporary sustainability.
The victory carried special significance for the pair. Daniel Kruse was originally trained under Erwin Lauterbach at the legendary Restaurant Saison in Copenhagen, and the dessert was conceived as a tribute to their shared culinary history.
It still hasn’t fully sunk in that we’ve won. I wasn’t entirely sure how things were going, but when I saw how Daniel brought all the elements together, I thought we actually had a real chance, despite the incredibly high level of competition.
Erwin Lauterbach
owner of Saison Food
Erwin Lauterbach
owner of Saison Food
We feel we succeeded in presenting exactly what we wanted on the plate. The idea was to recreate the feeling and style of cooking that we developed together at Saison. I think we managed to bring that spirit back beautifully.
Daniel Kruse
chef and owner of Det Røde Pakhus
Daniel Kruse
chef and owner of Det Røde Pakhus
In addition to the dessert, competing teams were also tasked with presenting a cheese course and a matching cocktail.
The 2026 judging panel featured some of Denmark’s most respected culinary figures:
The panel unanimously selected Lauterbach and Kruse as the winners, citing both technical execution and outstanding flavour.
The overall level has been exceptionally high today!I have judged Sol over Gudhjem for many years, and this year we saw an extraordinary amount of creativity and star quality. There wasn’t one single decisive factor, but the winning team’s cheese dish was a fantastic bite, combined with an impressively high standard across every element. It has been a genuine pleasure to serve on the jury.
Jesper Koch
chef and gastronomic entrepreneur
Jesper Koch
chef and gastronomic entrepreneur
Alongside the honour and recognition, the winning team received a cash prize of DKK 20,000 and two weeks behind the wheel of an Audi Q4 e-tron for each chef.
The Sol over Gudhjem Dessert Competition has rapidly become one of the festival’s most popular attractions. Following its move to the main stage in 2025, where an entire day was dedicated to desserts and broadcast live on television, interest has continued to grow.
This year’s event attracted even larger audiences, reflecting a broader enthusiasm for gastronomy and culinary craftsmanship.
We are seeing increasing interest in the entire festival, and the dessert competition is undoubtedly one of the key drivers behind the experience we continue to build at Sol over Gudhjem. With even greater focus on the dessert competition, the introduction of the food market and our ‘Play with Food’ initiative for children, we are experiencing enormous enthusiasm for gastronomy. It is wonderful to see so many visitors enjoying the festival throughout the entire weekend.
Mikkel Marschall
CEO and founder of the festival Sol over Gudhjem
Mikkel Marschall
CEO and founder of the festival Sol over Gudhjem
As Sol over Gudhjem continues to evolve, the dessert competition has firmly established itself as a highlight of the festival, bringing together leading chefs, innovative ideas and a passionate audience. The 2026 edition demonstrated not only the exceptional level of Nordic pastry craftsmanship but also the growing importance of sustainability and resource-conscious cooking in contemporary gastronomy.
For Erwin Lauterbach and Daniel Kruse, the victory was more than a competition win—it was a celebration of mentorship, shared culinary heritage and the enduring power of great flavour.
