Holger Stromberg

Career

Stromberg trained at Zur Linde in Oberboihingen, Germany, then moved to Schwarzer Adler and to Le Crocodile in Strasbourg. He became head chef at Goldschmieding in Castrop-Rauxel, where he was awarded his first Michelin star at age 23 in 1994, becoming the youngest chef in Germany to receive a star. He later moved to the Mandarin Oriental, Munich, serving as head chef at Restaurant Mark's until 2002. In 2005, he opened his own restaurant, Restaurant G in Munich, and also took over his parents' restaurant Gasthaus Stromberg in Waltrop.

After Germany national team manager Oliver Bierhoff ate at Restaurant G in early 2007, Stromberg was asked to become the team's chef. He accepted and changed the pre-game menu approach for away games: instead of bringing all food from Germany, he now transports only spices or herbs and sources local ingredients. He also takes advice from the team's doctor; one early creation of poppyseed dumplings could have resulted in the entire team testing positive for banned substances. Stromberg describes his cooking style as "fancy," saying he cooks what he wants rather than following a particular trend.