i. Biography
Coming Up
In 2021, Austrian chef Michael Gollenz stepped into the Executive Chef role at Alfred Keller in Mali Lošinj, Croatia, with a method built on classic French technique and broadened by a wider, worldly palate. The work there reads as composed rather than showy: structure stays intact, while flavor is allowed to move with more range. The earlier posts in Michael Gollenz’s career show a steady build through kitchens with their own standards. He served as chef at Restaurant Aphrodite at Hotel Giardino in Ascona, then as chef at Ecco St. Moritz in St. Moritz, before becoming chef at Widder Restaurant in Zurich. Taken together, those roles point to repetition, control, and the kind of discipline that makes precision look settled. From 2021, the Executive Chef title at Alfred Keller marked a clear step in that progression. It placed Michael Gollenz in a kitchen where his earlier experience and broader sensibility could be read directly in the cooking: classical in its base, open in its reach, and built to hold clarity even as the flavors widen.
Where They Are Now
Michael Gollenz is Austrian, but the more important marker in his work is the technique underneath that identity. His cuisine is led by classic French foundations, then extended into a broader register of global flavor. That combination is the throughline from Widder Restaurant in Zurich to Alfred Keller in Mali Lošinj. At Widder Restaurant in Zurich, that approach already registered in the kitchen language: precise, disciplined, and concerned with balance. At Alfred Keller in Mali Lošinj, it continues with more breadth, reflecting a chef whose control has deepened rather than loosened. The path here is one of refinement over time, with French culinary grammar remaining the base while the wider world of flavor stays in frame.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Michael
What is Michael Gollenz's current role?
As of 2026, Michael Gollenz is Executive Chef.
Where did Michael Gollenz work before?
Michael Gollenz's earlier career included Restaurant Aphrodite at Hotel Giardino, Ecco St. Moritz, and Widder Restaurant.
What recognition has Michael Gollenz received?
Gault&Millau Croatia Trophy, Great Chef of Tomorrow (2022).
