Young chef looking for a mentor? We’ve got you.

ESS Group becomes exclusive partner of Årets Kock Elevfond’s new mentorship programme, and we’re going all in.

Every moment of happiness at our destinations starts somewhere. More often than not, it starts in a kitchen, long before the guest arrives. Without chefs, there are no dinners to remember, no breakfast that saves the weekend, no evenings that linger a little longer than planned.

But the industry has a problem. Half of all newly trained chefs in Sweden leave the profession within a few years. Around 2,500 chefs graduate every year, while according to Visita the industry needs to make 11 500 chef hires in the years ahead. That equation doesn’t add up unless more young people choose to stay.

So we’re doing something about it.

From February 2027 and for three years ahead, ESS Group is the exclusive partner of Årets Kock Elevfond’s mentorship programme. Culinary students will do their internships at 11 of our destinations across Sweden, each with a mentor of their own in the kitchen. Four times a year, they meet for inspiration days in three locations. There they cook together, learn about leadership, kitchen economics and food culture, and spend time with some of Sweden’s most experienced chefs. Årets Kock Elevfond makes sure a winner of Årets Kock is there every time.

“We want to be the place where young chefs feel they get to grow. If we want amazing food in Sweden ten years from now, we have to invest in the people who will cook it – and we’re doing that now,” says Gustav Leonhardt, Executive Chef at ESS Group and former winner of Årets Kock.

At Maryhill Estate, one of the destinations in the programme, the students will be welcomed by CEO Robert “Bobbo” Nilsson, also a former winner of Årets Kock.

“When I was a young chef, you mostly had to figure things out on your own. Having a mentor would have meant the world to me. Now we get to give these young people what I wish I’d had – and honestly, I think I’ll learn a thing or two from them as well.”

The programme launched last week in front of 150 culinary students. Applications open in November.

To every young chef out there wondering if there’s a place for you in this industry: there is. Come and find it with us. Read more and apply here.