The new head of the canteen
Andreas Voigt took over from Dieter Wolf as Head of Catering Operations at Studierendenwerk Oberfranken (SWO) in May 2024.
Dieter Wolf left big shoes to fill when he retired in spring 2024. Andreas Voigt will fill them. The 41-year-old has been working at SWO, and therefore also at the University of Bayreuth's canteen, since February 2024. He officially took over the helm on May 1, 2024. “Due to my earlier start, I had an overlap of around three months with Dieter Wolf, for which I am very grateful. I wish Dieter Wolf all the best for his 'active retirement'!” Active retirement because Wolf still supports Voigt in an advisory capacity.
Andreas Voigt
UBT
Voigt trained as a chef in a conference hotel in Gera from 1999 to 2002. He then worked in various places throughout Germany, because “as a chef, you're never in one place for very long,” says Voigt. In the end, Voigt stayed in Upper Franconia for love, where he decided in 2012 that he no longer wanted to work as a chef. He attended master school and became a certified kitchen manager and certified diet chef. He then managed the kitchens in various care homes in Upper Franconia. From 2022 until spring 2024, he was Managing Director of Sternenköche GmbH in his adopted home of Schwarzenbach am Wald and was responsible for catering in daycare centers and schools. The desire for a further reorientation led him to the SWO.
“I found a super motivated team here with lots of young people who have their own ideas. I want to continue the way the food is served - that a lot is homemade here - because you can taste the quality,” says Voigt. He sees challenges in digital process optimization and internationalization. With new students from different countries, the catering concept needs to be constantly rethought and adapted. It is important to Voigt that the requirements of different groups are taken into account. “We have close contact with student representatives and I am very grateful for their input,” he says.
Andreas Voigt also wants to continue Dieter Wolf's popular online video presence. “But not as a copy, because Dieter Wolf is one of a kind,” emphasizes Voigt. “The core of the videos will be the same, but the way they are produced will be different. I think this format is important because it allows you to reach a lot of young people.” The first videos are already planned and will be produced in summer 2024.
Despite his professional move from the stove to the desk, Voigt still enjoys cooking in his private life, preferably typical German cuisine, but he also likes to try out new things. He is also involved in the voluntary fire department in Schwarzenbach am Wald and takes care of his “little zoo”, which consists of two dogs, three cats and several rabbits as well as Valais black-nosed sheep, to balance out his work.
One of Voigt's black-nosed sheep lambs.
Andreas Voigt
Theresa HübnerDep. PR Spokesperson
University of Bayreuth
Phone: +49 (0) 921 / 55 - 5357
Mail: theresa.huebner@uni-bayreuth.de