At the age of thirty-three, Hans-Henrik Välimäki has already an impressive background in the culinary field. Starting at the age of sixteen, he attended Pirkanma’s Trade School for Culinary Arts in Tampere, Finland. He then went on to Perho, the Culinary School of Finland, graduating as Chef de Cuisine in 1997.

Välimäki has worked at a number of restaurants and hotels, both in Finland and in Germany and Sweden. He is currently Chef de Cuisine and owner at Chez Dominique, a Guide Rouge one-star restaurant in Helsinki, Finland.

During his career, Välimäki has won a number of awards, among them, a bronze medal at the Young Commis Rôtisseurs Competition in 1994 in Finland, 6th position at the EU Chef’s Competition in Bordeaux, France in 1998, and finalist at “Guldfisken” in Götenburg, Sweden, in 1998.

In his spare time, he does consulting work for numerous Scandinavian companies, and writes for food and wine publications. He has also worked on television shows such as “Ready, Steady, Cook."
Välimäki is a member of the “Académie Bocuse d’Or” and the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs. He enjoys hobbies such as reading and jogging. He speaks fluent English and Swedish, and fairly fluent German, in addition to Finnish.