Vitaliy Aheyev from Ukraine was discharged from the army after being shot in the stomach and the leg in the war with Russia and spending 10 months in captivity.
After six years in the military, the 24-year-old needed a new job. Learning how to cook seemed a good choice, and if he could train under a celebrity with a Michelin-starred restaurant in France, so much the better.
He is part of a delegation of novice and experienced chefs originally from Mariupol, the Ukrainian port city now under Russian control.
Marx, an author, television celebrity and specialist in molecular cooking – which puts the emphasis on the chemical reactions of ingredients – is known for his skills in social engagement, the local sourcing of food and his ecological approach.