Food & Fun is an Icelandic food festival arranged since 2002. The idea is simple: chefs from abroad are invited to Iceland to team up with local restaurants to create gourmet menus at affordable prices. But there is a twist! Only Icelandic materials may be used for the centrepieces of the dishes! Not only has this lead to a superb showcase of Icelandic delicacies for the world to see, it has also opened the eyes of Icelandic people themselves when foreign chefs have used their ingredients in ways they never themselves even thought about. What a wonderful way to develop your cuisine while giving something to the rest of the world!
This year 19 restaurants host 19 foreign talented chefs, out of which eight come from other Nordic countries. Among them we have Gabriel Mellim Anderson, Renee Fagerhøi, Daniel Frick, Jacob Holmström, Jesper Krabbe, Ismo Sipeläinen, Leif Sørensen, and Per Thøstesen. In addition to Nordic talents, the event will see chefs with backgrounds from the UK, USA, Mexico, and Italy.
Nine judges have the "daunting" task of choosing a winner between the teams. But these judges know their food, with Michelin stars and Bocuse d'Or experiences in their backpacks. Wouldn't you just love to sneak in as the 10th phantom judge just to get to taste the creations in this competition while listening in on their deliberations?
Now why arrange such an event? Well, Icelanders, like Nordic people in general, are very pragmatic. As late winter time (February and March) is the low season for tourism, something had to be done. So why not host one of the most fun, yet high quality, culinary contests on the planet? The festival has gained in popularity each year, filling up the local restaurants in Reykjavik and boosting the atmosphere.
The next Food & Fun festival will be held in 2nd to 6th of March, 2016 for the 15th time! There is still time to book your trip and head over to the island of volcanoes - and wonderful food!
Good luck to all the participating teams!
