They are all here - culinary superstars from Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland!
And me! This is my first time ever attending a Bocuse d'Or contest and it is amazing! I did not know what to expect. It is not a big event in the sense that it would fill a football stadium, however, supporters do attend and they keep as much noise as football fans during their favourite games. The atmosphere is wonderful!
The teams all have their really small kitchen boots where they work over 5 hours and 35 minutes. They have zero privacy! Judges, press, members of supporting staff and everyone and their friends are running around, getting close enough to sniff the food being cooked. At the same time, the audience is going wild, playing music and shouting! Being a chef under time pressure under these circumstances cannot be a walk in the park! Yet they look so calm and relaxed, as they were just making a Sunday breakfast without a care in the world. Truly professional!
FINLAND
Representing Finland this year is Eero Vottonen, a sous chef at Restaurant Olo in Helsinki.
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Eero Vottonen from Restaurant Olo representing Finland just minutes before the start
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Eero said he is feeling great just prior to the competition despite some minor surprises prior to the start. Nonetheless, the team started their competition with a convincing touch, looking nothing but zen about their business!
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| No stress on the outside! Coach Matti Jämsen, last year's competitor, keeps an eye on the clock and the team! |
The Finnish dishes looked absolutely amazing and stayed true to their Nordic roots with simplistic, yet stunning plating!
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| Sterlet prepared by team Finland! |
NORWAY
Norway is represented by Christopher William Davidsen from restaurant Sostrene Karlsen (meaning the Sisters Karlsen) in Trondheim. Another strong team here!
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| Norwegian chef working with the sterlet! |
The Norwegian team is maybe one of the favourites of the competition, giving a strong contribution this year as well!
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| Looking and smelling absolutely delicious in the Norwegian pan! |
Although the Norwegians claimed that the end result was not what they had inteded it to be, the plate was nonetheless stunning! True to Nordic style; looking so clean and simple, yet look at all the little subtle details and the wonderful colours!
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| Amazing! |
ICELAND
The always so exciting Iceland showed up with chef Viktor Örn Andrésson in the lead! The fascinating thing about Iceland is that they always have a surprise up their sleeve. Always a little bit different, a bit unique...and so creative! I guess this is what happens when you live alone on an island!
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| Working hard in the Icelandic kitchen with coach watching on with an eagle eye! |
The Icelandic team was working hard and well throughout the competition with the coach making sure the timing is met and no disasters happen!
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| Chef at work handling ingredients |
Fine ingredients are used by the Icelandic team. But wait a minute - what is that KitKat there hidden under the chef's table? Is it a secret ingredient, perhaps? ;-)
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The secret ingredient of the Icelandic kitchen - KitKat? :-)
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Jokes aside, Iceland put up a wonderful fish dish!
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| Fish dish from Iceland! |
SWEDEN AND DENMARK
Sweden and Denmark are still battling it out at the time of this writing! More about them to come...
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| Swedish chef Alexander Sjögren working it in the kitchen! |
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| Danish chef Morten Falk giving his all in the Danish kitchen! |
Good luck to Sweden and Denmark through the last hours of the competition!
