I love cooking and in particular, Scandinavian cooking. I am always trying to find and use more Scandinavian recipes. Partially because of my Scandinavian heritage. For me, I find that making foods from where my family originates helps to connect me to my family, my ancestors and possibly a place of origin. It has become part of my traditions. It makes me feel connected to my heritage. Maybe not everyone looks upon food the way that I do. Food is connected to all the holidays and traditions and add to the festivities. Understanding more about the reasons why we have certain foods on certain holidays.
The inspiration for writing this article is based on the IKA Culinary Olympics that was held recently in Stuttgart, Germany. I am very excited that Norway won the gold medal, Sweden won the silver medal, and Iceland won the bronze medal.
The newly launched Chef’s Table, a seven-course menu for the national teams was a success. VKD President Richard Beck said, “The IKA also sets the food trends for the next four years in the other categories of youth national teams, community catering & military teams, regional teams and individual exhibitors.” I find this very exciting. I am happy that the Scandinavian countries took home medals. German National team came in sixth place. Which I am happy about also, being that I am also of German descent.
What I am interested in is the foods that each of the countries created for this Olympics. I would love to try to make some of them. I guess this organization has been around for a while and I just learned of this.
Culinary Art with Tradition and the Future
“The IKA/Olympiad of chefs has a long history. Its origins date back to 1900. What started as a performance show has become an inspiring international event. The ongoing fascination of the team competition outweighs cooking shows and kitchen trends – from fitness trends to super-foods to molecular cuisine.” (from their website)
There is also a facebook page for the IKA Culinary Olymics.