Reykjavík Grapevine - feb. 2020, Blaðsíða 34

Reykjavík Grapevine - feb. 2020, Blaðsíða 34
Cookin! for Gold The national culinary team is intent on brin!in! the Culinary Olympics 2020 crown home Words: Shruthi Basappa Photos: Art Bicnick Once every four years, kitchen fires burn hotter and brighter in the Ice- landic training kitchens as the Cu- linary Olympics draws closer. With over 2,000 chefs, teams from 59 countries, and 7,000 menus, to say that it is a whopper of a gastronomic event is putting it mildly. It is set to take place in Stuttgart, Germany, from February 15th to 18th. Chef Sigurjón Bragi Geirsson is at the helm of the 2020 Icelandic National Team and as a coach, he runs a tight ship. With eight pro- fessional chefs training around the clock, “The team has been training since early last year,” he confirms. This year, they have their sights set on bringing home the gold in as many categories as possible and the titular National Team award. National Culinary Team aka Kokkalandsli"i" The Icelandic culinary team has been a steady participant bringing home awards. They did so for the first time in 2008—two gold med- als and a silver for their first course and cold buffet respectively. They repeated their impressive perfor- mance in 2016 with chef !ráinn Freyr Sigfusson as the coach, bring- ing home gold for pastry and silver for other courses. Model led l ike the Oly mpic games, the competition is a battle- field of professional chefs measur- ing their skills against each other across several categories: Chef’s Table, Restaurant of Nations and Live Carving. “We compete in two categories— Chef’s Table and Restaurant of the Nations,” explains Sigurjón. “At Chef‘s Table, we cook seven differ- ent dishes for twelve people, and in the latter, we cook a three-course meal for 110.” That is an incredible amount of food and in the past, the Icelandic culinary team has report- edly shipped about a whopping tonne of ingredients with them. Team effort To best a gruelling competition, you are only as good as your team, as Chef Sigujón explains. “The chefs apply to be on the team and I go through the applications, and try to pick individuals that will form a strong unity with team values in mind.” Sigurjón admits the training is extremely intense. “At first, the training was four days a month— that was in April, and the closer to the competition we get, the more intensely we train. A few months ago we started training eight days a month and now, in the last month we trained four days a week.” He goes on to add, “We’re competing against 27 other teams and are judged for various parts, such as hygiene, food safety, flavour and presentation of the food. And, last but not least, consistency.” Local traditions and skills Cooking traditions of the home country and individual skills need to be perfectly tempered with the teams’ collective values. Naturally, the Icelandic team is showcasing local ingredients. Without giving away much, Sigur- jón says, “I can tell you that in the restaurant of a nation we use arctic char in our first course, Icelandic lamb in our main course and Icelan- dic skyr in our dessert.” Besides the judges evaluating the teams, ticketed visitors also get to savour the undoubtedly delicious fare from each of the teams. This is as good a time as any to travel to Stuttgart and cheer the national team on. As Sigurjón signs off, ‘’We have competed many times and achieved good results. However, we are keen on doing better now than ever!’’ The national culinary team is com- prised of Chefs Björn Bragi Bragason, Fanney Dóra Sigurjónsdóttir, Sigur- jón Bragi Geirsson, Ísak Aron Jónsson, Ísak Darri !orsteinsson, Jakob Zarioh S Baldvinsson, Kristin Gísli Jónsson, Sin- dri Gu"brandur Sigur"sson, Snorri Vic- tor Gylfasson and Snæ"ís Jónsdóttir. Find the best food in Iceland! Download our free events app, APPENING, on the Apple and Android stores You asked for pale food??? I'll show you pale food! Food FISH & MORE SkólavörDustígur 23 • 101 reykjavík Steamed Fresh Fish, Traditional Icelandic Fish ‘Stew’, Fish & Vegan Soups, Smoked Salmon & Vegan Toppings on Sourdough Bread, Beer, Wine, Coffee & more 15% DISCOUNT SALKA VALKA 15% discount of total bill, every day IF you bring this ticket That'd go nice with a Chianti Laugavegi 28 537 99 00 sumac@sumac. is sumac. is

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