The KOKK HEIM award ensured double celebration for Kjersti
Chefs Thomas Holme Smådal and Bodil Erdalsdal prepared a festive dinner for Kjersti in Førde Photo: Arve Ullebø
She had already planned the celebration of her next birthday in September, but thanks to a generous gift on Førdefestivalen her festival breakfast on Saturday, July 9th this year, the celebrant was able to invite her closest friends to an extra celebration on the same day. And it didn't cost her any work or extra money!
Kjersti Veiteberg Eide was the lucky winner of the Sogn og Fjordane Master Chefs' Guild's KOKK HEIM prize at this year's festival: A three-course festive dinner for up to 8 people.
Text: Torill Faleide | All photos: Arve Ullebø
"Since I had already decided and invited guests for my birthday, I naturally had to think a bit about winning this special prize," she says, "but when the idea of inviting friends to a celebratory dinner as an extra celebration on the day itself came up, she was happy that it was possible for the chefs."
“ - Even though I love cooking, it's simply fantastic to have everything served on a plate like this, literally speaking, says Kjersti. ”
The only thing the main character has done is invite the guests – and clean the house. Yes, and then decide on the menu that chef Thomas Holme Smådal came up with. (menu and recipes are below the article) -And even though I love cooking, it's simply fantastic to have everything served on a plate like this, literally speaking, says Kjersti, as she lets chefs Thomas Holme Smådal and Bodil Erdalsdal into the kitchen with all their remedies – and ingredients for tonight's party. Ingredients that this evening were sponsored by Coop Extra in Førde .
Thomas took a chance
Thomas Holme Smådal comes from Naustdal, and says that it was quite by chance that he ended up in the culinary profession. -I took a chance!, he says. -I really enjoyed baking, but I wasn't really that interested in cooking. When I had to choose a direction after high school in Naustdal, I more or less took a chance on the culinary school at Mo- og Øyrane vgs.
The young aspiring chef did well throughout his years at high school, and then he got an apprenticeship at Gloppen Hotell in Sandane. He received his professional certificate this spring, and he currently works as a chef at the café Ferske Smakar at Amfi. Førde In addition to working as a chef both at the cafe in Førde and among others at Åmot Operagard, he is an apprentice pastry chef. The apprenticeship is actually his main job, and he aims to have his second certificate in place within a couple of years. Where the road will lead after that, no one knows, but the 22-year-old from Naustdal has no doubt that it will also be about food in the future.
“ Where the road leads after that, no one knows, but the 22-year-old from Naustdal has no doubt that it will be about food in the future as well. ”
Cooking as a profession
With him this evening was a teacher from the restaurant and food studies department at Mo and Øyrane high school in Førde , Bodil Erdalsdal. She is also one of the leaders (eldermann) of the Chefs' Master Guild of Sogn og Fjordane, which promotes the culinary profession throughout the year by participating in various events both in and outside the county. Since 2003, the Chefs' Master Guild has been involved in organizing the festival breakfast every Saturday morning at Førdefestivalen "It's one of the largest events we're responsible for in the county," says Bodil, "and we put in a lot of work hours both in preparation and execution. And everything is done on a volunteer basis."
-The profession of a chef provides an action-packed workday, the pace is always high and no two days are the same. Food is something we all have in common, it interests everyone! One of the nicest things that happens during a workday is what is called service, that is, the moment when you serve the food to the guests, says Bodil. She feels lucky to have cooking as a profession.
Facts
Here you can read more about the restaurant and food service program at Mo og Øyrane vgs in Førde .
The Master Chefs' Guild of Sogn og Fjordane is part of the Norwegian Master Chefs' Association, a non-partisan organization that works to promote the culinary profession and develop the Norwegian kitchen. They have 53 members, participate in about 8 events a year in addition to 5-6 courses for apprentices, an apprentice competition for the Norwegian Cup, a stand with marketing/recruitment and several trade trips. This is the second time the guild has raffle off the COOK HOME prize. The first time was in connection with the festival breakfast at Førdefestivalen in 2012
Here you can read more about the Norwegian Association of Master Chefs.
Below you will find the menu for the successful birthday celebration in Førde . Kjersti says that the food tasted really good, and that the pumpkin soup was perhaps the one that received the most praise! Scroll down to find the recipe and try it yourself.
Tonight's menu
Pumpkin soup
Envelope bread and ramson butter
Filled boiler year from Kandalen
Creamed cabbage and bacon
Turnip and carrot
Gravy sauce
Hasselback potato
Norwegian plums
Vanilla ice cream
Recipes for appetizers and desserts:
Pumpkin soup
2 butternut squashes
2 carrots
3 shallots
2 cloves garlic
1 handful of herbs (e.g. basil, thyme, parsley)
2 tablespoons dairy butter
1.5-2 liters of water
1 cup creme fraiche
Clean and cut the vegetables into coarse pieces. Heat a pan and add the butter. Sauté the vegetables for a couple of minutes.
Cover, then add 1.5 liters of water. Let it all cook for 30 minutes until the vegetables are really tender.
Use a hand blender to puree the soup. Add creme fraiche, or more water if the soup is too thick.
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with bread and butter.
Plum compote
1 kg plums
250g sugar
2 dl water
1 cinnamon stick
2 sprigs mint
2 tablespoons potato flour
Bring water, sugar, mint and cinnamon stick to a boil. Remove stones from plums and cut into quarters. When the sugar syrup boils,
Add the plums and cook under the lid for a little over a minute. Use a slotted spoon and strain the plums into a bowl.
Mix the potato flour with a little cold water. Bring the sugar syrup to a boil, remove the pan from the heat and stir in
the potato flour mixture, it is important that it does not boil from now on! Taste the sauce with more sugar if necessary.
Pour the sauce over the plums and let them cool. Serve warm.
Vanilla ice cream
3 dl flute
7 dl whole milk
200g sugar
10 egg yolks
1 vanilla pod
Bring the skim milk, sugar and vanilla bean (split and scrape out the seeds) to the boil. Place the egg yolks in a bowl.
and pour over the boiling liquid while whisking. The boiling liquid will now cause the egg yolks to
thickens and you will have a custard. Cool the sauce with the vanilla bean, then remove it. If you
If you have an ice cream maker, you can use it, otherwise you have to put the bowl in the freezer and stir it every now and then.