Ragnhild won a party dinner and two chefs took home
KOKK HEIM winner Ragnhild Hatlebrekke and her husband Reidar flanked by Bodil Erdalsdal, elder in the Sogn og Fjordane Chefs' Guild, and chef and pastry chef Thomas Holme Smådal. Photo: Arve Ullebø
Text: Torill Faleide - Photo: Arve Ullebø
Since 2003, Førdefestivalen invited to the festival breakfast on Saturday morning at the festival, and since the beginning, the Sogn og Fjordane Chefs' Guild has been an important partner for this popular event. In addition to helping build the tradition of free Saturday breakfast in the city center, the chefs' guild has also put together a fantastic KOKK HEIM prize in recent years that we draw among everyone who participated in the breakfast quiz. The winner of the great prize can invite up to 8 people to a 3-course dinner and have two chefs from the chefs' guild home to cook the food. The ingredients are sponsored by Coop Extra in Førde .
The winner of the KOKK HEIM prize at the last festival was Ragnhild Hatlebrekke in Førde . She has been to all the festival breakfasts since it became part of the festival in 2003. According to her, she has not had a distinct winning streak, and never once heard her name called out. -I heard Ragnhild being called out, but only when a friend said that it was my name that came over the loudspeaker did I react, the winner tells KOKK HEIM, who was incredibly happy about this particular prize. - Simply a fantastic prize to win, she says.
Thomas the waiter.
Good friends in good company
Ragnhild initially planned to use the prize in connection with a celebration in the spring, but she was tipped off by the chef's guild that the chef would be away for a few months, so it would be best if she could make it happen before Christmas. We decided on a date and sent out invitations to the guests in September. Everyone, including the host, went and looked forward to the reception. -Looking forward to something is a good feeling. It actually put an extra twist on the whole thing - those weeks leading up to November when we all waited for this special Friday evening, she says.
Ragnhild's menu
-We travel a lot, so the menu was agreed upon while we were in Spain. Thomas called me, and together we came up with what we wanted to serve for starters and main courses, while I gave Thomas free rein to decide on the dessert. - We had to make sure we had a little surprise, laughs Ragnhild.
“ It was just fantastic to be able to leave everything in the kitchen to professionals, and just enjoy. ”
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Gravlax, mustard, almond potatoes, fish lefse and roe.
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Venison roast with parsnip puree, beets, creamed mushrooms and salt-baked almond potatoes.
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Chocolate, coffee and raspberries.
Chefs Thomas and Bodil in a cozy atmosphere with the host. Photo: Arve Ullebø
Ragnhild is overjoyed about having a couple of chefs come to her home to cook for good friends. -I'm not exactly a super chef, so winning this KOKK HEIM prize was absolutely perfect. It was just fantastic to be able to leave everything in the kitchen to professionals and just enjoy the evening with the guests. It couldn't get any better. And the food tasted excellent, of course, we all agreed on that.
The dessert with blueberries and chocolate was a winner! Delicate and tasty, just the way it should be, says Ragnhild. Photo: Arve Ullebø
After the invitations were sent out, it was just for both the host and the guests to enjoy themselves. Thomas and Bodil had everything in order. -Thomas presented the menu at the table and created a fantastically cozy experience for us and our guests, says Ragnhild. -And the dessert? Of course, it was exactly the nice surprise the hostess wanted; a delicious chocolate cake with raspberries! -It simply couldn't have been better, says the happy KOKK HEIM winner.