Seven young chefs compete in Nordic contest at Seamen’s Day

Seven chefs under the age of 24 will compete tomorrow in a tent at Seamen’s Day, Kringvarp Føroya reports. The competition is part of a larger Nordic contest for young chefs.

Andras Sigmarsson Jacobsen, head of the food education programme at the Technical School in Klaksvík and coordinator of the competition, said the Nordic contest was launched by NORA two years ago. The responsibility for organising it has now been passed to the school in Klaksvík.

The competition will take place in the festival’s large tent, where members of the public can watch the chefs at work.

“The aim is also to highlight ingredients that are underused in the Faroe Islands. Since this is Seamen’s Day, we decided to use fish, specifically monkfish and blue ling. They are two fish species that not everyone has tried,” Jacobsen said.

One of the contestants, young chef Mogens Højsted from Klaksvík, said he was slightly nervous but ready for the competition. He enjoys using fish with vegetables and will have the opportunity to do so during the contest.

Højsted described monkfish as a distinctive fish unlike any other. Blue ling is used very little, he said, but is a delicious fish that is both mild and tender.

The competition starts at 9am, with the chefs beginning their work 10 minutes apart. The final contestant is expected to finish at 3.20pm, after which the winner will be announced on the main stage.

The winner will advance to a final in Iceland early next year. Jacobsen said one of the aims of the competition was to encourage more young people from the Faroe Islands to become chefs, noting that many chefs in the islands are foreign nationals and do good work.