Local Cooking
Some of Denmark's best fish is landed in Hirtshals. The local exporters and the fish auction focus on top quality in close competition with other Danish fishing ports. The participants this year had to compete in making the best cod dish – freshly caught from Skagerrak, raised almost directly from the sea and up to the chefs' tables in the tent.
Since 2015, Local Cooking and Hirtshals Fish Festival have taken important steps in the work of making visible Hirtshals' completely unique food resource, namely the fish. This happened in close collaboration with Hirtshals Fishing Association and Fiskeauction Nord, which each year is responsible for the selection of the year's fish.
The participants for Local Cooking 2024
The winners of Local Cooking 2024 were Restaurant Nam in Aalborg, which for the fourth time took first place.
The participating restaurants were:
- Restaurant Abstrakt, Hirtshals
- Essensgården, Frederikshavn
- Restaurant Emil, Aalborg
- Villa Vest, Lønstrup
- THREE, Agger
- Allimentum, Aalborg
- Ruth's Hotel, Gl. Skagen
- Restaurant Nam, Aalborg
- Brewhouse Vendia, Hjørring
Nam won with 391 points ahead of Villa Vest with 311 points, while third place was shared between Allimentum and Essensgården.
It was the ninth time that the competition was held in Hirtshals, and it was held during the Hirtshals Fishing Festival in collaboration between Hirtshals Havn, the Fishing Association, the Fish Auction and the Fish Sorting.
This year the competition was held in a new large tent, financed by a generous grant from the Spar Nord Foundation of DKK 300,000.
Local Cooking is a high-level competition between North Jutland's best restaurants, this year nine of them, with a panel of judges consisting of some of Denmark's most respected chefs:
Kenneth Toft-Hansen – Svinkløv Badehotel
Kenneth Toft-Hansen is a former world champion and Bocuse d'Or winner. He is also a mentor for several of the Danish Bocuse participants in recent years. With his deep insight and world-class experience, Kenneth brings a unique perspective to the judging panel.
Rainer Gassner – Ten Steps Down
Rainer Gassner is head chef at the 1-star restaurant Ti Trin Ned in Fredericia and a very experienced competition judge. His keen eye for detail and unrivaled culinary skills make him an invaluable part of the judging team.
Lisbeth and Bo Jacobsen – formerly the Restoration
Lisbeth and Bo Jacobsen are Local Cooking's very own super couple on the judging panel. They have been regular judges in the competition for many years and have previously run top restaurants in Copenhagen, which have always prioritized unpretentious and flavorful cuisine based on the old Danish barrel of ingredients. Lisbeth and Bo often criticize the Danish lack of food knowledge, and their experience and passion will certainly raise the ratings to new heights.
Mikael Kopp-Christensen
The fish in which the chefs must compete is chosen each year by Hirtshals Fishing Association and Hirtshals Fish Auction. In the past, the participants have competed in haddock, flounder, monkfish, cod and hake, but this year they had chosen one of Skagerrak's most classic and most commonly used edible fish, plaice.
The competition took place in the "Bølgen" tent on Thursday 1 August from 10.00-15.00.
Local Cooking is run by the Hirtshals Fishing Festival with support from the Spar Nord Foundation.
More information:
Mette Skovsager, coordinator of the Hirtshals Fishing Festival, tel: 44169850
René Langdahl Jørgensen, North Sea Research Park, tel: 61690872
About the competition
Local Cooking is a regional restaurant competition, where local and regional restaurants compete to serve the best dish with local ingredients and at the same time tell the good story about ingredients, history and quality. The idea is to give Danish eateries a stronger local expression and give gastronomy a boost throughout the country.
Equipped with a kitchen and a minimum of 75% of local ingredients, the restaurants must create a main course that is served to a panel of judges and the associated audience. The competition aims to get greater local identity on the menu throughout Denmark and at the same time give guests from home and abroad the opportunity for better food experiences with a more regionally specific touch. The restaurants will subsequently have the participating dishes on the menu and thus give the guests the opportunity to taste the local creations.
