The Nordic Apprentice Competition in Cooking and Service 2018

The Nordic Student Competition in Cooking and Service will take place at the Hotel and Restaurant School in Copenhagen on Friday, 20 April and Saturday, 21 April 2018.

Culinary and service students from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden will compete for the title of Nordic Culinary and Service Student. The competition has a long history, with the first one being organised in 1981.

Two culinary students and two service students, aged 23 and under, will compete from each country. Representing Iceland in the culinary competition are Steinbjörn Björnsson, an apprentice at Harpa, and Hinrik Lárusson, an apprentice at Radisson SAS Blu. Their coach is Georg Arnar Halldórsson. Competing in service are Sigurður Borgar Ólafsson, an apprentice at Radisson SAS Blu, and Axel Árni Herbertsson, an apprentice at the Blue Lagoon. Their coach is Tinna Óðinsdóttir.

The competition lasts for two days. On Friday, the competition begins with a written professional exam in cooking and service. In the culinary section, the students must prepare an asparagus soup; two different "Amuse-bouches" from beef shank and Jerusalem artichoke; and a hot vegetarian dish where the main ingredient is mushrooms. Some of the ingredients come from the school's own cultivation.

On Saturday, the competitors will receive a so-called mystery basket with specific ingredients and must prepare a four-course meal. The ingredients are not known in advance, and the students must create a menu. The service students will compete in oenology, carving, table setting, pairing menus with wine, mixing drinks (cocktails), and applying a service method appropriate for the menu and ingredients. They will also compete in table decorations, special napkin folding, and professional service.