Vinordic & Gastronord 2012 press junket

Today Western Taste attended the press junket for Vinordic and Gastronord 2012. Vinordic is the major trade fair in northern Europe for wines, beer, spirits and ciders. Gastronord is the major trade fair in northern Europe for hotel, restaurants, institutional kitchens and fast food. They are both held at Stockholm International Fair every other year. Western Taste will mainly visit and report from Vinordic and below you can see a summation of what was said at today’s press junket.

The Swedish Chef Association started the morning by treating all journalists to an excellent traditional Swedish herring breakfast that was reinforced with oysters and champagne. Particularly the oysters were extraordinary good!

Swedish celebrity chef Fredrik Eriksson talked about Bocuse D’or and the fact that Sweden will host the European Chef Championship in 2014. It is a great honor and the competition will be held during Gastronord 2014. The theme for this year’s fair is “Tasteful meetings”. He also introduced Sweden’s Chef of the year Klas Lindgren.

Member of the European Parliament Anna Maria Corrazza Bildt was the next speaker and centered her talk on the fight to decrease food waste. She presented a new book called “Win Without Waste” that discusses food waste. She ended by giving all guests a plastic lunch box.

Journalist Mikael Mölstad then presented the latest trends in restaurant food and wine. Among his conclusions were:

-          People want an unforgettable experience when they visit fine restaurants.

-          The raw materials are crucial and they should provide the main flavors.

-          The wines should be “clean” and the grapes clearly show of their core flavors.

-          Historic cooking and traditional dishes and wines from France are on the rise.

-          Well tenderized meats and ripe wines are very popular.

-          Unusual combinations and a lot of nature on the table is very hot.

The press junket ended with Champagne expert Josephine Edelskog presenting Vinordic 2012 and her “Champagne Bar of Ice” with over 60 different champagnes.

Life is better with Champagne!