Photo: Martin Sundström
Food Onboard – With Chef Of The Year
Start: 2000
Case story: We sailed around in the Stockholm archipelago and demo-cooked in marinas together with members from the Swedish Chef Of The Year Association.
We cooked delicious easy-to-fix meals based on food ingredients available in the local stores around the archipelago and dishes that can be cooked in a tiny kitchen onboard a boat. With limited space and equipment, but with lots of time.
The video we produced after the event and screened at different events.
Time to cook, time to enjoy a fabulous meal
The idea was based on the fact that spending a holiday on our boats, we finally have plenty of time for cooking – chopping up the tomatoes nicely, grinding some herbs or slow cook that fresh fish – instead of stress-cook back home with no time to get a dinner ready in between everything else that has to happen.
The meal after a long day out at sea can often be considered the most important part of the day. Like a big relaxing reward and celebration.
Media loved the story and the relaxed master chefs popping up at marinas, generously sharing their best tricks to the people passing by the demo kitchen. Skipper Ulf Holm in the red cap, making the crew get safely to the destinations. Download all articles (PDF).
The paradox is that instead of being back home in our fancy kitchens with lots of space, modern equipment, sharp tools and delicacy stores around the corner – we are far out in nature, with tiny and often primitive kitchens, limited ingredients and left over tools from old times.
So we felt that the opportunity to share new ideas, easy-to-fix recipes and great cooking tricks was huge at the time...and will always be.
Winning a dinner onboard – signed by the chefs!
Of course we arranged a competition in the demo-tents: Two teams, one chef in each team and 1-2 members from any of the boats ion the marina against each other. Given 100 Swedish kronor to by some ingredients in the marina's store, make a delicious dish in front of the audience in 15 minutes while explaining the process. The audience voted by yelling the loudest for the best team.
Price? The winning team's boat had their dinner fixed by 2-3 master chefs that evening, and onboard their boat.
In between the cooking sessions we sailed from one marina to the other... Anders Dahlbom, Årets Kock 1993, winching up the main sail.
Robert Nilsson, Årets Kock 1998, making magic in front of curious boaters visiting at Sandhamn.
Roland Persson, Årets Kock 1990, cooking in a 38 foot sailboat instead of in his grand kitchen at Grand Hôtel in Stockholm city...serving dinner to the owners.
Another article, highlighting the pancake flipping competition...the winner this time won with 34 impressive flips in 60 seconds.
Jonas Dahlbom, getting ready for a session in the demo kitchen.
Jonas, Michael, Anders and Karl on their way to today's winners in the cooking competition earlier. To see the master chefs climb onto various boats and cook a gourmet dinner for the crew was as hilarious it can be in a marina.
The winners from one of the smallest boat in the marina in Mariehamn, Åland- a J28 with a non-existing kitchen or galley at all, but a tiny outdoor spirit stove. Four of the chefs jumped onboard that tiny boat and had a great dinner together with the crew. An unforgettable meal for sure...
Media coverage from some of Sweden's largest daily newspapers.
A page from the initial pitch to the partners Arla Foods and Skärgårdssmak and others. Translated: A short conclusion: The meal after a day on the ocean is an as great moment as the trip in itself* (*that goes for sailors, boaters, campers and cabin owners).
Creds:
Client: Arla Foods (Anna Celay), Skärgårdssmak (Henrik Beckman)
Chef Coordination: Föreningen Årets Kock
Idea and Producer: B Bertoft
Event Coordination: Per Swartling
Skippers: Ulf and Lena Holm
Art, copy, design: Bertoft
Foto: Martin Sundström
Video: Producer B Bertoft, Edit Mikael Olander
PDFs in Swedish: