GastroNord, Vinordic and Bocuse d'Or!

Today (Tuesday, May 6th) is the first day of the large, annual food & beverage trade fair here in Stockholm called GastroNord & Vinordic, concentrating mainly on the hotel, restaurant and catering industries in Scandinavia. A fun place to visit if you are in Stockholm and interested in food & wine. Of special note this year is that the trade fair will be the location of the Bocuse d'Or Europe competition.

Photo by  Gustav Kaiser, Stockholmsmässan

Often referred to as the culinary Olympics, the Bocuse d'Or is a prestigious competition that pits the top chefs from individual countries against each other. The competition this week is the European semi-finals to see who will go on to the world finals next year in Lyon, France.

Entrance to Stockholmsmässan.

While GastroNord & Vinordic are open between the 6th and 9th of May, the Bocuse d'Or competition takes place on May 7th & 8th. Chefs from 20 countries will be competing and they have split the competitors up between the two days. You have the option of buying tickets for just one day (120 SEK) or for both days (180 SEK). After the viewing grandstand fills up, visitors will be directed into the adjoining Victoria Hall where the competition will be shown on giant screen so that everyone can follow the competition. In other words, come early to get a good seat! Click here for more info, tickets and schedule. Sweden will be represented by Chef Tommy Myllymäki (with Albin Edberg), who will be competing on Thursday... it should be a lot of visitors cheering that day!

Chef Tommy Myllymäki. Photo by Charlie Drevstam

Everything will be taking place at the International Fairgrounds at Stockholmsmässan in Älvsjö. Read my blog article about the fairgrounds, including the easiest way to get there from the Rival Hotel, by clicking here. Good luck Tommy & Albin! (EDIT: Tommy Myllymäki and his team WON! Congratulations!)

Team Sweden! Tommy Myllymäki and Albin Edberg. Photo from Gastronomi Sverige.