Delicious Denmark in Seoul

Danish Ambassador Thomas Lehmann cuts Danish rye bread to make traditional open-faced sandwiches, or “smørrebrød,” at the first Delicious Denmark event focused on promoting Danish culture with food.
Danish Ambassador Thomas Lehmann cuts Danish rye bread to make traditional open-faced sandwiches, or “smørrebrød,” at the first Delicious Denmark event focused on promoting Danish culture with food.

 

Guests at the first Delicious Denmark event try their hand at making smørrebrød at the Mad og Hygge cooking studio in Seoul on Sept. 30.
Guests at the first Delicious Denmark event try their hand at making smørrebrød at the Mad og Hygge cooking studio in Seoul on Sept. 30.

 

Dane A. K. Salling holds up an old-fashioned apple cake at the Mad og Hygge cooking studio during the first ever Delicious Denmark event on Sept. 30.
Dane A. K. Salling holds up an old-fashioned apple cake at the Mad og Hygge cooking studio during the first ever Delicious Denmark event on Sept. 30.

 

Participants at the first Delicious Denmark event are enjoying dessert and talking under soft lights in the
Participants at the first Delicious Denmark event are enjoying dessert and talking under soft lights in the "hygge" in the old-fashioned Danish way with tea and coffee.

 

The Embassy of Denmark kicked off its series of cultural events titled “Delicious Denmark,” where guests can get a hands-on experience with Danish culture by cooking with Danes. The first event was held Sept. 30th at the Mad og Hygge cooking studio in Mapo-gu, Seoul, with 3 more to follow focusing on introducing Seoulites to Danish food, design, lifestyle, and culture in general.

Delicious Denmark is a series of cultural events aimed at promoting Danish culture with a focus on food.The event held in late Sept. was attended by Danish Ambassador Thomas Lehmann. The event was organized under the theme of introducing participants to the lifestyle of ordinary Danes, most notably home cooked meals and “hygge.” Hygge can be roughly translated as “the cosy atmosphere and warm feeling created by enjoying the small but good things in life,” such as unwinding with a card game with your friends after a long week of work, or enjoying a mug of hot chocolate in the winter before a fireplace. The event was a collaboration between the embassy and the aptly named Mad og Hygge, which is Danish for “food and hygge.”

Personally giving all those gathered a warm welcome, the Ambassador remarked that he was happy to participate in the event, especially in light of the recent growing interest in Korea in the Danish food industry.

“One key factor that I see as appealing to Koreans is the fact that when it comes to food, Nordic countries adhere to a high standard of safety, health, and environmental friendliness. We pay a lot of attention to where our food and food ingredients come from, to produce food that you can trust. I hope that today’s event will act as an appetizer to you about Danish food, and one very long tradition Denmark has when it comes to food is gathering around the table with our friends and family in the weekend to cook and dine together, just like we are doing today,” said the Ambassador.

On the menu for the night was traditional open-faced sandwiches, or “smørrebrød,” made with Danish rye bread with a variety of toppings paired with Danish Carlsberg beer. The Ambassador gave a demonstration of making a sandwich while providing relevant tidbits such as how Danish children grow up eating smørrebrød from a very young age, and that some smørrebrød restaurants have menus that are 1.5 meters in length.

For dessert, Mad og Hygge CEO Anne Katrine “A.K.” Salling gave a demonstration of making old-fashioned apple cakes made of apples, macaroons, whipped cream, and berry jelly that require no baking. The dessert was paired with Kjeldsens Danish butter cookies, coffee, and tea all enjoyed with the lights dimmed low with candle light that created a level of ‘hygge’ straight out of a Danish home.

Three more events will take place as part of Delicious Denmark. The next event will be held October 15th at Mad og Hygge under the same theme, and the remaining two will be held at the Daelim Museum in Jongno with the theme of experiencing trendy Danish food and design.

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