Chef Mathias Dahlgren: The Nordic Kitchen Manifesto consolidates the gastronomic Nordic Region

During the last ten years the Nordic Kitchen Manifesto has served as a starter motor for a variety of activities and interest. Both production and demand for organic products have multiplied in the Nordic region. Increased interest creates a demand for more varieties and quality levels. Slow cooking is back and has become very popular, like using the whole animal, to take advantage of resources and smart climate thinking. There is nothing so typical of the new Nordic cuisine than putting a lot of plants and vegetables on the plate, states Swedish chef Mathias Dahlgren, who together with eleven other chefs signed the Nordic Kitchen Manifesto in 2004. Danish chef Claus Meyer was the visionary in this context.

From ideology to manifest
Ten years ago, there were in Sweden and the Nordic countries some restaurants and chefs who were quite well known in the world, perhaps by the success of their restaurants or by cooking contests, but we had not made an international boom as a country or region, like the new Spanish cuisine.

Danish chef Claus Meyer was the visionary in this context, and on his initiative, some Nordic players were invited to the meeting in Copenhagen in 2004. He had with Jan Krag Jacobsen written the Nordic Kitchen Manifesto, and I suppose they both wanted us to get there, have some nice time together, and then sign, as a fun thing. But it was instead two intense days where we discussed who we were and what we should do, before we managed to come up with a manifesto that everyone could sign. It was really exciting. This kind of ideological conversation about what we are and what we have and the opportunities that exist probably had not occurred before.

The manifesto made Nordic cuisine a global name
In retrospect, one can clearly see how important it was to make a manifest and put a date on the decision. An incredible number of visitors to our restaurants refer to the manifesto. People have read it carefully and think it's exciting. Meanwhile, the same discussions were held in many other places around the world, in the UK, Benelux, USA and Australia. They made the same journey, but have no dated manifesto!

As a PR -campaign, the manifesto was an amazing success, and the interest it created should make us happy. However, our food industry has been very slow to see the possibilities. One goal of the manifesto was to work in close dialogue with the food producers in our countries, to create a future of new marketable products. It has not happened yet, after ten years. Sure, many interesting projects with small scale production started in different regions, but really, we have not been able to capitalize on this idea, which is a pity. You are headline news for a very short time, ten years is a long time, and in many cases it may be too late.

On the other hand, it is no use crying over spilled milk. Maybe it is enough to say: OK, that did not happen. But instead of quarrelling about what was not done and what didn´t turn out as intended, we can be proud of what we actually accomplished. If this happened in ten years, what can we do that will be so much better in the future?

When I was a young chef, you could cook in two ways. Either the traditional way, or something totally different. What I find interesting, where the power is, is trying to do something new, based on the knowledge of tradition. Ferran Adrià, today the world´s best-known chef, was asked why the Spanish cuisine evolved so incredibly fast. His response was that they have a tradition of sharing experience between generations. We have been very bad at this in Sweden. By respecting the conclusions of old people, and from this, trying to create something new, we will reach so much further!

We have not been particularly good at highlighting our own identity and culture. Instead, we have been good at erasing it and be extremely open to inspiration from outside. You can call it a survival strategy, but it is not interesting enough. With the manifesto, our food made a name for itself all over the world. And some specific phenomena aroused interest, foresting for example.

Every time I get international guests, they ask:
- So you're out in the woods every morning, picking moss and pine cones before you start cooking? Well, it´s not exactly like that. We like to be out in the nature and use all good and edible produce, but the odd leaves and buds are not the foundation for our kitchen and cooking.  

The manifest as a starter motor
The new Nordic Manifesto has served as a starter motor for a variety of projects. Both production and demand for organic products have multiplied. The interest in food has never been greater than it is today, but there are many reasons for this. Cooking competitions have been important, the Chef of the Year, the Bocuse d'Or and the National Culinary Team, up to today's amateur competitions on television. Increased interest creates a demand for more varieties and quality levels. Slow cooking is back and has become very popular, like using the whole animal, to take advantage of resources and smart climate thinking. Much of this is exactly what the manifesto mentioned ten years ago.

An interesting paradox is the non-existing tradition of eating vegetables up here in the North. But there is nothing so typical of the new Nordic cuisine than putting a lot of plants and vegetables on the plate. And this phenomena got an international impact. Many claim to be inspired by the New Nordic approach, and instead of "nose to tail" apply "root to flower", using the whole plant.

An important reason to see a positive future are the skills of younger generations. When I was 20, I had traveled very little, and my experience in international top produce and culinary sensations were almost non-existent, while today's 20 year olds have so much more references. With their early life experiences, they get much more confidence and dare to try new things.

The people who start in the industry today have very good chances to succeed. With this in mind, there is a great potential for the Nordic Cuisine to be developed in a positive direction. We should get a lot better than we are today, and this is simply just great!

However, we have a problem with our domestic agriculture, trying to compete with a world who is constantly trying to produce as cheap food as possible. We have tried this for long, but with our climate and wages, we have no chance to succeed. We must adapt our agriculture to other parameters, such as making the world's best products, the most interesting or the healthiest food. We will never ever be able to produce the world's cheapest food, and the task is not even very interesting.

Photo: Mathias Dahlgren