Have you heard there’s something fishy going on in Copenhagen this summer?
Well, you’d be right. There’s an amazing celebration of Danish and Nordic cuisine which takes over the city centre for ten whole days. But don’t worry if you don’t like fish, because at the Copenhagen Cooking and Food Festival, there’ll be a lot more on offer than the traditional pickled herrings.
The Copenhagen Cooking and Food Festival is a major gastronomical event happening in Denmark’s capital city from the 24th of August to the 2nd of September. Many of the festival’s major events are held in the Israels Plads square.
The huge open park area in the centre of the city, with its two huge fresh food markets, already has strong culinary connections. That involvement increases tenfold when the Copenhagen Cooking and Food Festival gets underway and the Israels Plads square becomes Copenhagen’s open air kitchen.
The Two Day Tasting at the Copenhagen Cooking and Food Festival is a feast, eaten on foot, of regional Danish, Nordic and International food. As you wander through the thick of stalls set up around the Israel Plads square, for just over twenty euros, you’ll be able to sample an amazing array of tempting, bite sized dishes prepared and served tapas-style.
Snack on salmon or prawn ceviches, frikadeller which are meatballs with dipping sauces or try new and innovative variations of sild, the Danish staple of pickled herring. There’s plenty more tasty treats proffered by the professional chefs. So if you’re still hungry after you’ve had your ticket’s worth, just get another and go around again.
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If you don’t know an oyster from a scallop that’ll all change when you visit the Copenhagen Cooking and Food Festival. In the bustling Torvehallerne gastro-market get the low down and lots of inside tips on how to prepare and eat the aphrodisiacal shellfish during a demonstration from an expert oyster connoisseur.
Once you’ve got the know-how, it’s time to get stuck in and have a go opening your own before you demolish the dozen included in the ticket price.
As it is, surrounded by the waters of the North and Baltic Seas on three sides, it’s not surprising Denmark’s cultural cuisine is rich in fish and seafood dishes.
The Nordic Seafood party honors the work of the fishing industry and its produce in a restaurant overlooking the sea. At the party, you’ll be able to enjoy a fusion of traditional fish dishes from all the different countries of Scandinavia washed down with fiery Danish Aquavit or Marskin ryyppy, a strong Finnish liquor.
Denmark has always had a loving relationship with the humble hot dog or pølse. At the Copenhagen Cooking and Food Festival that fondness is taken to exciting new heights in a fun charity event held in the Israels Plads square.
You’ll be able to listen to live music and down a few beers while the popular chefs, who have been invited to participate in the gourmet hot dog making competition, prepare their secret recipes.
Their kilos of freshly made pølse need to impress a very prestigious panel of judges before the winner is declared and the sausages grilled and devoured by the waiting crowds.
Is a food festival complete without a barbecue? Definitely not and for that reason the Copenhagen Cooking and Food Festival hosts the Ultimate Barbecue.
On the day of the big barbie, from late afternoon onwards, Israels Plads square is awash with the aromas of sizzling,char-grilled food. Restaurant chefs from around Copenhagen man the embers to produce some real quality barbecued food.
You won’t be going hungry or thirsty as the admission price includes four dishes as well as copious free beer to wash it all down with.
Although Danish bacon has worldwide fame, you won’t find much of a mention of it at the Copenhagen Cooking and Food Festival.
What you will find is amazing and innovative Nordic cuisine which will get your taste buds tingling with its imaginative flair. Yes, there will be traditional pickled herrings there somewhere and meatballs too, but they’ll have taken on a whole new aspect which will soon have you queueing for more.
If you suffer from any type of seafood allergy avoid the oyster demonstration and the seafood party.
Many of the events of the Copenhagen Cooking and Food Festival are ticket admission. Tickets are available via the festival’s official website.
The Copenhagen Cooking and Food Festival is all about eating and enjoying lots of different Nordic food so, as tempting as they may be, go easy on the Danish pastries at breakfast.
Denmark’s official currency is the Danish Kroner. Although many shops and restaurants do accept euros, they’re not obliged to, so you may want to consider purchasing Kroners before you go.
Copenhagen, despite being the most populated city in Denmark, and one which has even more bicycles than people, has managed to maintain its old world, fishing village charm and individuality.
Streets of multi-colored houses adorn the dock areas while the inner city is teeming with suburbs full of character to explore.
If you’d enjoy discovering how Danish people lived in the middle ages, you’ll love exploring the Frilandsmuseet or Open Air Museum.
Just thirty minutes from Copenhagen centre, the museum is a living dedication to Denmark’s past.
Spread over a sprawling ninety acre site with working farms, a poor house and labourer’s homes decorated in the style of the times it gives a great insight to just what life might have been like in bygone times.
Denmark is a country which has inspired many wonderful fairy tales. Every fairy tale must have a prince’s palace, and although Denmark has several, there’s none more stunning than the impressive and very, stately Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerød.
Apart from its fantastic Baroque gardens and architectural splendour, it’s great for kids too who get the chance to dress up in Renaissance costumes and join in with some creative workshops.
Enjoy a dinner with a difference in the cellars of the Restaurant Teater Kaelderen. The waiters and waitresses who serve you at your table will also be your entertainment for the night.
Between the courses of seasonal organic food, they’ll break into song and perform lots of well-known songs and even a few newly composed originals creating an unusual theatrical/dining experience.
Copenhagen is full of stylish places to stay though it isn’t one of the most economical, it is possible to find some very affordably priced accommodation. One area which is very a la mode at the moment is the recently renovated and very chic suburb called Vesterbro which was once the old red light district.
Right in the heart of Vesterbro and just fifteen minutes-walk from where the Copenhagen Cooking and Food Festival is happening in the Israels Plads square.
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This super trendy hotel is perfect for couples or families looking for medium priced accommodation. All the rooms and suites have been color coordinated to ensure you have a relaxing and harmonious stay.
The A&O Copenhagen Nørrebro is perfect for families, large groups and those seeking somewhere economical for their sleepovers in Copenhagen.
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Although it is twenty minutes from the centre by bus, a service which runs every four minutes, the amazing low price, starting from eleven euros a night per person make its location well worth considering. With family, double and dorm rooms available, it’s the one to book if you want a bargain stay.
Super modern and right in the centre of Copenhagen, is the sophisticated Hotel The Square.
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This deluxe hotel has a selection of stylish rooms classed from superior to junior executive suites. You can take breakfast on the rooftop terrace while enjoying views over Copenhagen or take a drink in the twenty four hour bar when you return from the festivities.
The Copenhagen Cooking and Food Festival is a gastronomic delight and truly reflects the quality and variation of food served in the city’s restaurants.
If you want to sample some more great Danish hospitality, try dinner in The Studio-Standard who have a fantastic twelve dish tasting menu which changes seasonally but could include scallop ceviche, duck heart and lobster with passion fruit and chilli.
For something a little more down to earth, Paladin’s Book Cafe serve some warming dishes of tomato soup or chilli con carne from a menu dotted with literary quotes.
Or try the Union Kitchen for a fortifying hangover burger or bowl of pulled pork with poached egg. The Union Kitchen also have an unusual fascination for balls.
On their special evening menu for sharing, they have every type of food ball you can imagine from salmon balls to beef or pork meatballs and Greek lamb balls.
For vegetarians and vegans, Copenhagen is pretty close to culinary heaven. There’s a great choice of restaurants in the city which serve some amazing selections of meat free organic and biodynamic food.
In 42Raw try the Thai noodles, made from raw vegetables or the raw lasagna made from squash.
For more dishes to choose from than you can possibly eat, go to RizRaz for a mega buffet where you’ll be able to choose from multiple vegetable selections, falafel, pastas, plus bean and chickpea stews.
Copenhagen is served by Copenhagen International Airport. Just eight kilometres from the city centre, the airport has excellent public transport services to get you where you need to go. The Metro, train and bus services all run frequent services into the city.
The quickest and most popular service is the Metro, from terminal three, which runs for twenty four hours a day.
The journey on the Metro from the airport into Copenhagen takes around fifteen minutes to arrive at Nørreport station, the main Metro hub.
Trains from the airport into Copenhagen depart every ten minutes and also take around fifteen minutes to reach Copenhagen Central Station.
Bus 5A will take you from the airport to either Nørreport station or Copenhagen Central Station. The bus departs every ten minutes during the day and takes around thirty minutes.
As an alternative, you can fly into Malmo Airport in Sweden and make the short journey to Copenhagen by bus or train.
Nørreport Station is the main Metro station for changing to other services depending on where you are staying.
If you coming into Copenhagen centre from an outer suburb using the Metro, disembark at the Nørreport station and you’ll be a two minute walk from Israels Plads square.
If you’re arriving by train from an outlying area of Copenhagen, such as Roskilde, Gentofte or Hillerød you’ll disembark at the Central Station which is fifteen minutes-walk from Israels Plads square.
Or you can take a connecting bus service, which will take around four minutes depending on traffic.
There is a regular train service from Malmo in Sweden to Copenhagen. The crossing is made via the Oresund Bridge and takes thirty five minutes.
Copenhagen has a complex network of bus services which serve the inner city and suburbs.
The main bus station is Copenhagen Central Station the same as it is for trains. A journey to Vesterbro takes ten minutes and the same to Fredericksburg.
Bus services also run from Roskilde, Gentofte or Hillerød. Journeys from Roskilde and Gentofte take around forty minutes while the journey from Hillerød takes approximately two hours.
Pre-purchasing a Copenhagen Card will give you access to unlimited travel on trains, buses and the Metro service in the extensive capital region plus free admission to up to eighty attractions.
Cards are valid for various periods of time, from 24 hours to 120 hours and are priced accordingly starting at 53 euros for an adult and 27 euros for a child.
A City Pass is for use on transport only. The City Pass allows you unlimited journeys between the city’s zones 1 to 4 on trains, buses and the Metro service.
They are available for one or three day durations with a twenty four hour pass costing around eleven euros. Well worth considering if you’re travelling with children as for every adult pass two children under twelve travel free.
The Copenhagen Cooking and Food Festival is now celebrating its fourteenth year and is a major gastro-fair which is attended by just under a hundred thousand people.
The festival was initially created to promote Copenhagen, previously under rated in the world of food, as a city with serious gastronomic finesse.
While attempting to push the city up the rankings of the worldwide culinary ratings, it’s also about increasing awareness of the diversity of Danish and Nordic cuisine.
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