(Press report) MAD means ‘food’ in Danish, and there’s more than a bit of craziness involved. At the MAD Foodcamp festival site at Refshaleøen in Copenhagen, visitors will get to meet chefs from all over the world, eat at the food stalls, talk to a number of Denmark’s most ambitious farmers, look at grazing livestock and buy fresh, high-quality produce. The size of the fruit and vegetable market will be larger than anything seen in Northern Europe before and feature wild as well as cultivated crops from the seas, woods, fields and beaches of the Nordic region. Knowledge on subjects like soil quality, vegetation, hay and compost will be shared like never before. Workshops, food installations, demonstrations and food talks will abound – all organised by the enthusiasts, producers and experts behind some of the finest food experiences in our part of the world. Food lovers of all ages will enjoy themselves at the grassy field of the Refshaleøen by the Copenhagen Harbour on 27 and 28 August 2011. The main forces behind the festival are René Redzepi and Claus Meyer who started the world-renowned restaurant Noma and more recently the Food Organisation of Denmark whose aim is to further the quality of Danish gastronomy and produce. The festival aims to become a national food experience with an international scope welcoming thousands of visitors each year. The plant kingdom is at the centre of this first version of the MAD Foodcamp, which will also include an international symposium featuring experts from across the globe including a number of the world’s most renowned chefs who will discuss and experiment with all things vegetable during the two festival days.
“The MAD Foodcamp should be the straightforward celebration of food that I’ve always dreamt of but have never yet experienced,” says René Redzepi and adds, “There is a strong demand for chefs, farmers, gatherers, consumers, researchers, distributors and food writers to meet face to face to share knowledge and inspire each other."
"It has now been almost seven years since we started the movement for a new Nordic cuisine. An outdoor celebration of our food and the people behind it is a natural and obvious event. We hope that by organising this festival we can strengthen the sense of community across cultures and regions and give each and every participant a feeling of influence on and responsibility for Danish food production. We will re-establish our link with nature through the meal, and we will build a bridge between health and flavour to promote wellbeing. I hope that one day the MAD Foodcamp will be to food what the Roskilde Festival is to music,” says Claus Meyer.
The role of the chef is evolving and developing into a position of influence – one that impacts the manner in which people and food professionals consume and connect with food. Such responsibility requires education, an elevation of awareness and social maturity. On the 27th and 28thof August, a symposium for chefs will be part of the Mad Food Camp. The idea is to be an educational tool for the developing chef. By improving literacy in ecology, studying food history and food production methods this symposium seeks to increase the general awareness of today’s chef. Whilst an homage to quality, seasons, nature and knowledge, with this idea we also embark on a journey to enrich the soil of every chef’s understanding. Tickets are reserved for chefs and farmers!
These are the confirmed speakers:
Francois Couplan (researcher, wild plants)
Hans Herren (president of Millennium Institute)
Miles Irving (entrepreneur/forager)
Stefano Mancuso (plant neurobiology)
Harold McGee (scientist and author)
Kamal Mouzawak (creator of Souk el Tayeb)
Tor Nørretranders (author)
Niels Stockholm (biodynamic farmer)
Gaston Acurio (Peru)
Andoni Luis Aduriz (Spain)
Alex Atala (Brazil)
Massimo Bottura (Italy)
Michel Bras (France)
David Chang (USA)
Magnus Nilsson (Sweden)
Daniel Patterson (USA)
René Redzepi (Denmark)
Ben Shewry (Australia)
Where: Refshaleøen by the Copenhagen Harbour
When: 27th and 28th of August
Price: 200 Euros
For more information visit: www.madfoodcamp.dk or Ali Kurshat Altinsoy at aka@noma.dk
Luciana Bianchiis chef de cuisine and food writer, works as International Editor correspondent for the Brazilian gourmet magazine,Prazeres da Mesa, and contributes to several publications in Brazil and Europe.
on Twitter http://twitter.com/LucianaBianchi
Photos: Per-Anders Jorgensen & Press Images
