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FOOD AND DRINK

Cultures in the mix at Aarhus People’s Kitchen

The idea of a people’s kitchen, or Folkekøkken, is not unheard of in Denmark. Copenhagen is full of them. Aarhus, on the other hand, has only one, and it’s unlike any other: it doesn’t cost any money.

Published: 31 March 2015 10:49 CEST
Cultures in the mix at Aarhus People's Kitchen
Volunteers cook using unsold fruit and vegetables from local farmers. Photo: Jutland Station

“It’s very low budget,” says David Francois Rey, a business student who came up with the idea for the event five years ago. 

Rey explained how he made an agreement with local farmers for them to donate their unsold fruit and vegetables after the weekly farmer’s markets on Ingerslev Boulevard.

Volunteers with bicycle trailers pick up the goods each week, and other ingredients like beans, oil and spices are obtained through shop donations or dumpster diving.

French native David Francois Rey started the People's Kitchen in Aarhus five years ago. He now lives in Copenhagen. Photo: Jutland Station

The events take place in the Trøjborg Beboerhus, where the group does not need to pay rent. This means there are basically no costs. 

The unofficial theme of the most recent People’s Kitchen on Sunday evening was apples. The farmers had donated a huge box of fresh apples, so participants cooked them in every way they could think of: they diced them and sprinkled cinnamon on top, they ate them raw as snacks before the food was ready, and they baked them into pies and crumbles. 

A handful of participants showed up at around 4pm to start cooking, and by the time it was ready to eat, around 30 had showed up. Many were international students, but there were a number of Danes and middle-aged people as well.

Peter Larndorfer, an international student, pours a homemade dressing over a green salad. Photo: Jutland Station

“The type of people going there are not necessarily people in need. Some people come and are on really low incomes, or homeless, some people are retired and don’t get so much money as pension,” Rey said. 

“There’s a big mix of many different types of people, cultures and backgrounds.”

The final dinner featured food that was mostly green – a bright green beverage made from kale and citrus fruits, two different green salads with rocket and spinach and green soup. There was some international food as well.

Regular participant Ramona August, who also made a short documentary about the initiative (see below) made a white bean paste that resembled hummus, and an African student made a traditional flat bread. 

New foods were invented, such as fried kale with peanut butter, and classics were resurrected, like roasted carrots with herbs. All of the dishes were vegetarian, and most were vegan as well.

Rey, who is originally from France, became interested in reducing food waste when a friend who worked at a supermarket showed him how much food gets thrown away.

Participants chop kale. Photo: Jutland Station

“I think it’s very sad that some people are starving in one place and then others are throwing out tons of food,” Rey said.

He was then introduced to dumpster diving, or ‘reclaiming food’ as he calls it. Eventually he decided to go straight to the source of the food, and talk to the farmers themselves.

“I thought, rather than going in the back [of supermarkets], at night, it’s much more friendly to actually include people,” Rey said.

A volunteer at the People's Kitchen. Photo: Jutland Station

Rey used techniques taught to him at the business school in order to present his proposal in a convincing way. His logic was that there is a high correlation between poverty and hunger and violence and crime, so solving one problem would fix the other.

“I think it’s good to address problems, but we often look at the symptoms … and we are missing the root cause of the system,” Rey said. “When it comes to food waste, the root cause is within the current market monetary structure.”

Originally from Marseille, a city with high rates of crime, Rey had seen firsthand the effects of hunger on individuals.

“If we don’t get food within three days, our behavior will change,” he says. “It was really easy for me to use empathy and understand that, okay, if I had a family to feed and I had no access to money for the necessities of life, then I would be very tempted to … steal food.”

The farmer met Rey’s proposal with optimism, and the People’s Kitchen has been meeting regularly for five years since.

By Alison Haywood

The People’s Kitchen meets every Sunday at the Trøjborg Beboerhus in Aarhus around 4pm. Anyone is welcome to participate. 

Alison Haywood is an editor at the English-language online magazine Jutland Station, located in Aarhus, Denmark. This piece is also set to appear in Jutland Station.

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FOOD AND DRINK

Five dishes that every newcomer to Denmark should try at least once

Denmark may have a stellar reputation as a world leader when it comes to fine dining, but it’s also home to plenty of hearty dishes. Here are a few you should try.

Published: 19 April 2024 17:30 CEST
Five dishes that every newcomer to Denmark should try at least once

With dozens of Michelin stars scattered across the country, world-famous restaurants like Noma and Geranium and Bocuse d’Or winning chefs, it’s not surprising Denmark is known as a gastronomical destination.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t many simple, traditional meals that make up an important part of the culinary landscape.

Danish dishes often reflect the country’s agricultural roots, its heavy use of pork and fish and common “meat and two veg” style of meal composition.

Here are a few dishes that are time-honoured favourites in Denmark and, as well as tasting great, might tell you a bit about the Nordic nation’s past and present.

Frikadeller

Frikadeller is Denmark’s answer to Sweden’s köttbullar or meatballs, made famous worldwide by their presence in IKEA cantines.

The Danish version consists of ground meat – commonly pork – rolled into a ball with salt, egg and seasoning like thyme and cumin, fried on a pan. There are other variations and styles but this seems to be the most common.

Usually, the frikadeller are pressed flat to make them more cylindrical than ball-shaped.

They can be served with anything from a salad to pasta or a slice of rye bread, but seem most at home with boiled potatoes, gravy and some cabbage or beetroot.

Look out also for fiskefrikadeller – where the meatballs are made of fish.

Karrysild med æg

Curried herring with egg might sound like a potent mix of ingredients and it can be an acquired taste, but once you’ve got used to it you may join many Danes in favouring it as a rye bread topping on occasions like Easter lunches.

It’s easy to make – you chop up the herring (which can be bought in pre-marinated jars at supermarkets, if you prefer) and mix it with a creamy dressing consisting of mayonnaise, crème fraiche, curry seasoning and red onion.

Mix in some chopped boiled eggs or serve them alongside the curried herring for your finished article. If you want to add a fancy twist, include some chopped apple in the cream for a bit of extra crispness.

Curried herring with egg. Photo: Vibeke Toft/Ritzau Scanpix

Brændende kærlighed

Translating literally to “burning love”, brændende kærlighed is a classic Danish winter dish that will, as advertised, warm you up on cold nights.

It includes buttery mash potatoes and usually a side of pickled beetroot, but its crown it the topping: a hefty portion of chopped bacon, fried up with onions, pepper and sometimes a little chili.

Make sure the bacon is as crisp as possible.

READ ALSO: Five classic Danish cakes you need to try

Grønlangkål

Kål is the Danish word for cabbage. Grønlangkål or “green long cabbage” isn’t a type of cabbage in itself but a way of preparing and serving regular green cabbage, often at Christmas dinners or as a side with a pork-based main like glazed ham, the giant medister sausage or the aforementioned frikadeller meatballs.

Prepare by finely chopping the cabbage, mixing with cream, butter, sugar and muscat, and sautéing on a pain until it is soft.

Grønlangkål (top right of picture) with medister sausage and leverpostej (pate). Photo: Nils Lund Pedersen/NF/Ritzau Scanpix

READ ALSO: Påskefrokost: What are the essentials of a Danish Easter lunch?

Hotdog

Although it wasn’t invented in Denmark, the Danes have certainly made a version of the hotdog their own.

There are a few types which could be considered typically Danish, but the hotdog with rødpølse (“red sausage”), remoulade relish, pickled cucumber and dried fried onions is a classic and arguably the Scandinavian country’s signature street food.

You could also try a fransk hotdog or “French hotdog”, a somewhat blander affair in which the sausage is placed into a hollowed out miniature baguette, usually with ketchup or mayo.

Although fast food has diversified hugely since the hotdog’s arrival in Denmark over a hundred years ago, it is still as popular as ever – just ask the country’s police officers.

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