What is sammenskudsgilde?

Related to the English word guild, ‘gilde’ dates back to Viking-era Denmark, meaning a brotherhood, society or association in which peasants or subjects of the land united for a common benefit.

Guilds often met at large social occasions, at which a lot of eating and drinking took place, presumably including plenty of Viking-style throwing of gnawed bones over shoulders.

The root of the word in the old Nordic languages can also mean a payment or a fee, and this can be seen in the similarity with gæld (debt) in modern Danish.

Meanwhile, sammenskud is a contraction of sammen (together) and skud (literally, a shot, from the verb at skyde, to shoot). ‘Shooting’ something together in this context in Danish means to combine different contributions or components to form an overall product.

A social event, gathering or occasion in which everyone brings a dish to share with all the other guests is known as a sammenskudsgilde.

Why do I need to know sammenskudsgilde?

If you’re hosting a party or barbecue this summer and want everyone to bring a salad dish or their own contributions for the grill, you’ll need this word for the invitations. 

You can provide guidelines to guests so they know what to bring (asking some for salad, some to bring meat and so on), or leave things completely down to chance and enjoy the surprise.

It’s common for gatherings in Denmark to be planned as a sammenskudsgilde, saving the host the stress of preparing large quantities of food and minimising costs for all guests, as well as cutting waste should anyone not be able to make it at the last minute.

The concept is at its best you want good variation of dishes, plenty to go around and low costs for yourself and all your guests.

Examples

Min fødselsdagsfest bliver en international sammenskudgilde, hvor alle medbringer en typisk ret fra deres hjemland.

My birthday will be an international food party where everyone brings a classic dish from their home country.

Vi tænder grillen allerede kl. 17, så husk at tage kød med til sammenskudsgildet. Vi sørger for salat.

We’ll light the barbecue at 5pm, so remember to bring your own meat for the shared grill. We’ll provide the salad.