Chef of the Year 2024 Challenges the Culinary Elite: Create Vegetarian Meals with In-Season Ingredients

2024.08.20

A new challenge has been announced for Sweden’s Chef of the Year 2024: Create a vegetarian dish and use at least three preserved ingredients from the summer. But what does it really mean to eat in-season, how do you best transition to more plant-based food – and why is it important? Meet Stefan Eriksson, Head of Ingredients for Chef of The Year and Anna Henning Moberg, Operations Manager for Axfoundation’s development center Torsåker Farm, in a conversation about sustainability, gastronomic creativity – and the fact that the food we eat makes up a large part of our climate footprint.

In practice, we can stop flying, but not stop eating. So we have to switch to sustainable food that is also healthy and tasty! That’s why it’s really exciting to see how Sweden’s Chef of the Year is now taking further steps towards sustainable top-class cooking!

– Anna Henning Moberg, Head of Operations at Torsåker Farm, Axfoundation

The Chef of The Year competition is Sweden’s most prestigious cooking competition, where the best professional chefs compete for the title. In recent years, several steps have been taken to integrate sustainability into the Swedish Championship in professional cooking, including increased focus on Swedish ingredients and assessment of how contestants minimize food waste. In Chef of The Year 2024, this work is being deepened, and Axfoundation is contributing with expert advice on sustainability.

For one of the segments in this year’s final, the competition management settled on emphasizing vegetarian cooking and the seasons in the plant kingdom – a deliberate choice from both a sustainability and culinary perspective. During the summer, the six finalists were also given the task to preserve plant-based ingredients and on the final day, October 17th, at least three of these preserved ingredients must be included.

In the final round, the chefs have the opportunity to use their skills, flavors, and techniques to create world-class cuisine of the highest caliber – with a sustainable theme of course. This way of working in the kitchen creates deep complex flavors that can be used during periods when we have limited supply of fresh ingredients. It is important for us chefs to learn more about using all parts of the ingredients and it becomes a very fun way to work in the kitchen. Move flavors from one season to another.

– Stefan Eriksson, Head of Ingredients for Chef of The Year and winner of Chef of The Year 2005

About Chef of the Year

Each year, the competition Chef of The Year is held in Sweden. In 2024, the qualifying competition takes place on June 11-12 where eighteen chefs compete by preparing their submitted recipe entries.

The 12 chefs with the highest scores from day 1 advance to day 2 of the qualifying competition. There, they face additional professional tests, an untrained segment that this year focuses on utilizing a whole Hubbard Chicken.

The 6 chefs with the highest total scores after the qualifying days move on to the final on October 17th. One of the final challenges is to prepare a vegetarian dish using at least three preserved ingredients from June to August. The best-performing chef wins the title Chef of The Year and becomes the Swedish Champion in professional cooking.

Chef of The Year has elevated Swedish gastronomy since its inception in 1983, with the mission to lead Swedish gastronomy into the future. Throughout the competition, a jury evaluates the various segments. Besides these segments, a methodology jury also assesses how the contestants work in their respective kitchens. In addition to handling the main ingredient, hygiene, organization, logistics, and service, they also evaluate ingredient handling and food waste.

Six finalists compete in the grand finale of Chef of the Year on October 17th. One of the competition segments is to cook a vegetarian dish and use at least three preserved ingredients from the summer by pickling, fermenting, salting, freezing and drying. Photo: Samuel Unéus.

Sustainability, Nutrition and Taste

The transition to a more plant-based diet with seasonal ingredients is about taste, nutritional content and sustainability. To achieve the climate goals, meat consumption must decrease as meat production contributes to both greenhouse gas emissions from ruminant animals and to the land use required in animal production. Today, about 70% of the world’s arable land is used to grow feed, while the global animal production only accounts for 18% of the global calorie production and 25% of the global protein consumption.

In Sweden, we currently eat twice as much meat as we did 30 years ago, with the average Swede consuming over 900 grams per week according to the Swedish Board of Agriculture. The EAT-Lancet Commission’s report on how the world’s population should eat from a combined health and climate perspective recommends reducing meat consumption (including beef, lamb, pork, and poultry) to 0-300 grams per week.

Some of the leading researchers in climate and nutrition have developed a plate model that shows how we should eat within the limits of what our planet can sustain while also promoting good health. The concept is simple: less but better-quality animal products like meat, and a lot more plant-based foods on your plate!

– Anna Henning Moberg, Head of Operations at Torsåker Farm, Axfoundation

In Chef of the Year 2024, Axfoundation contributes with expert advice on sustainability in the competition.

One of the final challenges is to prepare a vegetarian dish using at least three preserved ingredients from the summer.

When it comes to the sustainable transition, Chef of the Year has an important role to play. The ambition has always been to lead Swedish gastronomy into the future, breaking new ground, exploring trends that advance the craft, and inspiring the next generation of culinary talents.

If anyone should lead the way when it comes to sustainability, plant-based and in-season ingredients, it is us who work professionally with cooking. We really don’t need to have all the ingredients fresh all year round and that’s how many restaurants already work today; fermenting, freezing, drying and pickling during the best time, and then you have it for later.

– Stefan Eriksson, Head of Ingredients at Chef of The Year

Preservation is a fantastic method for preserving food and preventing it from spoiling. By creating unfavorable conditions for bacteria, the shelf life of different foods can be extended, without compromising their quality. Drying, salting and fermenting food are old proven methods for increasing durability.

Today, most of us are accustomed to having access to fresh vegetables, fruits, and berries year-round – from raspberries to sugar snaps. But this often results in a much larger carbon footprint compared to eating what’s in season right here and now. Instead, choose frozen raspberries and peas when you want them in the winter.

– Anna Henning Moberg, Operations Manager for Torsåker Farm, Axfoundation

From star restaurants to lunch cafeterias and Tuesday tacos

Adding more greens to the table, replacing meat with plant-based proteins and taking advantage of seasonal ingredients is something everyone can do, whether you are at the stove at the star restaurant, in the lunch cafeteria or at home in the kitchen, says Anna Henning Moberg who leads the development work for sustainable meals at Torsåker Farm.

If it feels complicated, take it step by step. A good approach is to gradually modify your favorite dishes by incorporating more plant-based ingredients into your everyday meals. For example, replacing a third or even half of the ground meat in your meat sauce with plant-based options can make a significant difference for both the climate and your health. Make sure to use whole legumes or ground whole legumes, rather than products made from legume protein. This way, you’ll get all the fiber that legumes contain, which most of us don’t get enough of.

– Anna Henning Moberg, Head of Operations at Torsåker FarmAxfoundation

On October 17th, six finalists will compete for the title Chef of the Year 2024 – and pave the way for more sustainable cooking.