Thursday, July 24, 2008

Swedish chefs try to outdo French haute cuisine


Delicacies such as carpaccio of Elk and blue cheese spread on gingerbread are among the dishes that Sweden is hoping will knock France off its culinary pedestal.

Eskil Erlandsson, Sweden's Agriculture Minister, has launched a campaign to make his country the haute cuisine leader of the world.

"We are going to put Sweden on the world map as a country of good food," he said earlier this week. "We are in a good position to conquer the rest of the world..."

"I don't suppose there's anyone, anywhere in the world, who would be able to resist gingerbread biscuits with mouldy cheese," Mr Erlandsson said, joking about another popular Nordic dish.

A spokesman for the agriculture ministry explained that Sweden hoped to overcome negative stereotypes like the Muppet Show's famous "Swedish Chef" and his "Bork, bork, bork" catchphrase.

"It would be nice to get away from that image," she said...