RIYADH: The Danish Embassy recently hosted a culinary event in Riyadh offering visitors a taste of the country’s cuisine.
“This is an event to celebrate the high level of Danish food,” Liselotte Plesner, the Danish ambassador, told Arab News.
“I also wanted to tap into the Saudi journey of Vision 2030 where you want to unfold all of your potential, and diversify your economy, including tourism and gastronomy,” she said.
The culinary event featured Danish delicacies and traditional dishes, as well as a variety of cheeses, such as havarti.
Along with the cheese course, Per Knuppert, head chef at the event, served cold smoked and hand-salted salmon with caviar.
All the dishes were sourced from the Danish island of Funen, he said.
A spice-matured beef was also served, along with a steak station serving creamy mushroom sauce with sweet potato.
“Danish chefs have established a new culinary level for Denmark and I wanted to bring that to Saudi Arabia,” the ambassador said.
Mayada Badr, CEO of the Culinary Arts Commission, was among guests at the event.
“Food is a way that you experience culture,” Badr told Arab News.
“It was an amazing event by the embassy to showcase their heritage and their products.”
The Danish ambassador said that she wanted to highlight Danish cuisine in Saudi Arabia.
“I think most people now who are interested in food understand that Denmark has reached a high level, but I wanted to bring it here to Saudi to say, ‘It’s not just the French and the Italians, but we can also do that,” she said.
