KOPPARBERG MULTIFOOD RURAL EXCHANGE ‘22
The Journey.
First off, it is safe to say that this trip took a lot of planning and coordination, but we were a determined bunch and made it happen – somehow. Two flights, three train rides, and 16 hours later later, we made it to the quaint town of Kopparberg (after a restless night in Poland :p)
Day 1
Having been the second group to arrive after the Swedish participants, we spent the first few hours getting to know the hosts and enjoyed some much-needed fika. With some fuel in our bellies, we loosened up and talked about our seemingly never-ending journey, as well as the inexplicably hilarious obstacles we encountered along the way. Then, the Romanians joined the party.
Day 2
The next day, we were woken up early by the Spanish team who arrived bright and early after their own long journey. Day 2 was packed with icebreakers, and we became (more than) acquainted by the end of it. We found our ‘buddies’ and discovered our family team. It was also our night to cook a Traditional dish from Malta. We made ‘Ross il-forn’, and let us just say that cooking for a crowd that hungry is a challenge, to say the least.
Day 3
Next, it was time to explore the forest. Our hunting skills were put to the test when each family team was sent to find 10 pieces of information in the vicinity. And let’s just say that some succeeded and others lost their way… We ended the trek with a great BBQ near a campsite. The smell of the campfire just stuck around from that point on.
Day 3 was so packed, we went bowling after a short break for fika! We can’t not have fika.
After that, it was the Romanians’ turn to cook and we had some amazing Bulz and Gogoshi.
Day 4
On this day, early in the morning we headed to the local school for a cooking challenge. In groups, we were challenged to make a meal – sweet or savoury, out of only the ingredients given. It took a lot of improvising, but we made it work.
After that, we started getting ready for the market event where we were to cook food for the locals of the town. We decided on qassatat… from scratch. Spanish team made us frittatas :p
Day 5
They weren’t joking when they said Multifood because we don’t think we’ve ever cooked so much in our entire lives.
Now, we bake. We made shortcrust pastry from scratch to make qassatat and ricotta pie. That night, we all went and had dinner at a Swedish host family. Might have just been the most wholesome activity throughout the whole trip.
Day 6
Time for goodbyes… We had no idea we could form such a bond with these people in such little time. It was definitely a tear-jerking last day. We started off by writing our goodbyes in the recipe books we had been building throughout the week – the sombre mood came crashing in at this point. We shared our wishes and thanks towards each other and enjoyed our last country dinner – the Kottbullar. After that, we finished with a going-away party and absolutely no sleep ☺
Go to the next Page for the Recipes learnt and the Participants’ takeaways from the project.
