In an industrial kitchen in the Netherlands, more than two dozen chefs are hard at work chopping vegetables and stirring pots at the World Snart and Stamppot Championships.
Traditional pea soup and vegetable puree have been a staple of the Dutch diet for decades, served at winter markets or enjoyed by families after a long day of skiing.
At the annual championships held in Groningen, amateur and professional chefs from the Netherlands and abroad compete for the top prize in both categories, the coveted silver ladle.
Henk de Haan, 63, puts onions and carrots in a bowl as the main ingredients in snart, a thick soup made with winter vegetables and pork, usually finished with slices of smoked Dutch sausage.
Event director De Haan has been participating in the contest for years and has never won anything, but this time he has a “secret weapon”: jalapeno peppers.
“I think they will never forget my soup,” he told AFP.
Gina Olthof, 49, who works with people with disabilities, sticks to a more traditional recipe passed down from her mother and grandmother.
“It’s a normal meal with a lot of meat, a lot of vegetables, a lot of everything,” she said.
– Intense competition –
While the chefs slave over their utensils, five judges patrol the aisles with clipboards, taking notes on their recipes and techniques.
The broth used as the base for the soup can be prepared in advance, but everything else must be prepared on site.
The soup is only considered successful if the spoon can stand perfectly upright when placed inside the bowl, giving new meaning to the phrase “tough competition.”
“First we look at the ingredients of the broth and vegetables,” said Flang Cupido, 63, a cooking teacher who is participating as a judge for the fourth time this year.
After the soup is served, judges will give ratings for “taste, aroma and texture,” he added.
“We’re really looking for a special product that tastes good. It’s authentic, and maybe it has extra ingredients.”
Another judge, John Sprott, 58, previously worked at the Cuperto restaurant in Zwolle, and was awarded a “Bib Gourmand” in the Michelin Guide.
Having won the Silver Scoop himself in 2018, Sprott knows what it takes to pull off a thrilling laugh.
“Dutch cuisine is not high-end cuisine, it’s good food. It’s always potatoes, vegetables and meat,” he said.
Founded in 1995 as a local competition, the World Snert Championship has since expanded and moved from its pub origins to the professional kitchens at Alpha College in Groningen.
-Secret ingredient-
The competition, now run by Stichting Oud Hollandse Gerechten, attracts a wide range of participants, from amateur chefs as young as 11 to professional chefs.
In 2001, the competition was expanded to include stamboot (another traditional Dutch winter dish consisting of mashed potatoes and vegetables).
The tournaments are a major cultural event in the Netherlands, and they even feature special postage stamps bearing the scoop and potato masher logo.
Robin Van Laan, 26, took the top prize in last year’s Stamppot competition and is hoping to repeat the performance this time with his secret ingredient of pickled onions.
“I make it really nice on the plate, really pretty. It kind of looks like a Michelin star. But it’s just a postage stamp,” he said.
When all the chefs have finished cooking, pots and dishes are lined up outside the kitchen for the judges to taste before making the final decision.
The coveted first prize in the Snart category this year goes to Arthur Voss, 61, a restaurateur from the village of Garderen.
After coming in second place last year, Vos said he was “very proud” to have bagged the silver scoop this time around.
“I trained and trained and now I’m first. This is amazing,” he said.
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