Lars Abelsen won the Arctic Young Chef 2024 in Ilulissat

Lars Abelsen represented Greenland in the grand finale of the Arctic Young Chef competition, which took place in October in Iceland.

There, he met finalists from Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Norway. The competition was held on May 11 at Atuarfik Mathias Storch School in Ilulissat. Besides the winner Lars Abelsen, Ivalu Hansen Zeeb came in second, with the other participants being Minik Fisker and Mikisoq Bendtsen.

The winning menu consisted of an appetizer with bacca tuille, roasted carrot, pan-fried Greenlandic ray, and wild garlic sauce. The main course included red wine sauce, glazed beetroot, sauteed mushrooms, and marinated pan-seared seal. The competition emphasized the use of uncommon ingredients. Its vision was to help make Greenlandic ray popular in Greenlandic cuisine and to regain appreciation for seal among the younger generation.

The menu was judged on taste, execution, technique, skills, presentation, and service, with time also being a factor. The judges described the winning menu as “simple, lovely, and elegant, and it can also be used at home in the family.”

The judges included: Per Theodor Tørrissen, director of the North-Norwegian Competence Center for Food (MAT) and ArktiskMat; Habi, head chef of Hotel Arctic and former chef at Kokkeriet in Copenhagen, where he earned a Michelin star; Morten Nielsen, director of Hotel Arctic since 2018 has extensive experience from the business, and a trained chef.

“It was tough, but also very educational,” said Lars Abelsen. He also emphasized the importance of cooking with products that may not be common right now. Lars looked forward to representing Greenland at the grand finale later that year.

The next national competition took place in Klaksvík in the Faroe Islands on August 17, before the national championships concluded at Harpa in Reykjavík, Iceland on October 2024. 

The Arctic Young Chef is a culinary competition for young chefs and food enthusiasts under 30 from Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Norway. There is particular focus on highlighting underutilised food resources. It is supported and organized by NORA – Nordic Atlantic Cooperation.

Updates about the competition are posted on instagram.com/arctic_young_chef.