From coffee shop dreams and gold hunting to a trip on the legume wave
Økologisk NuOrganic Nu met three very different kitchens at Hørkram's foodservice fair in Messe C in Fredericia, where the diversity was also striking among the 180 exhibitors. The annual fair attracted employees from large and small professional kitchens, who were seeking new products, good raw materials, and ideas that can make a difference when turned into food for many people. The Icelandic sisters Selma and Hafdis Cassaro came to the fair to find healthy raw materials and delicious coffee for the café they plan to open in the pedestrian street in Horsens at the end of November. Neither of them has experience running a café, and although Hørkram annually sells organic products worth well over a billion DKK, organic food was not on the sisters' radar until they met Rita Ramona Høgh at the Organic Association's booth, located at the entrance to the fair. Selma Cassaro is trained as a fashion designer, while Hafdis Cassaro has a background as a building constructor, but they share the dream of opening a café focused on health and preferably offering drinks with supplements like collagen and keratin. "The idea arose in the spring when I was walking in the pedestrian street in Horsens during the summer, and I couldn't find anything healthy to eat or a good cup of coffee, so I thought something is missing here in Horsens," says Selma Cassaro, who quickly got her sister on board with the idea of opening a café. "We've found premises in the pedestrian street and will get the keys in November, so right now we're busy preparing everything, testing recipes, and sorting out everything related to staff, finances, and interior design," explain the sisters, who after a long discussion about the benefits of organic foods and the possibility of displaying the Organic Eating Label, saw that organic food fits perfectly into the café concept they have in mind. "We want to make it a bit easier for women our age to go out and have a good cup of coffee at a café where the menu is based on all the different healthy nutrients we need. So now we are eager to put on our organic glasses and explore organic products a bit more. If we find the right ingredients, which are also organic, then it's just perfect," said Hafdis Cassaro, as the two sisters continue their search for coffee and raw materials for skyr smoothies and toast with delicious, healthy toppings. We want to turn silver into gold In front of a food truck from Bornholm Ice Creamery, Organic Nu meets three ice-cream eating staff from UngAalborg Education Center, who have many years of experience running an organic kitchen together with students on the school's culinary line. Currently, they are teaching young bilingual students, primarily from war-torn Ukraine. "The students are taught in regular school subjects, and every day we cook lunch together with them in our kitchen, so they learn to cook and also learn about Danish food culture," says Lotte Dahl, who teaches both in general school subjects and in food science. Her colleague Louise Ludvigsen does the same, and they are both used to ordering organic raw materials, as the school has an organic percentage of over 60%, and they do not understand kitchens that find it cumbersome to meet the documentation requirements for the Organic Eating Label. It's super easy "When we order goods from Hørkram, there's a little counter where we can see the organic percentage—both in kroner and in kilograms. When we need to document our organic percentage for the label each quarter, we just print out the organic report and put it in the folder," says Louise Ludvigsen. It's super easy, the two educators agree, and when they are unsure whether they will reach the gold label, it’s more about the supply of organic goods. "It's Aalborg Municipality that has decided we should preferably buy organic, but even though there are many organic products here at the supplier fair, it can be a bit difficult to find all the items we need if we are to reach 90% organic when only shopping at Hørkram. And then there are the prices of organic meat," smiles Lotte Dahl. The North Jutland educators are among others looking for more organic spices, and since many of the students are Muslims, they also miss a broader selection of organic poultry cold cuts. "We buy many vegetables and herbs, and here it can be a challenge with shelf life when we only order once a week. But today we met a producer of organic microgreens in pots, who promises that the plants can stay fresh for 14 days, so we will try that at home," says Lotte Dahl. At the other end of the hall, Organic Nu encounters the two kitchen assistants Lise Nexø and Lisbeth Bjerremand from Gødvad Boarding School. Well-loaded with shopping bags and nets, they are ready to head home to Silkeborg. "The bags are filled with recipes and taste samples," says Lisbeth Bjerremand, explaining that they work in a boarding school kitchen that emphasizes both organic food and their own raw materials. Have you brought back anything interesting? Lots. We are always inspired when we are here. Both with new products and new ways to process and combine raw materials. Right now, we are on the pulse of pulses, and we have found some new Danish organic peas and beans that we didn't know before. We also tasted potato hummus and several other plant-based items, and we have gained new inspiration for ready-made dishes with pulses," says Lisbeth Bjerremand. A really lovely day The students at Gødvad Boarding School are young with special needs, and the school runs both the 'Kitchen and Health' line and an agriculture line, where students produce much of the food they eat themselves. "We produce a lot of vegetables and salads ourselves and have cows, pigs, sheep, and chickens, so the students are involved in making a large part of the raw materials we use in the kitchen," says Lisbeth Bjerremand. Due to the large amount of self-produced food, which is not organic certified, the boarding school does not have the Organic Eating Label, but most of the products they buy externally are organic. "This includes dairy products and flour, so it’s always interesting to participate in the fair, and it has been a really lovely day. We come here every year if we can fit it into our schedule, because the students need something to eat…"
Organic Now met three very different kitchens at Hørkram's foodservice fair in Messe C in Fredericia, where the diversity was also striking among the 180 exhibitors.
The annual fair attracted employees from large and small professional kitchens, who were seeking new products, good raw materials, and ideas that can make a difference when they are turned into food for many people.
The Icelandic sisters Selma and Hafdis Cassaro traveled to the fair to find healthy ingredients and delicious coffee for the café they plan to open in the pedestrian street in Horsens at the end of November.
Neither of them has experience running a café, and although Hørkram annually sells organic products worth well over a billion DKK, organic was not on the sisters' radar until they met Rita Ramona Høgh at the Organic Association's booth, which was located at the entrance to the fair.
Selma Cassaro is trained as a fashion designer, while Hafdis Cassaro has a background as a building constructor, but they share the dream of opening a café that will focus on health and very much like to offer drinks with dietary supplements such as collagen and keratin.
“The idea arose in the spring when I was walking in the pedestrian street in Horsens during the summer, where I couldn't find anything healthy to eat or a good cup of coffee, so I thought, something is missing here in Horsens,” says Selma Cassaro, who quickly got her sister on board with the idea of opening a café.
“We have found premises in the pedestrian street and will get the keys in November, so right now we are busy preparing everything, testing recipes, and getting everything in order regarding staff, finances, and interior design,” explains the sisters, who after a longer discussion about the benefits of organic foods and the possibility of displaying the Organic Eating Label, could see that organic fits perfectly into the café concept they have in mind.
“We want to make it a little easier for women our age to go out and have a good cup of coffee at a café where the menu is based on all the different healthy nutrients we need. So now we are eager to put on the organic glasses and explore organic products a bit more closely. If we find the right ingredients, which are also organic, then it’s just perfect,” said Hafdis Cassaro, before the two sisters continue their hunt for coffee as well as ingredients for skyr smoothies and toasts with delicious, healthy toppings.
We want to exchange silver for gold
In front of a food truck from Bornholm Ice Creamery, Organic Now meets three ice-cream-eating employees from UngAalborg Education Center, who have many years of experience running an organic kitchen together with students on the school's culinary line.
Currently, they are teaching young bilingual students, who mainly come from war-torn Ukraine.
“The students are taught in regular school subjects, and every day we cook lunch together with them in our kitchen, so they learn to cook and at the same time learn something about Danish food culture,” says Lotte Dahl, who teaches both in general school subjects and in food science.
The same goes for her colleague Louise Ludvigsen, and they are both used to ordering organic ingredients, as the school has an organic percentage of over 60%, and they do not understand the kitchens that find it troublesome to meet the documentation requirements for the Organic Eating Label.
It's damn easy
“When we order goods from Hørkram, there is a little counter where we can see the organic percentage — both measured in kroner and in kg. When we need to document our organic percentage for the label each quarter, we just print out the organic report and put it in the folder,” says Louise Ludvigsen.
It’s damn easy, agree the two teachers, and when they are unsure about when they will reach the gold label, it’s more about the supply of organic products.
“It’s Aalborg Municipality that has decided we should preferably buy organic, but even though there are many organic products here at the supplier fair, it can be a bit difficult to find all the items we need if we want to reach 90% organic when we only shop at Hørkram. And then there are the prices of organic meat,” smiles Lotte Dahl.
The North Jutland teachers are among other things looking for more organic spices, and since many of the students are Muslims, they also miss a broader selection of organic poultry cold cuts.
“We buy many vegetables and herbs, and here it can be a challenge with shelf life when we only order once a week. But today we met a producer of organic microgreens in pots, who promises that the plants can stay fresh for 14 days, so we will try that at home,” says Lotte Dahl.
At the other end of the hall, Organic Now encounters the two kitchen assistants Lise Nexø and Lisbeth Bjerremand from Gødvad Efterskole. Well loaded with shopping bags and nets, they are ready to head home to Silkeborg.
“The bags are filled with recipes and taste samples,” says Lisbeth Bjerremand and explains that they work in a boarding school kitchen that focuses heavily on both organic foods and their own ingredients.
Have you brought back anything interesting?
Plenty. We are always inspired when we are here. Both with new products and new ways to process and combine ingredients. Right now, we are on the pulse of pulses, and we have found some new Danish organic peas and beans that we didn’t know before. We also tasted potato hummus and several other plant-based things, and we have gained new inspiration for ready-made dishes with pulses,” says Lisbeth Bjerremand.
A really lovely day
The students at Gødvad Efterskole are young people with special needs, and the school runs both the 'Kitchen and Health' line and an agricultural line, where students produce much of the food they eat themselves.
“We produce a lot of vegetables and salads ourselves and have cows, pigs, sheep, and chickens, so the students are involved in making a large part of the raw materials we use in the kitchen,” says Lisbeth Bjerremand.
Due to the large amount of self-production, which is not organic certified, the boarding school does not have the Organic Eating Label, but most of the products the school buys externally are organic.
“This includes dairy products and flour, so it’s always interesting to participate in the fair, and it has been a really lovely day. We come here every year if we can fit it into the schedule, because the students need something to eat…