“Good cooking takes time. If you are made to wait, it is to serve you better.”

Together with Peter Franke, a famous chef of our regional kitchen, we created a healthy, balanced and delicious menu. We concentrated on the use of products of our region, the so called Spreewald. After an exhausting, cold journey we arrived at Mr. Franke’s herb garden, where he welcomed us with a home-made, warm pumpkin punch.

On our first day we dealt with the theoretical aspects (recipes, preparation, equipment and work-sharing). For each course of our menu we assembled a special brigade. Due to the competent help of Mr. Franke everyone of us knows what he needs to do in Denmark. Finally we enjoyed a self-made hotpot and a sample of our dessert, Buttermilk Pancakes with applesauce. Needless to say, we cleaned the whole kitchen up so that we could start afresh the next day.

On Wednesday we learned how to cook and how to serve our meal properly. We noticed that a good timetable is the essential thing. Someone, who thinks that the dessert is the last thing to prepare, would be wrong. After some little and some big steps the entire menu was served on time. At first a quintet of gherkins whet our appetite. Afterwards we got the pleasure of trying a spicy horseradish soup, which made some of us cry. The main course was relatively simple - herb curd with peeled potatoes and linseed oil. The buttermilk pancakes (from a secret recipe) completed the delicious meal.

After two eventful days our group feels well prepared for the cooking in Denmark and we are looking forward to bringing our local dishes from the “Spreewald” to other nations.

Lisa Münster and Erik Zschieschang, 28th January 2010