Twenty-nine women in Leadership Women International 2016 get a ‘taste of hygge’ in Copenhagen, Denmark. What is hygge, pronounced HEW-g? It is a Norwegian term associated with well-being, a feeling of contentedness and freedom from worry. The term is often associated with Denmark’s high ranking of happiness.

In 2016, the year we visited, the World Happiness Report ranked Denmark as the happiest nation in the world.

Meik Wiking, CEO of the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen, presents an in-depth examination of hygge in her book, The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living, HarperCollins Publishers, 2017. She examines hygge as it relates to everything from home accessories to cooking. The term has become so widespread that Charlotte Higgins explains it in a 2016 essay published in The Guardian, as “The hygge conspiracy,” an overhyped consumerist trend. Even so, our hands-on cooking class at Kromans Cooking School was indeed a special taste of hygge.

As the teams assembled, the students introduced themselves to MasterChef Kroman. With his amazing knack for remembering names, he remembered all 29 of us. Our diverse group from the United States included members from Connecticut, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, South Carolina, and Shanghai, China.

“A person’s name is to him or her the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” – Dale Carnegie

MasterChef Kroman paid close attention as we said our names, as if we were the only people in the room. He repeated our names carefully. I was impressed at the end of the evening when he bid each of us goodbye using our correct names. I reflected on how this contrasted with my own struggle to remember a person’s name after introductions. This careful attention to our names could not help but add an atmosphere of warmth and togetherness to our cooking experience- yes, another taste of hygge.

Names are important in Danish culture and there is power in using a person’s name. It adds to a “taste of hygge” in the atmosphere.

“taste of hygge” menu:


Nordic fish ‘n chips with homemade remoulade sauce of mayonnaise and pickles


Old fashioned roast chicken with pickled cucumber and Grandma Salad


Red fruit jelly with ‘cold bowl’ ice cream and burnt white chocolate

The teams started reviewing their instructions and assigning tasks. Some collected utensils and ingredients, while others washed, whisked, stirred, sliced, diced, and prepared the food. Despite the risk of chaos or disaster with twenty-nine women rushing to their tasks, this was not an ordinary cooking class, nor were these ordinary women. It was a Danish cooking class featuring confident, decisive women. The noisy group was soon overwhelmed by lively music; in fact, the perfect music for line dancing. No worry for those without a spatula or other utensil in hand. They took up their beverage of choice and joined the impromptu line dance! It seemed that the atmosphere was at the peak of a “taste of hygge!” But there was more, namely, the food!

The Chefs served us the food that we had prepared for ourselves. It was very good! We were experiencing the gastronomical satisfaction and pride that comes from delivering a delectable meal.

But no—not me; I was worried, feeling exactly the opposite of a “taste of hygge.”

Our team was responsible for the ‘Cold bowl’ ice cream, and someone, namely me, mistook the directives of the Commis Chef and turned the ice-cream maker off. Would I be to blame for ruining the “taste of hygge” cooking experience of a lifetime? An honest mistake was no consolation as we got closer and closer to the dessert with each bite of the meal. Danes love their dairy products, especially ice cream, and so do Americans.

The dining atmosphere was decisively hygge. There was a collective satisfaction with our accomplishment. The meal…well, it was superb! Despite all the hype, achieving hygge is simple, universal and enduring. Hygge is a matter of achieving an atmosphere that is warm and welcoming.

Travel Note

Leadership Women is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Dallas, Texas. As noted on its website, “it exists to provide programs that advance and improve the personal, economic, and professional status of women.”

“Leadership Women is the longest-running women’s organization in the United States.

Ingredients and Instructions for “Taste of Hygge” Menu Items (using metrics)

‘Cold bowl’ ice cream

Red fruit jelly and burnt white chocolate for ‘cold bowl’ ice cream

Ingredients:
1200 g mixed frozen berries (e.g., red currant, black currant, and strawberry)
Some fresh berries
Sugar to taste
150 g of white chocolate
Fresh lemon balm

Procedures:
Boil the berries with 5 cups water (no sugar added during cooking). When the berries are tender and has given its juice and flavor, thoroughly blend them with a hand blender. You may sieve the juice (but you don’t have to) into a clean pot. Bring the juice to a boil at medium heat and season to taste with sugar.

Spread the white chocolate buttons on a baking sheet with baking paper and bake until golden brown at 160 degrees in the oven.

Arrange the fresh berries on the plate. Add an ‘egg’ of ‘cold bowl’ ice-cream. Add a little cream around the berries and then pour the hot juice over the cream. Sprinkle with burnt white chocolate and garnish with fresh lemon.

Nordic fish ‘n chips with homemade remoulade sauce

Ingredients:
1 hake of approximately 3.5 or about 1.5 – 2 kg hake fillets
1000 g potato
500 g of 5-grain flakes
3 eggs
300 g flour
2 liters of frying oil
Salt

Procedures:
Cut the fish into fillets. Remove the skin and look for bones and cut them away. Cut the fish into bite size pieces and roll in flour. Put the pieces in a mixture of eggs beaten with water and bread them in coarsely blended 5-grain flakes. Deep fry the fish in 175 degrees hot frying oil.

‘Chips’ as in baked potato wedges
Wash potatoes thoroughly and cut them into wedges. Mix them with oil and salt and bake them golden brown in the oven.

Remoulade of homemade mayonnaise and pickles

Homemade yellow mayonnaise for tartar sauce
Ingredients:
2 pasteurized egg yolks
2 tsp. regular vinegar
1 tbsp. mustard
1 tbsp. boiling water
1 l sunflower oil
1 tsp. turmeric
Salt

Procedures:
Put egg yolks, salt, mustard, turmeric and vinegar in a mixing bowl and whisk it at high speed. When it is foaming – add the boiling water. Keep whisking until very fluffy and creamy. Then add the oil little by little.

Pickles – easy and quick to create the bits and pieces of vegetables
Ingredients:
2 carrot
1 small cauliflower
1 squash
1 red pepper
1 glass of pickled pearl onions
½ l (liter) vinegar
450-500 g sugar

Procedures:
Cook a mixture of vinegar and sugar and let it cool

Cut the cauliflower into small florets. Dice the squash, red pepper and the carrot

Blanch all vegetables in salted water for about 1 minute. Let the vegetables cool slightly before being mixed in vinegar. Store it in a jar with lid refrigerated. It will keep fresh for a very long time in the refrigerator and is a good condiment in many different contexts.

To make remoulade simply mix the turmeric mayo with the drained pickled vegetables.

Old fashioned roast chicken with pickled cucumber and Grandma Salad

Ingredients:
3 Danish chickens
2 large bunches of parsley
3 cucumbers
1 cup vinegar
1 cup sugar
Butter for browning
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Procedures:
Fill the chicken with thoroughly washed parsley and brown it on all sides in plenty of butter in a large pot – like a cast iron pot. After browning add cold water until it reaches nearly the center of the chicken. Cover and let it simmer for about 45 min to 1 hour – or until it reaches a core temperature of between 81° and 83° C.

Cut the cucumber into thin slices and sprinkle them with sugar and plenty of freshly ground pepper. Toss and let it soak for about 20 minutes, after which the vinegar is added. Stir the cucumber salad carefully and it is finished. No salt.

When the chicken is done take it up and cut it into boneless pieces. Heat the chicken stock and starch it with a mixture of flour and water. Let it boil for 15 – 20 minutes and season with salt.

Grandma salad

Ingredients:
2 heads of regular salad
36 cherry tomatoes halved
2 cucumbers, diced
1 bunch of radish in thin slices
300 ml heavy cream
Elderflower concentrate

Procedures:
Wash the salad and cut it into quite large pieces. Mix the cream with the elderflower concentrate.
Put the salad in a bowl and add the tomatoes, radish, and cucumbers.
Drizzle the creamy dressing over it just before serving or serve it on the side.

For another cooking experience with Leadership Women, also a taste of hygge, comfort food in South Africa, click the story below.

The Colorful Heritage of Bo-Kaap: History and Flavors