Trainee chefs practice their skills with Icelandic salt fish in Portugal and Spain

The competition is aimed to introduce Icelandic saltfish to a new generation of aspiring chefs.

At the end of March, Business Iceland's Bacalao de Islandia (Icelandic salt fish) initiative held two competitions where students from culinary schools in Spain and Portugal created innovative and tasty dishes with Icelandic salted fish.

On March 21, seven students from Portugal competed on the impressive premises of the Escola de Hotelaria e Turismo de Portalegre in eastern Portugal, close to the Spanish border. Gonçalo Gaspar, from Escola de Hotelaria E Turismo in Lisbon prepared the winning dish. Two days later, the competition moved to Málaga in Andalucia, where 15 students from across Spain competed. Diego Antonio Chavero Rosa from Malpartida de la Serena in the Extremadura province took the top prize with his cod-inspired interpretation of a typical dessert from the region. Both chefs will head to Iceland in September as part of their winning meals.

Although these are competitions, the event's primary goal is to present a selection of the finest Icelandic saltfish for aspiring cooking masters. Moreover, it is a terrific networking experience for students to get to know each other and share their experiences, food cultures, and new twists on traditional food from Iceland. 

Below is a selection of pictures from both events.