In a bustling kitchen inside Stockholm City Hall, Sweden, chefs are preparing a gourmet dinner with a secret menu for scientists and royal figures attending the annual Nobel Prize banquet this week. Over 40 chefs have been tasked with preparing a three-course meal for the annual event, which will bring together Nobel Prize laureates and their families, members of the Swedish royal family, and other prominent state figures. Bei Lu, responsible along with Tommy Myllymäki for preparing the first two courses, said: "We want to apply our way of cooking, put our touch on it, and show it at this dinner that will be attended by 1,300 people." He added: "We take something we know the taste of and add some touches to it." The chefs run a two-Michelin-starred restaurant on the island of Djurgården in Stockholm. Myllymäki said the menu was finalized at the end of September after "many trials." The highly secretive menu will not be revealed until guests sit down at 59 tables filling the so-called Blue Hall on Wednesday. However, the chefs are sharing some details, including that the first course will feature ingredients from the Nordic forests, such as dried porcini mushrooms, while the dessert will consist of cherries and berries. 400 bottles of drink will be served with the appetizers. The banquet also has a personal touch for the chefs, as the tableware has been renewed for the first time in over 30 years. Oak knives, developed with Lu's brother, were handmade. Crafting the 1,300 knives by hand from oak imported from southern Sweden took a long time. Lu said: "We needed reinforcements to meet the deadline... My mom, sister, and dad came to help." Pastry chef Frida Baeck, who is participating in preparing the banquet food for the second year, is making the dessert this year and spoke about her childhood days spent in the forest with her grandparents. She said that cherries "are a bit forgotten... and need a bit of persistence and creativity in handling them". Separate celebrations for the Nobel Peace Prize are held in Oslo.
