Tania Berchem (right), executive director, Luxembourg Trade and Investment Office in Taipei and  Daniel Wang  (left), who will be the “sous-chef” on the show. Trade And Investment Office In Taipei

Tania Berchem (right), executive director, Luxembourg Trade and Investment Office in Taipei and  Daniel Wang  (left), who will be the “sous-chef” on the show. Trade And Investment Office In Taipei

The European Economic and Trade Office in December launched a 15-episode YouTube web series called “Taste of Europe” to introduce European cuisine in Taiwan, in partnership with the 15 EU member state bureaus present in the country. In February, Luxembourg will present an all-time favourite: Kniddelen mat Speck.

Every Friday until the end of March, the cooking channel called “Taste of Europe”, will showcase a local dish from each of the 15 member states--Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, and Sweden--represented in Taiwan. The series will teach people from Taiwan, and surely from across the world, how to make European dishes from the comfort of their homes.

Although the origin or history of certain dishes may forever remain contested--French or Belgian fries, Chinese dumplings, Thüringer Rotwurst, Nigerian or Ghanian jollof, Scotch egg, Jamaican patty--, it is undeniable and indeed remarkable the connection between food and culture.

Since 17 December, five episodes have been released featuring EU representatives and guests presenting mouthwatering local cuisines. As one of the countries represented in Taiwan, the grand duchy will also participate in the series organised by the European Economic and Trade Office (EETO), the EU representative office in Taiwan .

“When I was asked to participate in the Taste of Luxembourg series, it was immediately clear to me that I would cook my favorite dish, Kniddelen mat Speck (flour dumplings with bacon), and share this traditional Luxembourg “dumpling” recipe with the local foodie’s community,” Tania Berchem, the executive director of Luxembourg Trade and Investment Office in Taipei told Delano.

The Luxembourg dish will be prepared by Berchem alongside Daniel Wang, a Taiwanese youth, who lived in Luxembourg for a year in 2019, where he also discovered the dish.

“I asked Daniel Wang to join me for the show because we both love Kniddelen mat Speck. I was sure that he would be the right person to team up with me, as he discovered the Luxembourg version of the Xiao Long Bao (the delicious local dumplings) during his one year stay in Luxembourg in 2019. Back then he was so delighted discovering the Kniddelen mat Speck that his Luxembourg friends had to teach him how to prepare this delicious yet simple dish,” she said.

“People in Taiwan love good food and they like to talk about it, the same way cooking shows are quite popular here. In this perspective I believe that the Taste of Europe mini-series is a fantastic opportunity to share the diversity of Europe with a large Taiwanese audience. By preparing typical local dishes, the participating ‘chefs’ also offer an insight into European culture and traditions, hardly known here in Taiwan. Furthermore, I expect that more Taiwanese people will resume travel to Europe and hopefully visit the grand duchy, especially this year, with the city of Esch-sur-Alzette being European Capital of Culture,” Berchem adds. 

In the first episode, Roland Rudorfer, the Austrian representative in Taiwan makes the Wiener schnitzel, Austria’s local food treasure.

In the second episode, the Belgian representative, Frédéric Verheyden and his wife Mookda Mairue Verheyden, present a beef stew with Belgian trappist beer.

 In the third episode, we head to Czechia for a taste of bramboráky (potato pancake) made by the Czech couple Jakub Janda and Adriana Černá.

In the fourth episode, Bo Mønsted, director of the Trade Council of Denmark in Taipei surprises us with some Danish hot dogs.

 In the fifth episode, Mikko Karppinen, representative of the Finland Trade Center in Taiwan, and Juha Mäkelä, CEO of Maruili Bakery, prepare some Finnish salmon soup (lohikeitto).

The episode featuring Luxembourg’s delicacy “Kniddelen mat Speck” is scheduled to be released between mid to end of February.