Competitors Manual 2019

1. About International Falafel Award

International Falafel Award is a yearly competition to recognize the restaurants and foodtrucks making the best falafel in the world.

The first International Falafel Award was held 2018 in Malmö, Sweden with contestants from Sweden, Denmark and Japan. The competitors who won was Nordisk Falafel (Copenhagen, Denmark) and Falloumi (Stockholm, Sweden). Read more about last years winners here.

2. Competitors

In 2019 we have chosen 15 restaurants from all over the world and offered them a seat to compete in the finals.

3. Date & time, location & schedule

The competition is held 14’th of December 2019 in Malmö, Sweden between 9.00-17.00 local time (GMT+1). The winner will be announced shortly at the same location after the competition is over at a public unveiling between 17-19 (GMT+1).

3.1 Date & time

Date: 14’th of December 2019
Competition time: 09.00-17.00 (GMT +1)
Winner unveiling time: 17.00-19.00 (GMT +1)

3.2 Location

International Falafel Award will be held at the restaurant kitchen of Lokal 17 located inside the building STUDIO in Malmö Sweden.

The adress for the location is Nordenskiöldsgatan 24, 211 19 Malmö which is only a 8 minute walk from Malmö Central Station.

The same building the competition will be held in also have STORY Hotel Malmö Studio that offers a few advantages for you as a competitor, such as better prices and personal pickup both for the dinner the day before and for the competition. Read more about that here.

3.3 Schedule

The competition starts 14’th of December by 09.00 (GMT+1).
A more detailed schedule to be announced closer to the competition, however the general times down below won’t change.

4. Travel & accommodation

If you are traveling internationally to Malmö, Sweden to compete in International Falafel Award we recommend you to travel in good time (and to arrive 13’th of December) for the competition, to make sure you will be able to compete on the 14’th of December 2019. We will host a pre-dinner the day before for competitors in the nearby area, and if you would like to attend, please read more about the dinner here.

We highly recommend competitors to stay at STORY Hotel Studio Malmö which is in the same building as the competition. You will then also have the convenience of our personel to pick you up in the hotel lobby at the competition day to walk to the competition area. If you will attend the pre-dinner the day before, we will also have personel to pick you up to walk to the restaurant.

Note: Costs of travel and hotel has to be paid and booked on your own.

5. Recommended hotel

We recommend competitors to stay at STORY Hotel Studio Malmö. The reason is because STORY-hotel is inside the same building as International Falafel Award 2019, making it extremely convenient for you as a competitor to get to the location. It’s also only a 8 minute walk from Malmö Central Station.

For competitors staying at STORY hotel offer a personal pickup-service where we will come and get you at the lobby at STORY Hotel Studio Malmö and guide you down directly to the competition area for the most convenient experience. When checking in you will also be given this guide.

If you will attend the pre-dinner the day before at Laziza Dockan, Hallenborgs gata 19, 211 19 Malmö we will also personally come and pick you up in the lobby at STORY Hotel Malmö Studio at a specified time.

We are currently working out a deal for you as a competitor staying at STORY-hotel Studio Malmö. For now they offer 10% discount on their rooms when its booked as non-refundable, and 15% if you book a room for 2 days. You get access to these offers here.

6. Social dinner for competitors day before

We will arrange a social dinner for all the competitors the day before at Laziza Dockan, Hallenborgs gata 19, 211 19 Malmö.
The time for this dinner will be 20.00-21.30 (GMT +1).

We will have to know in advance if you would like to attend the dinner, and you can register for the dinner at the link here.

The dinner is held is only a walking distance of 7 minutes from the from the location of both International Falafel Award 2019 and STORY Hotel Malmö Studio (which we highly recommend) staying at.

If you are staying at STORY Hotel Malmö Studio we will also personally come and pick you up in the lobby at STORY Hotel Malmö Studio at a specified time.

The dinner is sponsored by the Lebanese restaurant Laziza, and will be free to attend for you as a competitor.

Laziza Dockan
Hallenborgs gata 19, 211 19 Malmö
Time: 20.00-21.30 (GMT+1)

7. What we will have prepared for you on location

When you arrive, we will have the following on location for you to use:

7.1 Groceries

– Chickpeas (Pre-soaked)
– Red onions
– Garlic
– Parsley
– Tomatoes
– Lettuce heads
– Mixed pickles
– Salt
– Lemons
– Mint
– Coriander
– Leek
– Frying oil

7.2 Utensils

– Cutting boards
– Knives

7.3 Machines & hardware

– Fryer (Tefal Easy Pro FR333070)
– Grinder (Bosch ProPower MFW68660)
– Food processor (Bosch MCM3100W)
– Shared electric restaurant oven

7.4 Serving

– Plates

8. What you need to prepare before/bring yourself

In short, everything that is not listed above you will need to bring yourself. More information shortly.

9. Where you can get supplementary groceries to use during the competition – closest large food store

If you need groceries such as vegetables or more that is not on the list with the items we will have prepared above, the closest large supermarket to buy such items is ICA Maxi Stormarknad Västra Hamnen at Masttorget 12, 211 77 Malmö. It’s only a 14 minute walk away from the competition area. They close 22.00 (GMT+1) the day before the competition and open 07.00 (GMT+1) on the competition day.

ICA Maxi Stormarknad Västra Hamnen
Masttorget 12, 211 77 Malmö.
Opening Hours: 07.00-22.00

10. The competitor area – Lokal 17 studio kitchen

The competition will be held in a modern studio kitchen that is a part of the high-end restaurant Lokal 17 in Malmö, Sweden.

More information shortly.

Competition Area: Lokal 17
Hjälmarekajen 17, 211 19 Malmö

11. How the competition works

More information shortly. But here is the quick rundown:

The competition will go on between 09.00-17.00 (GMT+1) at the competitor area at Lokal 17 in Malmö, Sweden. During this time the competition will go on all day. There will be 5 time-slots of 60 minutes during the day. Your team/restaurant will be assigned One of these slots and get 60 minutes to prepare 5 servings of the falafel dish you are competing with.

During this time-slot, 2 other contestants will, at the same time-slot make their own falafel. This means that 3 teams will be in the kitchen at the same time. But we have prepared seperate utensils, grinders and fryers for each and every one of the contestant. In other words, you do not have to share those items. However we do have one shared oven that everyone can use together.

At the end of the day when all the contestants have made their dish, the jury will make their decision who wins which of the awards. This will then be presented between 17.00-19.00 during a public open event at the same location.

12. Rules

Breaking any of the following is cause for instant disqualification.

1. You need to grind your falafel-mixture on location
You may not pre-grind your falafel-mixture in advance and bring it to the event.

2. You may only complete with one dish
You are not allowed to make different kind of dishes, you are only allowed to make 1 specific dish.
(However, that dish you must make 5 servings of, see rule 3. below)

3. You need to make 5 seperate servings of that same dish
One for every jury member (4 of them) and 1 extra for press & photography.

4. Be on location according to the schedule
Not being on location when it’s your time-slot to compete will lead to disqualification.

5. You may only compete with maximum 2 people/team
If your team is more than two, only two will be allowed to go up and prepare the falafel-dish.

6. You will only get 60 minutes to prepare your dish
Every contestant will have 60 minutes to finish all 5 servings of their dish. If a contestant is about to run out of time, it will not be granted extra time. Same rule applies to every contestant.

7. You may not sabotage for any other contestant
Any act that is carried out before or during the competition to give you an unfair advantage over another contestant is strictly forbidden.

If there is anything you are unsure of, send us an email at [email protected] and we will answer ASAP and update our manual.

13. The different awards

Best Falafel 2019 (Main award)

Awarded to the one who have made the best falafel-ball in the competition.

Most Innovative Falafel 2019

Awarded to the one who have made the most innovative falafel-dish in the competition.

Best Composition 2019

Awarded to the one who have made the best falafel-dish in the competition.

14. What the jury will judge

We are still finalizing some part about the jury-process. But they will vote around taste, appearance, creativity, composition, presentation and a few other areas. If you are aiming to win a specific award, check here for the different awards.

15. FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions

May I grind and make my falafel-mixture in advance?
No! You are not permitted to grind your mixture in advance. This is a part of the competition and has to be made during your time-slot.

How many is competing?
15 different restaurants representing from differents parts of the world. See which ones here.

How long time do I have to prepare?
You have 60 minutes. Your specific time will be announced closer to the date of competition.

Do i have a kitchen?
Yes. You will have space in a kitchen prepared for you. The kitchen will be prepared with an electric fryer, hand-driven grinder and kitchen utensils.

Will there be a grinder to grind chickpeas?
Yes. A manual hand-driven grinder.

Will there be an oven to bake bread?
Yes. There will be a shared oven.

Can we prepare things before?
Yes. You can prepare for example dough for your bread and make sauces. The falafels and the serving however needs be done at location during your provided kitchen-time. We recommend doing as much as possible during this time for freshness of the serving.

Will you provide chickpeas?
Yes. Pre-soaked ones. If you want to bring your own or not using chickpeas, then you need to prepare them so it’s for example pre-soaked.

What groceries will you provide?
– Chickpeas (Pre-soaked)
– Red onion
– Garlic
– Parsley
– Tomatoes
– Lettuce
– Mixed Pickles
– Salt
– Frying oil

What do I need to bring?
You will need to bring items such as spices, sauce, your dough if making bread or basically anything you can think of if not listed above.

Will you provide oil?
Yes. But if you need/want a specific oil you need to bring it.

How does it work?
You will get a kitchen time and during this time, 2 others will prepare their falafel alongside you (3 in total). You will have 60 minutes. Then you will present it to the judge. The winner will be announced at the end of the day.

How many servings should I make?
One for every jury-member plus a presentation-servering intended for photography. In the 2019 finals, that means 5 servings. They should be presented on a separate plate for each and every jury-member.

What do i win?
The title, an award and also a falafel-themed gift.

If there is anything you are unsure of, send us an email at [email protected] and we will answer ASAP and update our manual.

16. GDPR

We will have the local press on location and live-stream the competition online. We will need you to sign a form that you accept that we may record video and take photos in the competition area for use both by International Falafel Award and the press.