One of the three pillars of Christmas in Europe is the European Buffet. This is a tradition which is as old as the event itself, and which every year earns an undeniable success. The task is for each delegation to prepare one or several dishes, either cold or hot, which represent the culinary traditions of the Christmas period in their respective countries.
In view of the small dimensions of the kitchen on the 17th floor, the delegations were obliged to observe a rota so as not to get in each other’s way during the preparation of the food – and some people reported that this did cause some problems. But in the end everyone managed to have everything ready and on show in good time for the ‘kick off.’
It’s getting hot in the kitchen!
It’s getting hot in the kitchen!
Final details!
View of a small section of the buffet
This European Buffet in Zagreb was held on the 17th floor of the WESTIN hotel on December 3rd, and a prelude was provided by the Mozartines, a girls choir which produced a particularly good performance loudly applauded by the audience.
The Mozartines Choir
Marija Razan-Krisanac made a brief speech to greet those present who included a number of invited guests; her speech was followed by one from AEHT President Klaus Enengl, who declared once again how delighted he was to be in Zagreb, and said jokingly that the Mozartines did justice to the great Mozart, his Austrian compatriot! He concluded with the exhortation to everyone to 'spend ten minutes admiring the dishes before jumping on them.' They needed to walk round all the groups of delegates standing behind the buffet they had produced in order to understand the quality and taste which they had brought to the dishes they had created.
Marija Razan-Krisanac and Klaus Enengl run an expert eye over the creations of each delegation
And then came the rush of everyone present towards the buffet to try to find and choose specialities which they did not know - always a difficult task if only because it was very hard to reach the buffet! And when you looked at the joy on people’s faces, there could be no doubt, the success of the European buffet is never in question. And because Christmas also means sharing, any of the dishes not consumed at the buffet were taken to the neighbouring parish to be given out to those in need.
