While the Dutch holiday tradition of gourmetten typically happens indoors gathered around the kitchen table, Albert Heijn at the Korenbeurs in Groningen transformed the Vismarkt into the longest gourmet table in town on Sunday afternoon.
By Hans de Preter / Translation by Traci White
As the first snow of the winter covered the ground, 600 people sat down for a meal at 70 gourmet grills a table stretching the length of the Vismarkt. The organisers behind the meal deemed it the longest gourmetten table ever in the Netherlands, even though it does not look like they have had much competition for the title.
The 150-meter-long table’s purple and gold colour scheme was reflected by the illumination of the Korenbeurs building, which has been home to an Albert Heijn location since 2000. The stones of the Vismarkt reflected the festive lighting and lit up the mist covering the north.
The event was held on 16 December, which is Dutch National Gourmet Day. The tradition of gourmetten involves getting a small group of diners together around a grill on a table, and each diner has their own small pan to prepare their own small portions of food.
Photo source: Twitter/Albert Heijn