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In 2004, a very special meeting took place in Copenhagen. A group of top chefs, food journalists and other key players in the food world (from all the Nordic countries) met to sign the “Man- ifesto for the New Nordic Cuisine”. Much of the manifesto was inspired by the principles of Slow Food: calling for the embrace of regional and traditional foods, along with respect for season- ality, diversity, animal welfare, sustain- ability and artisanal production. Over the last ten years, the manifesto has been used to promote Nordic cuisine in a number of contexts.proud of beingSomething SpecialOne of the results of the manifesto has been that the Nordic countries have found an identity, both in diversity and similarity. Some characteristics are common to all Nordic countries, but there are also great differences, for ex- ample in the cultural background of food production and traditions in Iceland and Finland. This diversity needed to be nur- tured and developed so that every com- munity within the Nordic countries could be proud of having “something special“, from street food to the great success in the Bocuse d‘or.At the time of publication, traditional products were not highly valued, con- sidered to belong to a dark and desti- tute past whose image did not corre- spond to the modern face of the Nordic countries. However, over the past de- cade, this has changed dramatically: People have become more aware of the value that tradition can have within a concept of modernity.75