Falafel Festival 2018 is in Malmö, Sweden, to celebrate the Malmö’s favorite street food, falafel.
First showing up in food trucks in the late 80’s in Malmö, falafel has become a food culture phenomenon only matched by other world wide favorites such as sushi, pizza or hotdogs. With over 60 restaurants, ranging from food trucks sitting under bridges to the finest dining halls, falafel has come to every corner of a city that has just over 300,000 residents.
Some get the cheapest, which can still be found for less than 20 kr, and load it up with halloumi slices and hummus while other go for the standard “blandad sås med alla grönsaker” (mixed sauces with all the vegetables). No matter how you like it, every place that sells falafel has a line at lunch time and if they are open past midnight become a bit of a party place when the clubs close. Wether it is the price, the availability or the high quality arising from the stiff competition, it is no surprise that it is Malmö’s favorite street food.
On June 16th, 2018, the little fried balls of chick peas reached a new height with the falafel festival that also held the first ever Falafel World Championship. Fifteen teams were picked from around the world to compete on stage and make their best falafel recipe and win bragging rights as the best falafel in the world. Teams representing Sweden, Denmark and Japan converged and had an hour each to make falafel from scratch and be judged to win prizes for best falafel ball, best composition, and most innovative. By the end of the day Denmark’s Nordisk Falafel had taken home Best Falafel and Stockholm’s Falloumi had won both best composition and most innovative.
The first annual Malmö Falafel Festival also entertained the 5,000 attendees with cultural presentations, music, demonstrations, and food trucks.
Opening hours
June 16th, 2018 (returning yearly)
Saturday 09:00 – 17:00
St. Johannesgatan 7 (Square in front of Malmö Konsthall)
