Potatoes star in N. Korea cook-off

Spud-tacular: Visitors looking at food made using potato flour displayed on a table during the North Korea’s national cooking competition in Pyongyang. (Below) ‘Naengmyeon’, or cold potato noodles displayed during the cooking competition. — AFP

Pyongyang: Lined up in cavernous rooms at a state restaurant in Pyongyang, North Korean chefs carefully assemble their dishes, watched by crowds of onlookers at a cooking competition in a country that suffers chronic food shortages.

Around 300 cooks are competing in 40 different dishes over three days at North Korea’s national cooking competition, with winners receiving cookbooks, equipment, diplomas and medals.