An early morning bookmaker toast

A summer breakfast Bookmaker toast.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro 2018

Somehow it is difficult not to use the word decadent when talking about a ‘bookmaker toast’. It could be made in a variety of ways, some more scrumptious than others. Some include fried bacon. Some include Sauce Bearnaise. I think that what you prefer varies depending on whether you’ll have it as a lunch, dinner, late night snack or, breakfast.

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Under the Swedish sun

Under the Swedish westcoast sun, with Cat.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro 2018

The winters in Sweden can be long and cold, so for those who are visiting Sweden, what might come as unexpected are the very warm Swedish summers. With low cloud cover and low humidity levels, I think a quintessential equatorial method of keeping cool might help – a broad hat, broad UVA/UVB 50 SPF coverage, and a furry Cat?

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Lemon curd parfait, sans sous vide

Lemon curd parfait.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro 2018

This astronomical Easter [1], I found myself falling in love with lemon curd. Well, actually, I’ve been reading about at lemon curd recipes for some months now, how to make variations of it, and how to use it further in other recipes. I remember that in 2012, I had tried my hand at lemon custard cupcakes. The lemon custard recipe I used then was alright, but not something to totally fall in love with, especially if you are a fan of kaya, the Southeast-Asian screwpine/pandan leaf coconut marmalade found most notably in Singapore and Malaysia. Yesterday, I came across what looked like the perfect lemon curd recipe published by ChefSteps in 2014 [2], made sous vide. I had to give it a try, albeit sans sous vide.

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Baileys Mille Crêpe

Baileys mille-crepe, topped with chocolate ganache and whipped cream.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro 2018

It looks pretty, the gâteau mille crêpe. So I thought I’d have a go at making one myself. I think I was at a corner near the Cathédrale Notre-Dame in Paris when I came across a bakery-café that was serving the most aromatic and gorgeous looking filled crêpes, the type that you can always find room in your stomach for no matter the time of day. In Paris, if the bakery-café had the ingredient, you could most likely have it on the crêpe as filling, from fresh strawberries to strawberry jam, whipped cream to nutella and banana. Looking for recipes online, I could see that most recipes would recommend to have the crêpe made with as little fat as possible on the pan itself in order to give a pale golden hue to the stack. But the ones I made were done in Swedish pannkaka style, with plenty butter in the pan so you get caramelized frilled edges to each crêpe. The difference? The mille crêpe I made is more, …Swedish?

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Passion för Mat 2018 walkabout

Trying out a bite bit of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, at Passion för Mat 2018, 2 to 4 March, Erikbergshallen, Gothenburg.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro 2018

Gothenburg’s largest annual foodfair, Passion för Mat is back for 2018! It runs from 2 to 4 March 2018 at Eriksbergshallen event hall located on Hisingen island. The event gathers food exhibitors from different industry sectors, who literally span the globe in food sourcing and production. Some new entrants include Varberg of Halland County, who are in Gothenburg to market not just their destination brand but their food products. Halland Country lies directly south of Gothenburg on the west coast of Sweden. Visitors can find for example, Källsjö A-fil from Källsjö Mejeri AB, a locally produced yoghurt whose smooth and creamy consistency makes a perfect accompaniment to fresh fruits and cereal for breakfast, as well as cheeses from Skrea Ost (Kattegatt white and Kattegatt blue cheeses). Visitors can also find some exciting new food products and concepts such as Mjölby’s Food for Progress’s award winning brands Oumph! and Beat that give noone an excuse to never eat their vegetables again, ever.

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Passion för Mat 2018, Fredrikssons Smakglädje

Mona and Christer Fredriksson of Fredrikssons Smakglädje (fredrikssons.eu) at Passion för Mat 2018, 2 to 4 March, Erikbergshallen, Gothenburg.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro 2018

I think it’s wonderful to catch-up with people with whom you share a passion for artisan culinary craftwork and the exchange of food/life experiences but don’t often get a chance to meet with. I spent some happy minutes visiting Mona and Christer Fredriksson foodstall at Passion för Mat 2018. Fredrikssons Smakglädje began in 2012 in southern Sweden (near Kalmar), with a focus on handcrafted, quality marmalades. Their key marmalade philosophy is to focus on the type of taste experience they wanted people to have when eating their marmalades. They also wanted to craft new marmalade flavours, choosing their ingredients carefully for each batch created. The intense flavours and luxurious textures of their marmalades are reflected likewise in the jeweltoned bottles lit on the display stand. Fredrikssons’s efforts on craftsmanship have not gone unnoticed in the Swedish culinary circles. Their products have since 2014, consistently won awards in the grand Swedish artisan culinary mastership (SM i mathantverk). Of notable mention is their 2017 Mona sauce, chosen for its excellent summer feel to a perfect grill sauce. Fredriksson’s Juleglögg (Swedish Christmas mulled wine) won silver medal in the 2015 SM i mathantverk and they took home both gold and silver medals in SM i mathantverk 2014 for their Hot Apple and Apricot Chutney, and Honeypear and Ginger Marmelade. The bit of news that made me happy was that Fredrikssons has a webshop and now deliver to your doorstep.

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Passion för Mat 2018, Flavours of Halland County

A white chocolate and caramel cheesecake from Halland County to be sampled at Passion för Mat 2018.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro 2018

Passion för Mat 2018 draws a network of small medium enterprises in not just food and beverage as product, but rather, food and beverage in connection to a specific destination experience. This year, Halland County took centrestage at this event, marketing products of the region that lies just south of Gothenburg city. In 2011, the city authority of Varberg embarked on Varberg 2025 with the ambition to be the creative centre of Sweden’s west coast region. Varberg lies in the region of Halland County, to which several booths at this food event enticed visitors to sample the produce and flavours of Halland County.

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Passion för Mat 2018, Beriksson

Spending time product browsing at Beriksson’s foodstall, at Passion för Mat 2018, 2 to 4 March, Erikbergshallen, Gothenburg.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro 2018

I met Benny Eriksson, owner and founder of trading company Berikssson at Passion för Mat 2009 [1]. I was all over the Italian chocolate and candy imports, Cuneesi al liquore by Dulcioliva, not being able to carry home enough quantities to secure a full year’s supply to myself. Some things just don’t change. I came across Beriksson’s food stall at Passion för Mat 2018, and by far, this was my absolute favourite food stall to spend time product browsing, still not being able to carry home quantities enough for the upcoming year’s supply. The non-acquisition made more wanting by the sheer variety of chocolate bars that now span the globe in cacao sourcing and chocolate production.

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Passion för Mat 2018, Helmut Walch Chakuteri est. 1978

Helmut Walch Charkuteri AB (walch.se) was established in 1978. They are at Passion för Mat 2018 from 2 to 4 March at Erikbergshallen, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro 2018

The narrative of Helmut Walch is of an industrious individual from Austria, Vienna, who in the aftermath of scarcity in World War II came to a career decision point in his life. He applied to be a cook in Karlstad, Sweden, and in his culinary journey from 1965 took him to various Swedish towns such as Karlstad, Skara and a hotel kitchen in Halland. He soon found himself in Gothenburg, and when the opportunity arose for him to acquire Asker Svensson’s store at Saluhallen in Gothenburg, the city’s central marketplace, he decided that Gothenburg would have access to Austrian traditions of charcuterie. Till this day, Helmut Walch Charkuteri AB uses spices imported from Austria to flavour their meats and meat products, where the differentiating factor of Helmut Walch’s products is in the skill of preparation.

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