Q&A-time

Whoa, girlfriend! I wasn't expecting 30-odd questions. Some of them I'n not going to answer, primarily because I don't think musings over my sexuality or sexual preferences belong here. I'm happy to see there's such an interest in Bloom, though.
I've taken the liberty to freely translate all the questions into English. Enjoy.

When was Titti going to cook at Malmöfestivalen?
Tonight, 18.00, at kockscenen. Be there or be square.

What was the name of the restaurant that Igi used to own, and how many stars did it have?
Igi and Claude Bosi owned Hibiscus at Overton Grange in Ludlow. It was a two-star restaurant. Hibiscus has now relocated to Mayfair in London and has two stars in it's new location as well.

Where did you train to be a sommelier?
I didn't. I'm all self(and Igi-)taught. Considering who my teacher is (Igi is renowned for his wine knowledge) I'm not half-bad. Some day when I'm not working seven days a week I'm going to sit the WSET exams. To get it on paper, you know.

Isn't it against restaurant policy to date customers? I mean your husband?
Mon Cher wasn't a customer. He was a friend of Igi's. He just happened to be on table 5.

What does Igi's wife have to say about your relationship?
Pretty much the same thing my husband has to say about our relationship. Igi is a close friend, and I adore his wife. She really rocks. I don't know how many times I've been in a car and stupidly tried to follow Igi's instructions on how to get to where I'm supposed to be, and finally resorted to calling his wife because she is excellent at giving directions. No, really - when you work at Bloom it's like joining the family - everyones spouses, parents, godparents and siblings are included in the fold and we all get along beautifully.


Where do you buy your squid from?
It varies. For the one on your plate, ask the chef on the particular evening.

Who is your main wine importer?
Mats. He gets for us what we want, when we want it. We also buy smaller quantities from other suppliers, but that's rather on a need/greed basis.

Can you get Bloom wines at systembolaget?
No.

What was the deal with the bust-up with Nöjesguiden? I can only patch it together from what's on the net.
I'm actually quite sick of telling this story, but I'll do it one last time since you asked so nicely. We found our terrace on a "top of the pops"-list of Malmö's restaurants. The text said something about expensive dinners and mosquitoes. We were quite bloody pissed off because a) the terrace had never been open, b) the "critic" had never been to Bloom, c) we were planning to serve tapas on the terrace, starting at 45 kr a plate (something which had been posted on the blog). Also, with the hard work our staff put in to make Bloom what it is, it's quite an insult to be put on a "best restaurants"-list without being tried and tested. It's like she walked past outside, saw that tablecloths and thought to herself "ah, that's a good restaurant". Well, my husband can iron a tablecloth but he can't cook. So we'd like to be written about for what we acutally do, not what someone thinks we do. Many so-called journalists seem to think that we should pay homage to their enlarged egos if they deign to mention our establishment in print, regarless of content or context. Well, we deign to tell them to please piss off.


What do you think of the competition that restaurants such as Bastard offer?
We're not in competition with Bastard. What they do is about a universe away from what we do. We love that Malmö has such a diverse restaurant scene.

What is the price for a "normal" dinner at Bloom? Can you pay per plate? Do the menu prices cover everything or do you have to pay extra?
A five-course dinner is 695 kr for the food, and 695 kr for the wine menu (prices per person). We do charge extra for coffee etc. We have set menu's with a certain number of courses, so there's a 3 course menu, a 5 course menu, a 7 course menu, a 11 course menu. If you wish, you can of course ask for an extra course, so say on a 3 course menu, you want cheese, it becomes a 4 course menu. If this is a roundabout way of asking if you can order ala carte and have one course the answer is no.

Can Titti do cooking classes, say for a company kick-off?
Yes, but only for a certain number of people. Call us and run your ideas by her, she'll let you know.

I think someone should teach you how to run a blog.
Yeah? And someone should teach you how to ask a question. Clue: it has that thing like a squiggly exclamation point at the end of the sentence. This was not make-a-statement-time. And to be frank, this is Bloom's blog and we'll run it however we damn please. We don't care what you think.

I had a lovely fish course at Bloom once and now I'd really like the recipe. Can you fix that?
Sorry. When it comes to recipes I can't fix anything, because I'm not Titti. Ask me about wine.

Where can I get ahold of the wines that you import for Bloom only?
At Bloom.

What restaurant critics do you like?
I'm not going to name any if that's what you're after. But we really like to be judged by professional critics who are knowledgable about food and wine, and who have experienced haute cuisine enough to be able to compare. When we get criticism from someone like that, it really matters and is helpful. However, we have critics at all our tables, every day. They're called customers, and unlike most professional food critics, they're actually paying for their experience at Bloom out of their own pocket. They matter hugely, and we love them.

Who writes on this blog?
My name is Linnéa, and I'm Igi's longest serving (longest-suffering?) member of staff. I've run this blog since it came into being, with the exception of a small hiatus when I was overburdened with my research projects at school.

Did you pay for your wedding at Bloom?
Of course we did. There's no free lunch, and a free wedding always seems to include the bride altering her nose while being filmed. Again, of course we paid for our wedding.

Why did you trash customers on the blog before?
I didn't. There has never been a name mentioned on this blog, ever. However, this blog is about my life at Bloom, and I thought it would be interesting to detail just what happens to restaurant staff on pretty much a daily basis, and how much we appreciate the great fabulous customers that contrast to this. There was an uproar over this around the time of our disagreement with Nöjesguiden, and we've had several little birds whisper in our ear that it was an "ordered attack" so to speak. We're above nonsense like that so we simply don't read Nöjesguiden. We'd like the Bloom-haters to do the same with regard to this blog.

Will there still be live music at Bloom in the fall?
Sure thing! Live on Sundays with our own house band of Chico Lindvall and his boys.

Was the Bloom CD recorded at Bloom?
No, in a music studio. The acoustics at Bloom are optimised for dinner conversation, not studio recordings.

Who did the photos for the Bloom website? Is that you on the terrace picture?
Christoffer Lomfors is the mastermind behind the photos. Yes, that's me, but Titti and A are also on there.

What happened to your staff lunches?
They happen almost every day, but it's more like staff dinner. If you want to join in, ask Igi.

That's all I've got time for today, folks! We'll do this again soon!