torsdag 29 september 2011

Pasta by Design


If you were very wondering about the taxonomy or the exact trigonometric equations for your dinner pasta, then there's now a book for you. A NY-based architect has described the taxonomy of 92 different noodles. Just what my bookcase was lacking.

(image from tmagazine.nytimes.com)

Wanna go to a good party?

Join the Kitchen Party at the 2 Michelin starred restaurant Fischers Fritz. Sunday October 30th 2011, from 6:30 p.m., international female chefs and top notch female wine makers will reveal their most treasured insider tips. Observe the highly decorated chefs in action around steaming saucepans and sizzling frying pans and watch their creations unfold. Savor each dish as it is ready – accompanied by the right wine or spirit. An infectious, unconventional culinary experience, not to be missed!

Sunday October 30th 2011
from 6:30 p.m.
location: restaurant Fischers Fritz, Private Dining Room Fischers Fritz, The Regent Bar, kitchen of the restaurant
169 € per person

For reservations please contact:
Phone: 0049 30 20 33 63 63
Fax: 0049 30 20 33 61 19
Email: fischersfritz.berlin@regenthotels.com

Malmöbladet.


For those of you who have missed Malmöbladet this month, you can now find it HERE! Pages 30-31. Enjoy.

onsdag 28 september 2011

Allright, allright - you win!

Another Q&A - shoot. Post your questions as comments to this post and I'll answer them tomorrow.

tisdag 27 september 2011

If you really want to know

I want to tell you about something I've been waiting for. This book. It's THE book on my foodie friends wich list (it has some similarities to Modernist Cuisine, just not so anal) - and perhaps best of all, it's in Swedish. Written by Lisa Förare Winbladh and Malin Sandström.

So if you really want to know - you know what to go get.

måndag 26 september 2011

I knew it!!!

Coffee IS good for you. Told you so!

Guess who?

Guess who's makin' a special appearance in this month's Malmöbladet?
Well if you can't guess I won't tell you.

ME!!!!

lördag 24 september 2011

Found during gallery night

I'm glad SOMEONE is taking Spain seriously at this time of year (#möbeldepån, www.mobeldepan.se)
Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4

fredag 23 september 2011

How to review a wine

Wines are in flavour and texture as dynamic, variable and alive as any living organism. Writing a review of a wine is therefore quite difficult. Some bright bloke in Brooklyn has come forth with the best description on how to taste and review a wine that I've seen so far. Interested? Read it here.

What's with the "wine-dance"?

I'm frequently told by Bloom diners what a relief it is to be served wine in a glass, and thus be able to skip the whole open-bottle-gurgle-and-discuss dance. I kind of agree, over-pompous sommeliers tend to make it more of an event than it actually is. So what's the dance actually for?
Well, when you order from a wine list, the showing of the bottle has nothing to do (really) with looking at the nice artwork on the label. All the waiter wants you to do is have a look at what the label says: is it the same vintage and vineyard as was listed on the wine list? If you don't want to comment you don't have to. Just nod or shake your head. We'll get the message.
Then there's the pouring of a sample to taste. You don't have to expound on the bouquet or gargle the wine at the back of your throat, the tasting is merely to ensure that the wine isn't corked or otherwise flawed.
But as I said, at Bloom we take care of all of that for you. Still, it's not like you can't get a different wine if you don't like the one we just served. But of course, it makes things easier if you'd be so kind as to tell us that you don't drink red wine at the start of the evening (we're only humble wine waiters, with no claims to clairvoyance).

onsdag 21 september 2011

Novelty wines

When reading an article in the Guardian about Indian wines (yet again, the Empire being so long ago it's back in fashion) I can't help but wonder when we'll see them here. Indian Viognier? With a curry, perhaps. But then, Sweden doesn't have as much of a curry culture as the U.K does. Maybe they're destined to be novelty wines for another decade or so. If you want to know what a Novelty Wine really means, try finding the few bottles available for private import from Long Island. I found them to taste and smell like bottled fish essence. But, as far as a novelty goes (or as an accompaniment to Ellis Island fast food fare) it's great.

First dates

Autumn is the time when first dates move inside, and perhaps more importantly, into restaurants. Being a fine-dining restaurant, Friday night's staple of romantic couples dinner are being pushed to the side by blind dates, first dates and other dates (friend-dates and work-dates). As a waiter you hear everything but remember none (akin to a priest's vow of silence), and I think we've seen it all. We love it when things pan out well, and following love from a table-side view is one of the perks rarely afforded any other profession.
However, we do get alarm bells ringing sometimes, and they go off mainly because of the type of person that Andy Borowitz describes in this week's New Yorker. Fancy an alarming first date, anyone?

lördag 17 september 2011

Why does everybody go wrong with roast chicken?

I swear to God (that would be a very special bottle of mine) that if another person asks me about why roasting a chicken is so bloody difficult then I'll probably pack it in for the next couple of months. If you're really wondering (and won't take my word for it) then British GQ asked Thomas Keller. Thomas Keller is opening up in Harrods (Knightsbridge, London. Not the hole-in-the-wall in Heathrow) and they thought it appropriate to give a good fourth of the article to roast chicken. Goodness.
Right. Well. Here it is: The meat is different in the breasts (whitemeat if you're Winston Churchill) and in the legs, so preferably they should be cooked in different temperatures for different periods of time. Also, the skin needs to be dry, because if it isn't, then it'll go slimy. Cue autumn tweaking: professional kitchens have an easy time with this, home kitchens not so much. That's why everybody goes wrong with roast chicken. Merci beaucoup.

If you wanted something else for autumn dinner that will probably always be wrong but can be pretty tasty all the same, check out the Guardian's list of edible bugs. Not coming to Bloom any time soon.

torsdag 15 september 2011

G9, you gotta be kiddin' me

I don't know if you've read the so called "Lima declaration - an open letter to the chefs of tomorrow". Well I have. It's signed by some of the most celebrated chefs of this decade. Some, I say, not all. Heston Blumenthal reportedly refused to have anything to do with this, saying "I'm just a bloody chef". Jay Rayner of The Guardian writes: "The decision by eight big name chefs (or, to be honest, three really huge names and a bunch of other guys who were thrilled to be in the same company) to convene the so-called G9 summit in Lima, Peru at the end of which they issued a communiqué bigging up their contribution to saving humanity from itself is an act of such self-importance, such ludicrous self-regard you'd need an oxygen tank to help you get your breath back."
So, what is this "open letter"? Well, to me it sounds like the chef equivalent of the Hippocratic oath. A bit pompous, that is. I wonder if these blokes (and they're all pot-bellied men - I don't know who's surprised) have been on this planet for the last couple of years, because unless I'm much mistaken Jamie Oliver has been doing a much less ceremonious version of this for quite some time. As far as declarations go this is nice: all well-meant, ideologically sound warbling. What about actually getting your hands dirty, guys? Let's take point 5 of the declaration: "Although a primary goal of our profession is to provide happiness and stir emotions, through our own work and by working with experts in the fields of health and education, we have a unique opportunity to transmit our knowledge to members of the public, helping them, for example, to acquire good cooking habits, and to learn to make healthy choices about the foods they eat."
Blimey. All I have to say is this: "transmitting" knowledge requires work other than appearing on television, in press, in the kitchen of your own restaurant or publishing a cook book. It sounds to me like you guys are preaching to the already converted. If you really want to teach the people who need this knowledge most, it means hijacking people outside McDonalds, it means going into schools and teaching home economics. However, there's nothing about this in the declaration. The needy public does not dine at El Bullí. The needy public doesn't have time to, in between jobs, kids and other day-to-day activities, to spend half a day on food aesthetics in the comfort of their own home.

I guess the lesson here is that just because you have a voice doesn't mean that you have something to say that needs to be heard. The world doesn't need another photograph of men proclaiming they're going to save the world. We've heard it all before, and from (let's face it) much prettier people. Because, in press, that's what sells magazines - and in the end, PR means cash flow and that's all that matters... right?

onsdag 14 september 2011

Speaking of which

Speaking about authenticity, have you heard about Venn Food Diagrams? They take things like the Thai food you can buy here, and compare them to the Thai food you actually get in Thailand. See an example of Asian cuisine available in LA, versus Asian cuisine you actually get in these countries HERE.

Let's talk about connoisseurs

It's old news that all the big-brand Bordeaux is being bought by the Chinese. As far as westernization goes, Lafite is the main profiteer. The same phenomenon goes for the Europe when it comes to embracing Asian culture: you're not really going to tell me you had "Chinese" last night, are you? China is larger than Europe, population-wise, so there are as many types of cuisines as there are provinces you've never heard of (at least). So, while we might laugh at the Chinese wine connoisseurs that know all about Bordeaux but nothing about Burgundy, I'm sure they're laughing at us buying "soy sauce" from Santa Maria.

Reading tip: Jancis Robinson on China's new connoisseurs.

lördag 10 september 2011

All excited plus Croatian wine

Today I've spent most of the morning with our outstanding photographer Christoffer Lomfors working on a secret project. You'll know what it is at the end of the month. Hang in there!

After that, Igi and I sat down with a supplier of Croatian wine. I'm thinking of exploring this further. Unlike a lot of the eastern European states, the Croatians have been making wines since just about forever and they also have an excellent track record of maintaining quality across batches - something which can't be said, unfortunately, for wines from some of the neighboring countries. It's a broad generalization, but if you buy two bottles of the same Czech wine, from the same year and the same producer, you're likely to have two quite different bottles of wine. It's a generalization, but unfortunately all too often a truth in my experience. Anyhow, I'm going to do some research on this and give you a full lowdown.

fredag 9 september 2011

Tax it, baby

Just a short comment on DI Weekend's review of El Bulli. I'm glad the critic enjoyed his meal, and didn't choke on his wine when it came to pay the bill. However, I feel that it's a hit below the belt to claim that Swedish restaurants charge an overtly large amount of money for their wine menus. By his estimate the wine menu (which, as far as I can understand, consisted of two bottles of wine) was 20% of the bill. Now I don't know if he's at all acquainted with Swedish alcohol laws, but let me tell you, they're not to be underestimated. Sweden has one of the highest taxes on alcohol in the world. In fact, when we as a restaurant sell wine, we're paying tax twice. This is not the case in Spain, especially not on wines that are grown in the country (no import costs). It's a well-known fact that restaurants make a profit not by selling food, but by selling wine and other alcoholic beverages. I understand that with all the hype El Bulli must seem cheap in comparison to Swedish haute cuisine, but they're taking the same percent profit that we are, if not more. And hey - if we could serve 44 courses at around 70 SEK each to a full 50 people every night of the year, well, we could probably pack in selling wine all together. You do the math. So don't slam us for Swedish politicians miserable attitude. We really don't deserve it.

Homage to pork fat: we all know you secretly love it


Pork fat is a bit magical. It adds jazz to just about anything. So, the Ukrainians decided to pay homage and open the first ever museum of pork fat. Yup, that's a pair of refrigerated pork-fat breasts, as Animal New York so astutely points out.

(image from animalnewyork.com)

Restaurants and a possible double dip | Nation's Restaurant News

What happens when the economy goes into decline? People have less money. What happens when people have less money? They spend less money in restaurants. What happens when people spend less money in restaurants? The economy dips even further. Why? This article, Restaurants and a possible double dip, explain why restaurants actually run the world.

Oysters

So, to continue what I was writing about yesterday: what to drink with oysters? Well, if you're aiming for romance then champagne is the way to go. Try a dry champagne, preferably something delicate. That's no big bubbles, no rosé. Perhaps a blanc de blancs? No, not perhaps. Definitely a blanc de blancs. (Now you know what my in-head dialogue sounds like)
If you're a bit more adventurous try a Verdejo from Spain, or a nice minerally chardonnay (yes, from Burgundy). Make it a dry wine, but not a thin one. Look for some texture in the flavours. A flowery, fruity nose is nice, but please don't run out and buy a dry Alsace Gewurztraminer. That's the wrong kind of floral and fruity.
However, if you're looking for a nice, floral and fruity wine to drink while gazing at the beautiful early-autumn sunset (bright orange and yellow is the way to go at this time of year, even off the runway), then a dry Alsace Gewurztraminer is the way to go.

Now I'm off to have lunch. Because I'm of British heritage, autumn lunch tends to be a curry. I've heard that Indian wines are the next big thing coming, but as the French said about Californian wines: we'll believe it when we're proven wrong in a blind tasting. (You know where you saw it first)

torsdag 8 september 2011

Google and Zagat

Google just bought Zagat, the guide to restaurants, nightlife and shopping. Google's search results seem to already have been infused with some of what Zagat is so full of...

Well, what say you? Ay or Nay?

The "R"-months

You may or may not be familiar with the fact that oysters are in season when the name of the month contains an "R". I, personally, loooove oysters so much that Mon Cher purposefully steers clear of any french-oriented restaurants for as much of the season as he can - he's not a big fan of the texture, and being a gentleman (and a romantic) he knows that ordering a platter of oysters for starters will mean he has to share. You know, Hollywood-style romance that all the gals fall for. It's a bit of a charade, actually. He loosens the oyster from its shell, sprinkles a little salt on top and just one drop of lemon juice on each, and then one has to feed each other without spilling the liquor... Anyhow, I pride myself in not (yet) letting on that if he wants to leave the entire platter to me I'm enough of a greedy bitch to eat them all. However, there is one person who I could never beat when it comes to downing raw molluscs: Igi. My record is 13, his is 36.
So. Anyway. There's a great article in the Guardian detailing everything you might ever have wanted to know about oysters. I really recommend it. If you're one fo the brave souls who wants to serve oysters for your beloved at home (there goes the aphrodisiac myth again) here is a fantastic guide on how to shuck them open.

We've currently got the most luscious and beautiful local oysters from Denmark. Really fat and juicy they are, coming from our nice cold waters. Guess who's standing by if the chefs accidentally mess one up?

onsdag 7 september 2011

All the excitement!



Actually, I have some veeery exciting news. But it'll have to wait for a couple of weeks - things need to be finalized. Now that's a cliff-hanger if I ever saw one.

(image from google.com)

tisdag 6 september 2011

Lund might almost be on the map

Because I'm now a resident of Lund rather than the metropolis of Malmö, I have to say Klostergatan can almost make my culinary day. Now there's a macaron shop: Abrick Macaronn. (BTW, I wish people would decide how to spell it, it's terribly confusing) I absolutely adore macarons (Titti makes the very best ones) so this might from now on be my lunch fix. Whatever you do, don't tell my husband.

Q&A-time, drop-in questions

I see that many of you still had unanswered questions, so once again I've put aside some time for Q&A. If you have any further questions (and no, I'm not going to tell you my husband's name, or answer any questions about sex, so drop it) please post them in the comments field of this post and I'll get to them as soon as I can. Here we go. I've taken the liberty of translating the questions into English, I hope you don't mind.

What is Titti's favourite fish?
Probably a very good one. My guess is it varies with the seasons, and what she can get her greedy paws on locally. Drop by the kitchen and ask her sometime.

Do you curse a lot in the kitchen?
Hell yeah. No. Just kiddin', dammit. Every so often, when someone drops a plate/pan/glass or stumbles on someone's clever booby trap, we can let rip. Once, I sliced my hand open on a sharp foil. It was heard. By everyone except the KP, who at the end of the evening wanted to know why I was wearing white gloves even after the hot plates had been served. Sometimes, when staff are inattentive, a snide remark can be made (I did), but it's not like we go vulgar and curse each other out.

Do you call Titti "chef"?
Yes, because that's what she is. We believe in calling things by name. I call Miguel dumb-ass on occasion too (with all the collegial love in the world, of course). And sometimes, but not too often because I don't want to inflate his head, I call Igi "boss".

Once I was in the ante-room to the kitchen and I noticed a funny painting of Igi and Titti. Who made it?
The picture of Titti serving up Igi's head on a silver platter is the work of Stefan at Stegra. Quite the artist, he is.

When do you serve afternoon teas?
On Sundays. For more information, check HERE.

I wanted to have lunch at Bloom but when I walked by the door was locked. When are you open for lunch?
We're open for lunch Monday through Friday, 12.00-14.00 by booking only. No walk-in Lilla Torg-chaos here.

If I wanted a job at Bloom, what would I have to do?
Well, start off by sending us an email at info(@)bloominthepark.se (remove the brackets). We've currently got a position open for Chef de Partie, so send Titti an email with your CV and a nice letter detailing why you think you'd be a good addition to the Bloom team. Don't call and pester us during service, please. We'd love to talk to you, just not when we're serving our customers.

I remember Olgas, and if I'm not much mistaken there was a downstairs serving area. What happened to that?
Well, the space is still there, but it currently serves as an office extension/table tennis table storage. I don't know what they were thinking putting people in the basement where there are no windows to speak of. And yes, we ripped out all the aquamarine kitsch.

What sommelier training did Igi have? Everyone says he's sharp as a tack when it comes to wine but when I google him I come up blank.
Well, if you're a-googlin' "Igi Vidal" (or any of the alternatvie spellings of Igi) you're only going to get what's written about him in Swedish press. See, when you're of mediterranean heritage you get a long, complicated name and depending on where in the world you are you get to pick a variation on that name and that's what you're known by. If you're curious (and wondering what the hell I'm on about) ask to see the photo collage above the wine station depicting Igi receiving a wine award.

Who is Titti's sous chef?
Chef André. He's from Berlin and almost speaks Swedish by now. He's quite the comedian - and of course, a damn good chef.

What's your problem with Systembolaget?
My problem with Systembolaget is that it's a damn hypocritical institution which doesn't serve a purpose in a post-1800's democracy. It has nothing to do with selling wine or spirits, it's there to remind you that Big Brother is watching you. Listen to the damn politicians blabbering about removing age-limits from night clubs, hoping to milk even more tax money off dim 18-yr olds rebelling against the taboo of drinking. Well, if they grow a pair and remove the 20 yr age-limit on buying wine from Systembolaget, then I'll believe they're all about equality. As it is, they're making drinking alcohol itself an event, when it shouldn't be. Drinking a damn fine wine, such as the 1953 bottle depicted a couple of posts ago, should be an event - but that's not the kind of wine you drink to get drunk.

Are you related to Tareq Taylor?
No. But I do get the question a lot.

Do you have any special stores or suppliers for high-quality ingredients that you can recommend for home-cooking?
Sure. Go where produce is fresh, like Hoddorna for fish, the little Asian store on Möllan for Asian specialities, Möllans ost for cheese. Actually, explore Möllan for food, that's a good place to start. Asif has the best olive oils around. When it comes to wines, go to people like Wine Trade who source their wines from producers who care about their craft.

That's all I've got time for today, folks. I'll be returning soon with some hot food-world updates, but for now I have an appointment with thirty-three articles on nanotechnology. Did you know it's going to revolutionize the food world? Well, remember where you saw it first. G'night.

måndag 5 september 2011

Getting one's priorities straight

Recently I had to go to a formal dinner party at a colleagues (not a restaurant colleague, unfortunately) house. It's not the first time I attend events like this, so I know that the odds that 1. edible food will be served and 2. dinner conversation will be pleasant and unembarrassing are very high. In fact, if one of these points happens to occur the other will most surely not. I'm not the only person to employ such tactics as having a pre-dinner snack before leaving home. I do this out of experience. Unfortunately enough, this event was one where I didn't need as much a pre-dinner snack as a pre-dinner dinner and a heavy dose of patience pills. Why?
Well, there are some things which are unacceptable at both restaurants and formal dinner parties, and that is having your guests wait for overly long periods of time for their dinner. I'm of the opinion (and you may differ) that if you book a table - or in this case, insist all guests arrive at 20.00 on the dot - you should serve dinner rather promptly. This is not Spain. As it was, we waited until 22.00 while our hosts scrambled around the kitchen trying to plate up á la fine-dining, resulting in grumpy, hungry guests and very cold food.

I've observed the fine-dining at home phenomenon in several places, and always wondered why. Surely one goes to a restaurant for the whole experience? And it's not that I can't understand the thrill of a home-cooked fine-dining dinner for a few guests - but if you're pushing 15 guests with limited kitchen space, equipment and cooking management skills, you may want to reconsider your choice of menu. I think most people will prefer a warm burger to a gelled, stone-cold scallop. Anyway, I was quietly wondering where people got the idea to pretend to be a home-spun Thomas Keller, when I saw this article in the Wall Street Journal about what Thomas Keller cooks at home. I wish people would just relax about food. As it is, there seems to be a whole new breed of people who have a very anal relationship to cookbooks, celebrity chefs and the art of "dressing" a dish. See, the beautiful thing about Thomas Keller (or any other talented chef) is that their creations are something you as an amateur cook shouldn't be able to produce at home. And here's another small tip: when inviting people who aren't well-acquainted with each other over for dinner, their ability to mingle and forge useful contacts drops in proportion to their blood sugar level. If you're going to showcase your cooking ability and it's going to take hours before you put the food out, at least provide some breadsticks as a prop for the amiable atmosphere.
Or take your guests out to a nice restaurant. A cold, dead scallop is an almost unforgivable waste.