The sommelier picks out one of her “absolute favourite” wines, a very good kitchen knife and a cookbook that gives her artistic inspiration
INGREDIENTS
La Combe aux Reves, Les Picolettes »
“This is coming from Bugey region in the Rhône-Alpes. The family who make it moved here because it’s so expensive to buy vines in Jura and Burgundy. It’s a refreshing pétillant naturel (or pét-nat) wine, which means it gets just one fermentation and then the wine is put directly in the bottle to complete the process. So it’s a little fizzy and sweet and it tastes like strawberries. Good, right?” – Erika
Alexandre Jouveaux Vin de Table O12 »
Incredible chardonnay from Burgundy producer. “This is such good wine, one of my absolute favourites. Alexandre Jouveaux was a fashion photographer before he became a winemaker. I’ve been working with his wines for many years now.”
Stockholm Roast coffee »
Erika has a bag of Zahabu coffee from Kenya in her kitchen and she singles out Stockholm Roast as one of her favourite roasters. She also has coffee from Drop, Stumptown, Good Life and a couple of other roasters in her kitchen. “I like to try different styles.”
Planeta olive oil »
“I like this Sicilian olive oil.” She drizzles on our tomato, peach and apricot salad – it’s amazing.
Rare Tea Co tea »
Among Erika’s many teas is a special blend that England’s Rare Tea Co made for the Copenhagen restaurant Noma. “I prefer my tea cold-brewed. Or made from fresh leaves. I like to try many different things but I always have lemon verbena. And I like to have jasmine in cold water, it’s refreshing.”
Winborgs Ättiksprit »
“This is a typical Swedish ingredient – a vinegar used for pickling.” Indeed we find it in pretty much every Swedish kitchen we visit. It smells like rollmops.
Junkö kalix roe »
Vendace (or bleak) roe from the north of Sweden. Erika serves this with potato pancakes (see recipe).
Mast Brothers sheep milk chocolate »
We can’t help noticing a bar of this chocolate (produced by renowned Brooklyn-based chocolatiers Mast Brothers) sitting on Erika’s bookshelf. True to form, she opens it after the meal and shares it out.
OBJECTS
Opinel serrated kitchen knife »
“I like to buy the small knives – I’m a little afraid of the big ones – and this knife is very good.” – Erika
Box grater »
“This is a good tool.”
Skål glasses »
There is a set of colour shot glasses for snaps (or “punch” as she calls it) on Erika’s shelf. When they come up in conversation, she produces a mini bottle of snaps and pours a round. “On Thursdays we eat yellow-pea soup with some pork and a lot of mustard and thyme. And after you drink this punch. After that you have pancakes with whipped cream and strawberries, so it’s a happy Thursday.”
BOOKS
Fäviken, Magnus Nilsson »
Erika likes cookbooks more for the pictures than the recipes. “I draw a lot and I find much inspiration from looking at pictures.” Asked which books provide inspiration, she picks out a small selection including Magnus Nilsson’s Fäviken, beautifully produced by Phaidon.
Cook It Raw, Andrea Petrini »
The book describes a series of dinners held in Denmark, Finland, Italy and Japan in which chefs – including Petter Nilsson of Spritmuseum – were challenged to examine the issue of sustainability.
Eating With Chefs, Per-Anders Jorgensen »
Another beautifully produced Phaidon food book, this one documents “family meals” at great restaurants around the world.
Piante Selvatiche, Roberto Chiej Gamacchio »
“This is an Italian book I use a lot. It’s a guide to wild herbs that I first read in Sicily. I wanted to understand what was growing there.”
