The head chef at Bhoga picks out a local fish roe, a beautiful Chinese teapot and a cookbook that breaks down how each dish was created
INGREDIENTS
Vänern löjrom »
“Kalix löjrom is the famous fish roe in Sweden. It comes from the north of Sweden, but you can also get it from Vänern, which is a small sea not far from here. It’s not as bright orange in colour as the kalix löjrom, but the flavour is really good and it’s half the price (pictured above).” – Gustav
Almnäs Bruk cheese »
“This is a great dairy on Lake Vättern where they make three different types of hard cheese. One is really hard, almost like parmesan. Then there’s one called Wrångebäck, which is a little more acidic and a little more creamy. Then there’s one that’s aged in a wooden basket which is really creamy but it’s still a hard cheese. I like all of their cheeses. You can buy it at Hugo Ericson Ost at Stora Saluhallen [and at La Fromagerie in London].”
Masso anchovies »
“We were in Barcelona a few weeks ago with my family and we bought some tins of anchovies (pictured below) in a supermarket – quite a few tins actually. It wasn’t the cheapest brand but still quite cheap.” Gustav serves us some of these (excellent) anchovies with toast and chunks of lemon.
OBJECTS
Saffron pestle & mortar »
Gustav has one large granite pestle & mortar, which he uses to crush spices and herbs, and one really tiny brass pestle & mortar which is specifically for saffron (pictured below), “I got that from my wife’s mother, and some really nice saffron with it.” The large one he bought in a Chinese shop in Gothenburg.
Chinese iron teapot »
“This is also from a Chinese shop in Gothenburg. It’s good – it keeps tea warm for a long time.” (pictured below)
BOOKS
Det naturliga köket, Mathias Dahlgren »
“Mathias Dahlgren has a two-Michelin star restaurant at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm. His books are really popular in Sweden and if you’re a chef, you’ll have this book – I think I have them all. The title means Natural Kitchen. He talks about you should keep everything fresh – if it’s beans, it should taste like beans, if cabbage it should taste like cabbage. Try to keep the natural flavour of the ingredients.” – Gustav
Relae: A Book of Ideas, Christian Puglisi »
“I like the whole idea of this book, he’s done it in a different way. First he talks about how he came up with the dish, then how he wanted to cook it. Also how he found the produce for the special dish. It really takes you through the whole background of the menu, which is almost more interesting for me than the recipes themselves.”
Kan man äta sånt? Inger Ingmanson »
“We go out picking a lot for the restaurant – elderflowers, ramsons, beach roses – and this is a foraging guide for what you can and can’t eat. He also has a few recipes for each of the things. At one point he talks about sorrel and there’s a recipe for sorrel ice cream.”
