An Imperial Russian army "cook brigade" close to the front line during the Russo-Japanese war 1904-1905

"An army marches on its stomach."
   -- Napoleon Bonaparte

During the Russo-Japanese war 1904-1905 the Russian commanders were aware of Napoleon's words, and tried to organize the army food service as well as possible. The picture shows members of an Imperial Russian army "cook brigade" close to the front line somewhere in Manchuria.

My favorite Stockholm restaurants (in the 1980's)

Here are some of my favorite Stockholm restaurants from the 1980's

There are now six Michelin star restaurants in Stockholm, including two with two stars. I am sure they are all very good and deserve their stars. However, it was possible to eat well in Stockholm already in the early 80's, when I lived there - even without Michelin stars. Many of my favorite restaurants from that time have closed for various reasons, but fortunately some - like the classic Operakällaren, Stallmästargården, Teatergrillen and the Konstnärsbaren (KB) still exist. 

The bar at the Operakällaren looked very much like this in the 80's. The  picture  is  from 1905.

The grand old man of Swedish Cuisine, the legendary chef and restaurateur Tore Wretman - who at some stage operated the three first of the above mentioned restaurants - had already left active restaurant cooking, but he was still involved in many activities and his legacy was very much alive in the kitchen of the Operakällaren. Wretman would most certainly have deserved two stars, but at that time Michelin did not cover restaurants in Sweden. 

As far as I can remember, Erik's (named after the chef and owner Erik Lallerstedt) at Strandvägskajen was the first restaurant in Stockholm that received a Michelin star, in 1984.

If you, in addition to good food, are interested also in beautiful restaurant interiors, then a visit to Operakällaren is a must while in Stockholm, but I also recommend lunch or dinner at the Teatergrillen, which has one of the most exciting and intimate restaurant interiors in Scandinavia. 

Memories of the Pacific (2): "The World´s Most Beautiful Restaurant"

A previous post brought another wonderful culinary and architectural memory from the Pacific to my mind: A July 1981 dinner at Canlis´, "The World´s Most Beautiful Restaurant", in Honolulu.

The language of advertisements is often exaggerated, but in this case it came close to the truth; Both the exterior, and particularly the interior of the Honolulu Canlis´ restaurant were architecturally stunning. The restaurant was designed by the legendary Honolulu architect, George J. "Pete" Wimberly, who, when he died in 1996 at the age of 80, had established himself as perhaps the most succesful resort architect in the world. G

George J. "Pete" Wimberly eorge J. "Pete" Wimberly
In an arcticle in the Honolulu Weekly ( Dec. 2000), Curt Sanburn describes Wimberly´s design:
Cur
... "and, of course, Canlis’ Restaurant (1954), which seemed to be everyone’s sentimental favorite of Wimberly’s buildings. With its open-air dining room, bold Polynesian decorations, wall of orchid plants, koi pond, garden setting and legendary kitchen, Canlis’ Restaurant asserted Honolulu’s status as a uniquely stylish crossroads-of-the-world in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Indeed, palm-lined Kaläkaua Avenue itself, with all of its Wimberly-designed buildings, was among the most gracious boulevards of any tropical city in the world".

Also the owner and founder of the restaurant, Peter Canlis was legendary. In the early 80´s he owned three top class Canlis restaurants; the most famous one in Honolulu, one in San Fransisco and one in Seattle.

On July 16, 1981, my dinner at the Canlis´ included the following delicious "Canlis´ Special Salad":

Try it. You will not be disappointed!

PS

The Canlis family still operates the fine restaurant in Seattle, but sadly the Honolulu Canlis´ is gone.

Wimberly´s architecture firm, now called WATG, has over the course of six decades become "the world's leading design consultant for the hospitality, leisure and entertainment industries".

Delicious "literary" pastry

Soon it is February 5th, the day when Finland´s national poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg was born (in 1804). In Finland, at least among the Swedish speaking Finns, various festive programmes are organised on that day, but there is one informal way of celebrating Runeberg, which has become increasingly popular around the time of his birthday; enjoying the poet´s favourite pastry - the Runeberg cake. I can assure you that the cake is very tasty!

If you would like to try making a Runberg cupcake youself, the Nordic Recipe Archive has an excellent recipe page. And this Finnish blogger has another version of with lots of rum instead of Amaretto.

Peck in Milano - the finest delicatessen in the world

Milan is one of my favourite cities, for many reasons; the fine art museums, some of the best shopping in the world (especially clothing and design) and the outstanding restaurants. But there is one more food related favourite that makes Milan unique: The Peck Salumerie - a heaven for people who enjoy good food and wine. It is not cheap, but the quality of the food is first class and everything is beautifully displayed. Now it is even possible to order online for export from Peck.

Peck is the most famous delicatessen in Milan, but there are many other outstanding (and often less expensive) salumerias offering delicious food, which you can eat in the store or on the street nearby. If you are in Milan, a visit to a salumeria is often an excellent alternative to a lunch in a restaurant.

Here you can find some fine Milan salumerias.

The Original Sacher Cake

There is something magical about the flavor. I don't know what to tell you, other than that it is somehow transcendentally greater than the sum of its parts
Annie Scott, writer

Mostly I try to eat food that is considered healthy. But once in a while, I feel that it is time to enjoy e.g. a really tasty dessert, like the Sacher cake - probably the most famous of all cakes.

The Original Sacher cake has an interesting history:

In 1832, the famous statesman, Prince Metternich asked his chef to create a special dessert for an important dinner. "Take care that you do NOT make me look a fool tonight", he warned. As the head chef fell ill that evening, the task was gíven to an apprentice, the 16 year old Franz Sacher.

The rest of the story is history ....

The Original Sacher Cake recipe is secret, but several variations are e.g. offered on the YouTube:

Here is an a nice Italian Sacher cake.

An Austrian version.

And finally, this is a recipe for a chocolate cake in general. (If you watch the video, you will understand why it is one of my favourites!)

PS
Here is a very nice video about the Original Sacher cake. And did you know that you can order the Sacher Torte online to be sent anywhere in the world?

Memories of La Tante Claire

The name Pierre Koffmann has been synonymous with the finest French
food in England for the past 35 years.
Nick Lander/FT 2007

Like a legendary rock star going back on the road for one last triumphant tour, Koffmann has returned to his roots, while playing all the big hits.
Tracey MacLeod, The Independent Magazine

Eating in Michelin star restaurants is not something I do very often. This is mostly due to the fact that these restaurants are nowadays so outrageously expensive that you have to be either affluent or in possession of a large expense account in order to frequent them.

Fortunately, it was not always so.

Back in the late 80´s and early 90´s, while living in London, I had the privilege – and it was really a privilege –  to be one of the regular customers at Pierre Koffmann´s now legendary “La Tante Claire” in Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea. Mind you, it was not cheap, but e.g. lunches were not more expensive than in many other nearby restaurants. “La Tante Claire” was probably the closest to a perfect restaurant that I will ever experience. The food was out of this world – who could forget Koffman´s stuffed pig´s trotter with morels! - the service always friendly and highly professional and the interior beuatifully decorated in Art Deco style. No wonder that “La Tante Clair” was to become one of the few British restaurants with three Michelin stars.

The great news is that Koffmann last July returned to the London restaurant scene with his new “Koffmann´s” at the Berkeley Hotel. Next time you visit London, try out “Koffmann´s” for refined country cooking à la Gascogne – I know I will. Koffmann has according to a newspaper interview moved away from “Michelin food”, which also means that the prices are more affordable. But his signature dish, 
pig’s trotter with chicken mousseline, sweetbreads and morels is back on the menu!

Here is Koffman´s "self portrait" which he once drew for me as a memory of a good meal:

PS (7.1.2011)

I just found the recipe to one of Koffmann´s finest specialities, Souffle aux pistaches.
Check it out here.

If you are interested in more of Pierre Koffman´s recipes, his book "La Tante Claire, Recipes of a Masterchef" is a treasure trove. In the book Koffmann also offers interesting glimpses into his childhood in France and his way to the Michelin top stardom. Unfortunately the books seems to be out of print, but if you are lucky, you can find used copies.

Simple pleasures nr 15: Herring and new potatoes

Dried and salted herring used to be staple food already during
medieval times in Northern Europe. Since those times herring has
continued to be a favourite on the Nordic table. The best time to
enjoy herring is during the new potato season in the early summer.
There is nothing better than fresh new potatoes and pickled herring

with a pat of butter and some fresh dill!

This time of the year the next fresh potato season may seem far away.
But waiting for something delicious is always worthwile. The first
potatoes in Sweden often come from this farm in Scania.