Bonde + Kock = Sant

Today is the day...it is time for one of the semi-finals for the "Årets Kock" in Jönköping.This is a competition in Sweden where professional chefs get to challenge each other to see who can be crowned Sweden's next best chef. It is a gastronomical heaven to see the creativity that the chefs have and the masterpieces that are presented...so of course I'm going to pay the competition a visit and check it out!

Last week-end I was invited, along with some other foodies from Jönköping, to a day of food and fun. The day was organised by LRF who are also one of the sponsors for the competition. The aim of the day was to highlight the benefits of using locally manufactured, good quality products and also to encourage a deeper understanding between farmer och chef.

The day started off at Säby Gård, a farm where ecological, high quality meat is produced. It is located in Skärstadalen, one of the most beautiful areas in Jönköping. We were met up by the very hospitable Göran and Maria who gave us an extensive tour of their farm. They also explained the process behind what creates meat that is of a high quality. Did you know that if a cow is stressed when it is slaughtered, that will result in a tough meat that often is a more purpley colour instead of the deep red that it should be? That was one of the facts that we learnt while visiting Säby.

At this farm, the animlas are left to grow at their own natural pace, they are not fed any unnatural food and are left to enjoy the fresh air for much of the year. If you live close to the Jönköping area and are looking for some good meat, then you can easily go onto their website and order one of the different beef or lamb packages that they offer. Try it...believe me, you won't regret it!

Viktor Westerlind, winner of the "Årets Kock" 2009 joined us for the day and prepared some delicious delights. At Säby we were served a "fika" of air-dried wild boar, sourdough bread, cheese from Jokkmokk and delicious apples. Simple but so mouth-wateringly delicious!


Left: Viktor Westerling together with Göran from Säby Gård and one of their cows. Top right: Me together with the other bloggers. Bottom right: Göran and Viktor preparing the "fika".

The next stop for the day was Rudenstams, an apple orchad whose goal is to provide Swedish apples all year round in order to decrease the amount of apples that are imported to Sweden. Here we were given a tour of the orchads and were shown were all the packaging takes place. All the apples are hand-picked and treated like eggs in order to protect the sensitive skin and prevent unneccessary bruising. We got to taste a few of the different types of apples and it's amazing how they can have such different characteristics. Rubinella is my new favourite apple! Rudentstams also has a little county store which is one of my favourite places to walk around and look. It is set in a beautiful environment and it is so relaxing to go out and get inspired by the products that they sell. In the spring when all the apple trees are blooming, they open their orchads up for the public who can buy a picninc basket and go and soak in the beauty of spring amongst the beautiful blossoms, something that I'm definately going to give a try next spring. They also offer several other activites which are equally charming, so check them out and pay them a visit.

At Rudenstams Viktor prepared a three-course meal which was phenomenal. Here is what the menu looked like:

Starter:

Chantarelle soup with a roasted onion cream and bacon crisps together with sourdough bread and home-made butter

 

Main meal:

Sirloin steak (from Säby Gård) with salt-baked celery root and sides

 

Dessert:

Cinnamon and sugar fried apples (from Rudenstams) served with a decadent chocolate cream

 

 

It has been a long time since I ate such a well-composed meal. Really delicious! And the salt-baked celery root is something that is definatley worth trying!



Top left: One of the owners explaining how the apples are stored to preserve the flavour. Top right: The apples that will be sent to make different types of drinks. Top middle: Inside the country store. Bottom right: Viktor Westerlind and I. Bottom left: The fantastic meal we were served.

A big thank you to Anna from LRF for organising a great day. Thanks also to Viktor for the fantastic food, and both Säby Gård and Rudenstams for your hospitality. It was a fantastic day and it was great to make some new blogging friends.

If you're tempted to try that salt-baked celery root (celeriac), go to Amy's blog for the recipe...it's definately worth a try!

If you want to read up more about the "Årets Kock" competition, check out Håkans blog.

Patrick has also written about his experiences from the day, check them here.

I'm looking forward to going to the competition and will get back with some photos from it later!

Have a great day!

Love,

Heidi