Food, food, food
OK, lets face it, I love food. I find a particular pleasure in comfort food, the kind of food that is casual, relaxed, and easy to eat and fills you with a sense of well being, a happy warm feeling.
Ironically enough, several of my favourite traditions come from England, otherwise accused of having a terrible culinary culture – especially by the French (!) But I would like to stand up for the ol’country and proclaim that the English breakfast is one of my best meals of the day, especially on weekends when one has time to linger.
Our weekend breakfasts have become an important family ritual at home that the kids expect and appreciate. Scrambled eggs are the favourite, and by scrambled I mean English scrambled eggs not the lumpy dry kind you find in hotel buffets that tastes like a watered down omelette. Proper scrambled eggs are made in a saucepan not a frying pan and stirred constantly over low heat until they are thick and creamy.
I learnt the art from the 80-year-old Jewish grandmother of my first boyfriend, who kept saying she would ’’make me Jewish one day’’, apparently it was going to happen through learning to cook. With crispy organic bacon and toast and tea brewed in a pot, classical music playing in the background and the weekend papers – I can literally sit for hours in my dressing gown at the breakfast table.
In Stockholm I love buying my food at Cajsa Warg, as the experience makes me happy and it reminds me of London. There is also a pure organic food shop on Tegnérgatan called Eat! that I really like.
Aaah afternoon tea, another English classic and another personal favourite… I’ve discovered that tea really does taste best in the afternoon and there really is something so pleasurable about it – we went to Fortnum and Masons for a classic full tea but just missed it – it ends at 5 o’clock so we had to take it in the ice cream parlour – and only with scones not sandwiches and cakes – but it was great all the same. …scones that melted in the mouth with clotted cream and jam… I’ve become inspired to start an afternoon tea tradition at home – why not meet friends around tea, just like I did as a child growing up? Without the bigger project of cooking dinner and the late hours that are sometimes difficult for families with young kids… Imagine, baking all these delicious cakes, biscuits, scones and sandwiches, then towering them up on a table and pots of fresh tea… I’ve got to get one of those 3 levelled cake plates!
Walking around Soho I went into Neal’s Yard Dairy, a great British cheese shop. This really shows that English cheese isn’t all about cheddar and the store was so ’’satisfying’’ a word I use for something I find a total experience. By that I mean the shop had great products, beautifully displayed and professionally explained with a passionate staff that were really into their cheese. That kind of dedication is quite rare these days in our world of excessive and soulless consumption, so I really appreciate it when I find it.
An old friend of mine, Tom Conran, has always been able to talk passionately about food. We were only sixteen at the time but he was already visualising his Tom’s Deli, which is today a Notting Hill landmark. It’s the kind of place that feels like you’re in someone’s kitchen, slightly messy, yet cosy and relaxed, with yummy food, and I think we all love that feeling wherever we come from. Toms little empire has since then expanded to 4 restaurants including the popular The Cow pub. With his personal style and sense of humour he manages to balance a genuine passion for food with a touch of eccentricity and I love that quirky mix.
Love from Filippa.