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I really like the vacations, particularly by the lens of meals as a chef. I got here to Sweden from Ethiopia once I was very younger, so whereas my very own vacation traditions began with my adoptive mother and older sisters, I’ve all the time been fascinated by how folks rejoice all through the world.
A few of my very own earliest reminiscences of rising up in Sweden are of the tastes and smells of Dec. 13, St. Lucia Day. The Feast of St. Lucia is broadly celebrated all through Scandinavia in faculties, church buildings and houses. For my household, it was a time to come back collectively over good meals.
The meal was all the time a grand smorgasbord piled excessive with herring, gravlax and meatballs. Typically we had turkey, different instances roasted pork. We had the normal saffron buns studded with raisins or almonds; every particular person had their desire. However the one factor we may all agree on — children and adults alike — have been the gingersnaps. There had to be gingersnaps at our St. Lucia Day feast.
Rising up in Goteborg, I used to be all the time within the kitchen with my grandmother. Cooking with Grandma Helga laid the inspiration for my culinary aspirations, and on St. Lucia Day, there was one thing magical about that point spent collectively. I can nonetheless really feel the oven warmth and the scent of the spices wash over me, the thrilling second the nice and cozy gingersnaps have been baked and able to be devoured.
There’s nothing fairly like the chilliness of Scandinavian winter, which implies there’s nothing higher than discovering heat in the course of the vacation season. For me, that was — and nonetheless is — all of the household, a crackling hearth, and a sizzling cup of glogg: pink wine infused with star anise, cloves, cinnamon and orange peel.
The vacation season is a busy time for everybody within the kitchen — residence cooks {and professional} cooks alike. For me, this yr shall be significantly busy as a result of I’m within the midst of opening my new restaurant in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood. Hav & Mar attracts inspiration partly from my Scandinavian roots, so I’ve been capable of return to the wonderful foods and drinks of St. Lucia Day and vacation seasons previous. In that spirit, we could have glogg and gingersnaps on the winter menu — in order that we are able to welcome folks in from the chilly to create reminiscences of their very own.
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