Celebrating ScandiKitchen: London’s Home of Scandinavian Flavour.
I adore Scandinavian food! Regular readers will have picked up on this, as I enthusiastically review any new Scandi cookbook. I also have a good friend who is Swedish and often treats us with her delicious Scandi food. So when I had the opportunity to meet Bronte Aurell, the owner of not one, but two ScandiKitchens and the author of numerous cookbooks, I jumped at the chance.
Over a light, but incredibly tasty, lunch trying some of the range of delicious open sandwiches for which ScandiKitchen is famous, I found out more about Bronte, and discovered that she really is a Scandi superwoman.
ScandiKitchen is 18 years old. It first opened in Fitzrovia (at 61 Great Titchfield Street) on Bronte’s birthday and also the date her first baby was due. So, not surprisingly, as her daughter was born that same day, Bronte considers her business to be another of her babies. At the Fitzrovia site there are frequent queues of people waiting to buy takeaway or eat in. It’s a very well known secret among local office workers, and In the basement there is a boutique shop stocked with all manner of Scandi foodie delights. This summer, Bronte opened ScandiKitchen Victoria at 42 Buckingham Palace Road. She told me that the customer profile is very different, not surprisingly, at Victoria, as lots of tourists wander in and are pleasantly surprised at what they discover.
Danish by birth, Bronte has long resided here in the UK, she even lived in Edinburgh for a while. She has always wanted to be a chef, but family pressure persuaded her to go to university first. Having studied communications, she started work for a number of food companies, including the early start up days of Innocent Drinks, now, of course, ubiquitous with smoothies, juices and other drinks.
ScandiKitchen isn’t just a micro group of cafés, it’s a thriving mail order business too. My Swedish pal Satu often adds a few items to her regular orders for me, but I also know that Ocado has a good Swedish Shop online (although they have stopped stocking the wonderful Erik’s Remoulade that I loved). Luckily, Bronte imports another excellent remoulade that has a longer shelf life and is still delicious. In addition to the two cafés, Bronte also supplies larger UK food retailers and wholesalers with her products.
Rye bread, Kalles Kaviar, remoulade, dill crisps, specially strong vinegar for pickling, unusual cheeses and, of course, herrings are my favourites. On the subject of herrings, only ScandiKitchen stocks my favourite variety, Abba Skargardssill (herrings in roe) but other varieties are widely available in most supermarkets.
ScandiKitchen also wins my prize for the very best newsletter. Every Friday morning it pops into my inbox, and is a mine of weird – often very funny – Scandi facts and brilliant illustrations. I assumed, wrongly, that a smart agency was preparing this each week, but no, it’s yet another of Bronte’s amazing talents! She has subscribers all over the world, who often pop into the cafes when in London to meet her and her team. I urge you to sign up on the website scandikitchen.co.uk and your weekends will henceforth begin with this little gem of Scandiness.
The Seasoned Gastronome