Nº1 2019
segers maga zine
P 08 / Third time lucky. P 16 / Wear the same as the Chef of Year. P 24 / Anna’s passions: creativity, cooking – and Christmas trees.
SEGERS
INTRODUCTION
MAGAZINE
David Lundqvist topped the winner’s podium thanks to his strong winning mentality, plus the right backing from his workplace, the Grand Hotel Saltsjöbaden. He has earned the title of Sweden’s Chef of Year 2018. We at Segers were there of course, and supplied all the finalists with our latest chef’s jacket. It has been developed specially for this year's competition in collaboration with previous winners. You can also read about fir tree expert Anna Benson, who invites us to reuse the Christmas tree when the time indoors has come to an end.
Mia Kinn / Marketing Manager at Segers
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DESIGN / CONCEPT
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SEGERS
1023 - CHEF’S JACKET, MEN’S, C44-60 Slim fit. Concealed closure with snap buttons. One button visible at collar, remove before washing. Breast pocket. Sleeves with slits. Rounded hem, long at the back. Loop on outside of collar for apron ties. Hanging loop in the collar. Qual 261: 50/50% polyester/Tencel. Wash 60°C. Colours: 000 white
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DESIGN / CONCEPT
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DESIGN / CONCEPT
SEGERS
1272* - BLOUSE, 3/4 SLEEVE, WOMEN’S, XS-3XL Stand up collar. Outside tab on the collar for apron straps. Sleeve edge with slit/button. Breast pocket. Contrasting colour fabric on inside of collar, edge of breast pocket, the inside of sleeve edge, plus a triangle of fabric at the bottom side seams. Single buttonhole with orange thread. Qual 639: 100% cotton, printed flower. Wash 40°C. Colours: 076 dark blue
4061* - WAIST APRON, CA 75 X 56 CM Double pouch pocket. Qual 237: 65/35% polyester/cotton. Wash 85°C. Colour: 076 dark blue woven stripe
1271* - SHIRT, MEN’S, XS-3XL Stand up collar. Outside tab on the collar for apron straps. Cuff with slit/button. Breast pocket. Contrasting colour fabric on inside of collar, the inside of sleeve, plus a triangle of fabric at the bottom side seams. Single buttonhole with orange thread. Qual 639: 100% cotton, printed flower. Wash 40°C. Colours: 076 dark blue
4078* - BIB APRON, APPROX. 75 X 90 CM Waist tie strap. Double pocket. Elasticated braces, art. no. 0568, must be purchased separately. Must be removed before washing. Qual 237: 65/35% polyester/cotton. Wash 85°C. Colour: 076 dark blue woven stripe *Check out www.segers.com for more color options
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DESIGN / CONCEPT
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INTERVIEW / DAVID LUNDQVIST
SEGERS
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Photo: Gustaf MÃ¥nsson
INTERVIEW / DAVID LUNDQVIST
Third time lucky.
MAGAZINE
He was one of the top-scoring contestants in the qualifier. After two hectic days of finals in the kitchen, and tests in theory and knowledge of ingredients, he was eventually crowned the winner. Sweden’s Chef of the Year 2018 is David Lundqvist, from the Grand Hotel Saltsjöbaden.
everything should be, tick off my lists and reassert my control. Once I’d found my rhythm again, everything settled down. But that probably took three or four hours. By then, the sense of chaos had gone. If there’s chaos in the kitchen, my head’s all over the place, too. But I got there in the end.” Chef of Year was rebooted for 2018. How did the new format feel?
I have an amazing year ahead of me, hopefully with a lot of new tastes and contacts. It’s going to be wicked fun. This was the third time you’ve entered Chef of the Year. How important is this competition to you? “Extremely. Winning Chef of the Year puts the stamp of quality on my personal brand as a chef, and shows I really am one of the very best. The competition is fierce. There are so many talented chefs in Sweden, and a high level of expertise right across the profession. But I’m very persevering, and topping the podium has been immensely satisfying.” How did you feel during the final? “I was rather psyched when I went in, and things were a bit shaky at first. I didn’t have a good feeling, and it seemed to take forever to get to the end” How was your performance affected by being psyched? “I pushed on and got all the projects going, just like I do at work. But I was going too fast. There was no need to rush. The competition is nothing like working in a restaurant. And I really think I’m more of a restaurant chef than one that goes in for competitions. I'm actually a real eager beaver. Quick and efficient. In a competition you have to be more organized, though. You have to show you have everything under control, with not too much on the go at the same time. Everything has to be much more just so. For me, it’s been about practising hard to prepare for working in the right way when I compete. What I mean by psyched is that I was in restaurant mode when I really should have been in competition mode.” Did you have time to worry that you’d blown your chances? “No, I don’t think I ever get worried. I force myself not to think like that. Otherwise, you’ve already lost. I just had to slow down and pick up my rhythm again. Get back to my basic plan, working calmly and methodically. Know where
“Amazingly good. It’s given the whole competition a real boost, for the public as well as for us competitors. The competition stretches over a long period, admittedly, but the results are fairer. And in my view, you get a winner who actually has the broad expertise it takes to earn the title. It might sound a bit big-headed because I won this year, but the fact is that the competition now has more impromptu tasks, and fewer that you can practise in advance. Competitors really must have good fundamental knowledge to fall back on. I think it's fairer. I really liked the ingredients basket idea, and having six servings rather than fourteen. You’d never have fourteen servings back in the restaurant. Competing with fourteen servings meant your starting point had to be dishes that would provide that number. It's the wrong end to start at. I’d rather start by thinking about who I am as a chef, what I’d like to serve, and how I can put my personal stamp on the dish. Now, though, I think they’ve packaged the competition into something really exciting. My pals in the audience said it was very entertaining to watch." Will the new competition format make it harder for young talents, because they might not have the experience required for some elements? It will definitely be harder for the younger ones. Experience is at a premium in the new format, with the minimum age set at 23. By then, a young chef has had a few years to learn the profession. Ultimately, it's about cooking the best food. You can pick up skills all over the place, provided you’re curious and have a grasp of what you should be learning. You can visit suppliers and learn how to prepare fish or cut lamb, for instance. To balance things out, Young Chef of the Year and the Young Chef Award will be launched under the Chef of the Year banner in the future. They’ll give every opportunity for young talent to reveal itself.
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INTERVIEW / DAVID LUNDQVIST
SEGERS
10 Photo: Per Erik Berglund
INTERVIEW / DAVID LUNDQVIST
MAGAZINE
Photo: Gustaf Månsson
while mum baked bread, buns and cakes. Cooking and baking was equally important to me, but it was my dad I stood next to mashing potatoes, frying sausages and braising chops. In high school, my first work experience was at Slussens Pensionat, the hotel run by Robert Sohlberg and his wife Vibeke on the island of Orust. I started out washing dishes and helping out round the Christmas table. I was working more and more over the various holidays, and then suddenly found myself working full time. I learnt the fundamentals at Slussens Pensionat. It was all very easy-going, and we still meet up.” Do you have a creative outlet now? “With my colleagues, yes. You often have a certain mindset of your own that you might not always be aware of. But then colleagues come up with other inputs and thoughts that drive it forward. The Grand Hotel Saltsjöbaden has given me amazing support during the competition. They encourage me as a competitor, and they give me the right backing so I can concentrate totally on the competition. That’s good for creativity.” You’ll have a year as Chef of the Year. What are your expectations of it?
Sweden needs more chefs. What do you think Chef of the Year will mean for the industry's growth in the future? “I hope we can inspire people to choose this road, because it’s a very satisfying profession with lots of openings. You don’t have to be a saucier or poissonnier all your life unless you want to. You could become a product developer, a taster or perhaps some other future professional in the industry. There’s so much going on in the culinary arts, and it’s a very creative industry. You don’t necessarily have to compete to get on in the industry, or be an expert chef. Nevertheless, I think competitions are important because they spur development and get our industry noticed.” You’ll be very closely associated with Chef of the Year now. But that aside, who is chef David Lundqvist? “I’ve always been attracted to creative interests. When I was younger I tried music, guitar, piano and drama, but they were never completely my thing. I ended up working with food instead. The kitchen enabled me to express myself without having to stand on a stage in front of an audience. It was perfect for me at that time. I’ve always loved my food. I was probably saying at the age of seven that I wanted to be a chef. And I stuck to that. We always had hearty breakfasts and dinners in our family. We all ate together, we rattled the pots at the table, we tasted and discussed. Dad was always at the stove,
"I hope to be able to make new contacts and meet interesting people. This will help me develop in earnest into one of Sweden’s top-class chefs in a couple of years. It’ll be hectic, with lots of exciting culinary experiences."
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DESIGN / CONCEPT
SEGERS
0574 - POCKET, APPROX. 22 X 28 CM Channel, approx. 5 cm, for threading onto a waistband or belt (purchased separately). Inside pockets for telephone, pens, etc. Qual 278: 45/55 polyester/cotton, denim look-a-like. Wash 85°C. Colours: 076 dark blue Qual 282: 65/35% polyester/cotton, canvas. Wash 85°C. Colours: 015 black
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DESIGN / CONCEPT
MAGAZINE
1272 - BLOUSE, 3/4 SLEEVE, WOMEN’S, XS-3XL Stand up collar. Outside tab on the collar for apron straps. Sleeve edge with slit/button. Breast pocket. Contrasting colour fabric on inside of collar, edge of breast pocket, the inside of sleeve edge, plus a triangle of fabric at the bottom side seams. Single buttonhole with orange thread. Qual 639: 100% cotton, printed flower. Wash 40°C. Colours: 076 dark blue
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DESIGN / CONCEPT
SEGERS
4574 - BIB APRON, APPROX. 75 X 90 CM Adjustable neck strap with buttons. No pockets. Qual 201/280: 65/35% polyester/cotton, Twill. Wash 85°C. Colours 201: 011 light grey, 024 sand, 033 orange, 038 rust, 083 apple green, 086 olive Colours 280: 000 white, 002 navy, 014 grey, 015 black, 028 brown, 041 red, 043 dark red Qual 245/261: 50/50% polyester/Tencel. Wash 60°C. Colours: 000 white, 011 light grey, 015 black Qual 628: 100% cotton denim, garment washed. Wash 60°C. Colours: 076 dark blue
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DESIGN / CONCEPT
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INTERVIEW / SEGERS
Dress as the Chef of Year.
clusive gold button. It features the competition emblem, and replaces the top button on the jacket. Winning the competition is a big achievement, so it should be clear for all to see.” How does environmental thinking come in? "It's about the quality of the jacket, or more precisely the fabric. For example, clothing and chef’s jackets are very often cotton. The problem is that cotton cultivation consumes a lot of water, and it impacts the environment. What’s more, the catering industry often uses a very intensive laundry regime to keep cotton garments looking good for longer. This simply wears the garments out, and the restaurant has to buy new ones. It’s not particularly sustainable. Our new jacket is therefore in a blend of Tencel® and polyester. Tencel® is made from cellulose from trees in a closed system that recycles the chemicals. The polyester fibre makes the fabric hardwearing. It can cope with considerably harsher treatment than cotton, and withstands more hot washes. So the chef’s jacket stays looking good and has a longer useful life. We’re also hoping that in the future, researchers will discover how to recycle polyester and make new fabrics from old fibres.” When is the new jacket being launched? “We gave a sneak preview during Chef of the Year, when all the contestants and former winners wore it. It´s available to order now. There’ll be women's and men's styles in shortand long-sleeved versions. It’s a real premium jacket that will retain its smart appearance for a long time to come.”
How did the new chef’s jacket come about? "I’d say the new jacket is a fusion of lots of exciting ideas. Previous winners from the Chef of the Year Association were involved. They told us what should go into a first-rate chef’s jacket for 2018. At Segers, we then made sure that we chose environmentally smart options, and that the jacket would stand up to kitchen conditions.” What makes a good chef’s jacket, according to the winners? “They like the casual, shirt styles we’ve developed recently. But they wanted a jacket with a special something because Chef of the Year is such a prestigious competition. So we made the jacket with a traditional shirt opening but gave it a smart collar. It’s somewhat more reminiscent of the traditional chef’s jacket. Some seams are piped, too, creating an attractive pleat. And it’s a bit longer at the back, so it doesn’t ride up when you reach up to a shelf or bend down to pick something up. All Chef of the Year winners will now also be given an ex-
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SEGERS
The Chef of the Year 2018 final has been decided. And it wasn’t easy for the public to tell the contestants apart. Because they all wore the same jackets. Developed exclusively by Segers for the Swedish Chef of the Year competition, they will shortly be released on the market. Mia Kinn, Marketing Manager at Segers, tells us more about those special chef’s jackets.
INTERVIEW / SEGERS
MAGAZINE
1027 - CHEF’S JACKET, MEN’S, C44-60
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DESIGN / CONCEPT
SEGERS
4078 - BIB APRON, APPROX. 75 X 90 CM Waist tie strap. Double pocket. Elasticated braces, art. no. 0568, must be purchased separately. Must be removed before washing. Qual 228: 65/35% polyester/cotton. Wash 85°C. Colour: 018 black/grey woven stripe Check out www.segers.com for more color options
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DESIGN / CONCEPT
MAGAZINE
1029 - CHEF’S JACKET, C44-60 French cut. Tapered closure. Piping around the collar, front edge, cuffs. Hand-sewn, fabric buttons that can handle mangling. Seams at the back. Hanging loop in the collar. Qual 650: 100% cotton, Batavia. Wash 85°C. Colours: 915 black piping
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DESIGN / CONCEPT
SEGERS
1274 - SHIRT, WOMEN’S, XS-3XL Stand up collar. Outside tab on the collar for apron straps. Cuff with slit/button. Breast pocket. Contrasting colour fabric on inside of collar, the inside of sleeve, plus a triangle of fabric at the bottom side seams. Single buttonhole with orange thread. Qual 636: 100% cotton, printed flower. Wash 40°C. Colours: 005 Blue/White Check out www.segers.com for more color options
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DESIGN / CONCEPT
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DESIGN / CONCEPT
SEGERS
1076 - JACKET, WOMEN’S, C34-50 Stand-up collar. Hanging loop in the collar. Breast pockets. Side pockets; the right side pocket also has a coin pocket in striped fabric. Double rows of buttons, only one with buttonholes. Qual 628: 100% cotton denim. Garment washed. Wash 60°C. Colours: 076 dark blue
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DESIGN / CONCEPT
SEGERS
MAGAZINE
1077 - JACKET, MEN’S, C44-60 Stand-up collar. Hanging loop in the collar. Breast pockets. Side pockets; the right side pocket also has a coin pocket in striped fabric. Double rows of buttons, only one with buttonholes. Qual 628: 100% cotton denim. Garment washed. Wash 60°C. Colours: 076 dark blue
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INTERVIEW / ANNA BENSON
Anna’s passions: creativity, cooking – and fir trees. “Yes, Granboken came about after we’d started Smålandsgran. Until then, I hadn’t realised what a big deal Christmas trees are. Sweden is the world's largest fir tree producer per capita. We grow and sell three million a year. We share a total of six million Christmas trees among the ten million of us each year. That’s a huge number. Granboken gave
Christmas trees directly to the door.
me the chance to combine my writing with my Christmas tree nerdiness. There was, and still is, a bit of a trend for niche books. I thought the timing was perfect for Granboken. It was a best-seller in Sweden when it came out in December, which was very satisfying. It covers everything you need to know about Christmas trees. Thanks to the book, I’ve been dubbed the Christmas tree expert. I grew up with Christmas trees, so obviously I know quite a lot!” How did you combine Granboken with your culinary interests? Well, I enjoyed tracking down ways of decorating Christmas trees. But then I got into what else you can do with a Christmas tree after the festivities. The needles and sprouts are so versatile in cooking. The book has a chapter about using them, with recipes and advice on suitable dishes. You can make spruce tea with the sprouts, for example. It’s vitamin-rich and very tasty. Most people in Sweden who’ve done their national service have probably drunk it at some time or other while on exercises. The needles themselves bring intense flavour to dishes. Like rosemary, but stronger. It’s absolutely delicious with lamb. And nutritious, with loads of antioxidants. I recommend everyone tries it. You can make a granola, and as I recall there’s also a recipe for making ice cream with them. If you can’t find a use for them at the time, simply collect the needles and freeze them just as you would any everyday spice or herb." You live in Barcelona now. Do you ever miss Småland? Absolutely! I try to get back to Småland as often as I can. I was there a lot during the wonderful summer we’ve just enjoyed. There’s not much forest in Barcelona, alas. And from my home in central Stockholm, it takes a while to get out into the forest. Especially now I also have my dog, it’s so relaxing to go home to Småland and wander through its deep forests, absorbing their fragrances and the sound of the whispering tree tops. It's one of the best things I know.
You always have a lot going on, and you’ve just returned from the book fair. What drives you? “Having run my own businesses for so many years, I have to be passionate and driven. I have the advantage of being able to be picky about my projects. I only do what I think will be enjoyable and inspiring, which makes being driven much easier. I’ve just released my ninth book, Blå Kokboken (Blue Cookbook) II, for the benefit of the Swedish Cancer Society. It’s the latest follow-up to my previous Blå Kokboken I and Rosa Kokboken (Pink Cookbook) I and II. I have to get really involved in everything I take on, and I’m constantly seeking to express my creativity. For me, creating is a kind of therapy, whether it's a business idea, a painting or ceramics. Provided I’m being stimulated, I enjoy everything I do. I currently run several companies, including one for my writing. Another is Smålandsgran (Småland Christmas trees), with my younger brother. It delivers Christmas trees directly to your doorstep!” How did you come to be selling Christmas trees? “I grew up with my family in Småland, where my father is one of Sweden's major Christmas tree growers. He’s also the only certified organic grower. So all our Christmas trees are organic, which is really great. That’s how I came to start Smålandsgran, one of my three companies, with my brother. It’s a simple idea: we deliver Christmas trees directly to your doorstep. It’s reassuring to know that our Christmas trees are sound products – for nature, animals and our customers. Many people take care to choose organic food for their fridge. But very few give a thought to something that’s at the heart of their home for a month. These days, there’s a totally different awareness of the environment and pesticides. It’s something we’ve clearly identified in our business.” Tell us more about Granboken, your fir tree book.
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SEGERS
She describes herself as a serial entrepreneur, author and artist. But that's just a fraction of everything she does. Anna Benson has written several cookbooks and designed ceramics. She runs three companies. And she is a fir tree expert, which comes as no surprise because she and her younger brother deliver
INTERVIEW / ANNA BENSON
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DESIGN / KONCEPT CONCEPT
SEGERS
5330
CHEF’S JACKET, C44-60 Classic straight cut. Removable black stud buttons included. Seams at the back. Double pen pocket on left sleeve. Hanging loop in the collar. Qual 201: 65/35% polyester/cotton, Twill. Wash 85°C. Colours: 002 navy, 011 light grey, 014 grey, 024 sand, 028 brown, 038 rust, 041 red, 043 dark red, 086 olive green
4079
BIB APRON, APPROX. 75 X 90 CM Adjustable neck strap with buttonholes. Breast pocket, one part with flap, pen pocket, side pocket with inner pocket, pen pocket at lower left edge. Qual 771: 55/45% linen/cotton. Wash 40°C. Colours: 023 beige.
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DESIGN / KONCEPT CONCEPT
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