In his professional life, Niklas sees himself primarily as a cook, and that is the role he seeks even when he goes outside the kitchen – into the world of books and onto our TV screens. He also talks about how he sees his role as an entrepreneur here, before we conclude with two delicious recipes that you can cook at home.

Vegetable fermentation is the most ancient way of preserving produce, and it's interesting that it faded into obscurity until relatively recently. In the 70s and 80s, there was a strong trend towards pasteurising all food; people believed it was dangerous to eat otherwise.

The star chef, presenter and cookbook author Niklas Ekstedt describes himself as a restless person who usually has one project too many going on. A fitting expression is that he is a man with many irons in the fire – something that satisfied diners who have eaten food cooked over an open fire at the star restaurant Ekstedt in Östermalm, Stockholm, and Ekstedt at The Yard in London can vouch for.

When INRIKES meets via Zoom, Niklas is tired. He has just returned home from a long day at work, where he prepared Christmas food for hungry restaurant guests. He is sitting in a deep armchair in front of a bookshelf packed with books and is yawning a little.

The well-stocked bookshelf is proof that Niklas has always loved to read and that the history of food is particularly close to his heart. That's why he was especially pleased that the book Happy Food, which he wrote together with science journalist Henrik Ennart, has been a worldwide success. At the end of last year, a deluxe edition was released, complete with a brand-new chapter on the latest findings and accompanying recipes that are guaranteed to satisfy both body and soul.

Was it a surprise to you that Happy Food became such a success?

- It was great fun. We were very pleased with the script ourselves and felt it was a successful project. But we never really thought it would sell that well, but it's fun.

Connecting food, history, and science is very exciting. Do you think we modern generations have forgotten a lot of the food knowledge that existed before about cooking and the health benefits of their preparation methods?

– I don't think they knew it was healthy. I think it's about a sort of pattern, that people did things this way and had been doing it for generations, but they didn't question it much. It wasn't as if there were trendy diets directly; it was what was available and what there was. It was a slow process for humankind to live longer and feel better. It's quite exciting when they've found excavations and discovered people who were very old when they died. It's clear that life expectancy has increased, but it's interesting that even in the past, people could live to be 80, 90, 100 years old.

Fermentation of vegetables is the most ancient way of handling raw materials and it is interesting that it was so overlooked, until relatively recently. In the 70s and 80s there was a strong trend to pasteurize all food, people thought it was dangerous to eat otherwise. In the USA it was even more extreme, unpasteurized cheeses were banned and so on. But now the research has proven that to be completely wrong. What I think is most exciting about fermentation and that way of eating and eating a more varied and a little more 'funky' food is that it has a fairly rapid effect on the stomach and on your well-being. You know that yourself, if you have been feeling unwell or have drunk a little too much wine and ruined your stomach, then in just a few days you can eat well and get some proper nutrition and you will feel good immediately.

Niklas Ekstedt
 
Age: 44 
Bor Stockholm 
Family His wife Katarina, publisher and author, teenage sons Vinston and John. 
Occupation Chef, restaurateur, presenter and cookbook author. 
Currently With the books Happy Food 2.0, written together with science journalist Henrik Ennart, and the cookbook Hemma, which contains recipes for the home cook who wants to take their cooking to a new level without it taking too long.

At Home is also a great cookbook. When you've cooked fine food for restaurant guests all day, do you have the energy to cook at home for your family too?

– First, we had written the book Happy Food and I noticed that my cooking at home had changed quite a bit, how I eat, and I felt that I was cooking healthier food and more vegetables and stuff like that. During the pandemic, the restaurant's sales dropped sharply and we didn't have as many guests. When we had a curfew, we couldn't keep the restaurant open after seven in the evening. So it was really fun to be home a lot and cook for the family. I learned a lot during that period, so I wanted to share that in the book.

Are your children interested in cooking or do they prefer to eat what you cook?

– Well, they're not particularly interested, but maybe they will be. They eat everything. They're very good and they know a lot about food. For example, they know where the ingredients come from, but they don't have a natural super interest.

You are known for cooking over an open fire. What is the best thing to cook over an open fire in the winter?

– I usually do something that goes quite quickly. If you imagine in the winter that you have an open fire with birch wood, I personally think that it is a good idea to cook food in a cast iron pan on top of the fire. Then you can cook some pieces of meat in the bottom, for example, and then maybe make a quick pyttipanna with quite a lot of vegetables in it. It is a very simple and quick thing to do over an open fire.

It is always fascinating to meet Swedish and Nordic colleagues who have succeeded internationally.

When did your interest in cooking over an open fire begin?

– It started when we bought a house on Ingarö in the Stockholm archipelago about fourteen years ago. It was a small croft and I have always been very interested in history so I got started and started reading a little bit about the history of the croft and about the kitchen and the household. We had no electricity, or rather we had it but it was very limited, it was enough to charge a mobile phone and have a light bulb. We had a wood stove and I started cooking on it. I was so fascinated by that wood stove that I went to the Royal Library and borrowed and read literature about it. My interest grew and now I have a whole bookshelf filled with books about old Swedish households. When I started reading about technology and how people cooked before there was electricity.

You have a restaurant in London, Ekstedt at The Yard. What is the most popular item on the menu there?

– It's when we cook seafood, because Brits don't think of Sweden as a country where people eat seafood. We cook a lot of seafood in Sweden. The west coast is famous for its lobster and we eat a lot of crayfish, crab and oysters. When we cook seafood, we do it in a different way than the Brits, so that's positive.

Do you have any new TV projects in the works at the moment?

– This spring I am featured in a TV program on SVT that we recorded last summer. The focus is on wild food and Norrland.

How do you deal with your celebrity status? Do you enjoy being recognized?

– I don't care that much. In Sweden and England I get recognized every day, but if I'm in the US or France it only happens if it's a Swede who recognizes me. The only time it can be a problem is if you're on the subway late at night and someone who's drunk comes up and wants to talk, but usually it's just positive.

What do you admire in others?

– I am fascinated and inspired by many different people. Everything from writers to artists, filmmakers and even chefs of course. It is always fascinating to meet Swedish and Nordic colleagues who have succeeded internationally. When you have started restaurants abroad yourself, you know how incredibly difficult it is.

Do you have a favorite place in Sweden?

– I like Jämtland a lot. I grew up there and it still feels like I'm coming home when I'm there. The Swedish mountains in general are my favorite place.

When you live and work in Stockholm and London and other big cities, do you long for the north and smaller towns and countryside for everyday life?

– Yes. Every day. Every hour. Not a day goes by without me thinking about it. Now the children are teenagers and they go to school in Stockholm. They do ski a lot, mind you, and enjoy being in the mountains. It will get easier when the children get older, as then you can choose to live where you want.

3 Fast: 

Family favourite dish? 
- Courgette fritters or courgette fritters. Courgette in general is very popular at home. It's fun because it's quite cheap and easy. 
Is there anything you don't eat? 
McDonald's. 
What's the most sinful thing you eat? 
- A Gott & Blandat bag sometimes, perhaps.

How do you handle your entrepreneurship? I’m guessing you have a strong team around you?

– Yes, of course you have to have a good team that really knows finance and publishers who have expertise. I don't like the word entrepreneur very much; it feels a bit worn out. Almost anyone calls themselves an entrepreneur. I wish there were a better word for it. I feel most like a chef and cook. And then, by extension, I can take that with me and act as a consultant in my area of expertise, on TV or in a book, or in various restaurant contexts. But I don't like doing things where I don't get to be a cook. For example, I wouldn't want to be on a TV show where I'm dancing or something like that. I try to stick to my subject and my profession when I'm being professional. In my free time, I might consider dancing, riding a horse, or skiing, but at work, I like to cook.

What does the future look like? What's on the agenda for winter and spring?

– Now it's important to manage what I have. I've started a lot of different projects, restaurants in Stockholm and London, TV programmes and more, so I feel I have to be professional and sort it out and deliver these projects as good products. I think it will take five to ten years of management to make it even better. It would be great to get two Michelin stars at Ekstedts, for example. We have one star but I would very much like to have two.

Do you have a strong competitive streak?

Yes, I probably have. Otherwise, I don't think I would have had the same drive as I do. I believe you are born with it. I think it's personal to always move forward and to nurture what you have to make it even better and even bigger. I believe that's very difficult to teach; I think it's something that just exists within you. You can have competence, and you can have people who manage things calmly and who can see things in different shades, and it's good for me to be surrounded by such people. But you notice when you meet someone who is truly driven to move forward. I believe many, including myself, who have similar traits get very excited by the early stages of a project. It's incredibly rewarding and fun to build a case, design a restaurant, or write the first menu. To be there on the first night, to come up with new concepts. To be involved from the start of a project, that feeling is very addictive.