10 Tidbits with Elvira Lindqvist

Sourdough, lilac flowers and not being an asshole

  1. If you had to cook something to impress your idol, what would you do?

I would take them to my restaurant and we would cook together. Through cooking and speaking together I can show my way of seeing things, and it's so much more fun to cook and eat together.

  1. Dinner with friends – at home or in a restaurant?

Both! Love eating out and trying new things, and it's nice to let someone else do the job. But I also love cooking at home and inviting people to my place. Especially when my kids are with me!

  1. What is your favourite flavour?

Herbs. When a dish doesn't fly the way you want, herbs is often a good way to make other flavours lift! I also love cardamom and juniper.

  1. What one food and/or one drink would you have every day for the rest of your life if you had to choose?

Sourdough bread and butter.

  1. If you could invite three people to your place for dinner/drinks, living or dead, who would you invite?

That's the hardest question ever! Maybe my grandfather and hero Kalle who died when I was 9, Anna Lindh och Patti Smith.

  1. What are the two scents you like most?

Lilac flowers and newly baked cookies

  1. What is the most absurd thing you’ve been tricked into doing or believing in your field of work?

That you have to be a bit of a selfish asshole who works day and night to make it as a chef. That's not true, thank god!

  1. What are those things you’re too old to do but you still enjoy?

Practical jokes, like scaring people with fake spiders and dipping meatballs in chocolate and telling people it's homemade candy.

  1. What is the first thing you do after getting home after a day at work?

If it's a week with my kids, I pick up my kids, then I'm full on mom with soccer practice, homework, cooking dinner and taking care of everything at home. And if it's a week without them I usually take a shower and go to sleep, since I work a lot of night shifts then.

  1. What has been your greatest culinary mistake?

When I was 18 I once dropped a whole tray of cooked meat on the floor in the middle of a big dinner service. PANIC! I also made a totally uneatable fish soup at home once with old fish in it. We ordered pizza that night.