One of the first things i discovered in Paris was a small café in the heart of the noisy Marais neighbourhood. I used to go there pretending i was in Stockholm rather than Paris and i would order my coffee and cake in Swedish, still intimidated by the French language. The café is actually part of the Swedish cultural center located in the beautiful Hôtel de Marle.
As every similar place in Paris, this little café serving cakes, soupes and sandwiches is always packed, but aside the great fruit cakes and cinnamon buns, french people people often make a strange facial expression when someone mentions Swedish gastronomy. This is why i was very pleased when i heard that the M.I.A.M. magazine and the Swedish Institute invited couple of renowned Swedish chefs (Petter Nilsson, Magnus Ek, Ola Rudin, Sebastian Persson, Danyel Couet) to present some of their specialties in the form of a small dish or an appetizer to the public.
The event was held in the backyard of the Center and in the small café in the front. The garden was decorated with colourful lamps and gazebo tents out in the open, while the chefs were preparing the meals on the spot.
I decided to try Petter Nilsson's (a chef who owns a restaurant La Gazzetta in Paris) cabbage and lingonberry salad with a touch of herring powder (what would swedish cuisine be without lingonberry and fish). After the delicious salad, i went for a taste of kanelbulle - cinnamon roll - and a small fruit pie with a glass of inevitable elderberry squash.
Today, October 4th, is Kanebullens dag or Cinnamon roll day. So hurry up over to the Café suédois to celerate this event. At the moment the Center holds a temporary exhibiton of August Strindberg photographes which is, beside of eating a cinnamon roll, one more reason to visit the Center.
Institut suédois
11 rue Payenne
75003 Paris
