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October 2009
Jeremy Emmerson interviews Chef Leif Mannerström

After forty years in the kitchen, Chef Leif Mannerström is a household name in his Swedish homeland. He holds a Michelin star, has been featured on a national postage stamp and has some thoughts on Gordon Ramsay...  

G.C - In your cookbook Shellfish, the dishes sway from simple dishes like the Norway Lobster with Horseradish to the more sophisticated Razor Clams with Grapefruit Salad. What is your goal with the book is it a reflection of the food you serve now or some of your favorites mixed with your current style?

L.M - Both, really! Most of the dishes described in my cookery book are served at my restaurant Sjömagasinet in Gothenburg, depending on the seasons of course. My primary goal, I guess, is to spread knowledge: this is how this dish should be prepared and how it should taste! For example, the recipe for The American shrimp cocktail, the sauce is really different. The first time I had this, I thought it was shocking! Now I love it and gladly eat it with oysters, crab – in fact any shellfish whatsoever. I want to give Swedes the opportunity to discover what an American shrimp cocktail tastes like and the means to prepare it themselves.

G.C - Do you use any ingredients in the book that can only be found in Sweden (or neighboring countries) that are must tries for any chef or food lover that visits?

L.M - A typical example would be Swedish shrimps. We are lucky to have the tastiest shrimps in the world! Shellfish that are found in cold water grow more slowly and therefore have more taste. Swedish shrimps are prepared directly in the fishing boats, where they are cooked alive in sea water brine. The fresher the shrimp is, the more its tale will retract and “curl”.

G.C - You mention in the introduction to Shellfish that when you were a young chef you prepared and served a seafood platter for gorgeous Sofia Loren. Can you tell us what a few memorable celebrities  that you have cooked for since and is there anyone you would love to cook for in the future?

L.M - I have cooked for all kind of celebrities! Just to mention a few of them: all members of the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, U2 (Bono), President Bush and his wife, Professor Arvid Carlsson who was rewarded the Nobel prize in medicine year 2000, Daniel Alfredsson Captain of the Ottawa Senators (NHL).

One person I would like to cook for is Gordon Ramsey: I would like to show him that there is no need to be mean and behave badly to cook well. My opinion is that a great chef earns respect by sharing his knowledge with his team, have a friendly and pedagogic (educational) attitude, not lose his temper and spread fear in the kitchen.

G.C -  What are your thoughts on being termed a “celebrity” is it something that you enjoy?

L.M - Sure, I have no problems with it! Being a celebrity allows you to market yourself and your restaurant, does it not?

G.C - You are the only chef that I can think of that has been pictured on a postage stamp, what did your family make of that?

L.M - My wife, who works with me at the restaurant where she is responsible for the decoration and flower arrangements, was very amused and proud. I have received a lot of different awards, but I am very proud of this one.

G.C -  In an interview in the Swedish Bulletin you talked highly of the good service attitude in American restaurants, what do you make of the U.S culinary scene, are there any restaurants that you hold in high regard, or chefs that you feel to be notable?

L.M - The reputation of American restaurants is underestimated in Europe! Many Europeans associate American food with the fast food industry, hamburgers and so on. But America provides a whole range of excellent restaurants! The service is in deed of very high quality, but the food can be amazing. I use to say that I had the best meal of my life in Hollywood at the Hermitage. I am a great admirer of Wolfgang Puck, whose restaurants are all worth a visit. He also has a fantastic wife!

G.C - What other restaurants outside of Sweden have you enjoyed eating at on your travels?

L.M - I have travelled a lot and have visited most restaurants with three stars in the Guide Michelin. I believe France is the country with the greatest number of excellent restaurants in the world. Just to name one of them, but the list is long, I should mention Michel Rostang’s restaurant in Paris or Le Moulin de Mougins in Mougins (close to Cannes, in the south of France) with chef Roger Vergé, a great man. However, there are also a surprisingly high number of terribly bad restaurants in France, so one should be careful! I cannot, not mention El Bulli in Spain. To have a meal at El Bulli is a privilege, an experience one never forgets.

G.C - The U.K’s reputation for great food and great restaurants has really improved over the past several years, but for a long time many British chefs felt that if their restaurants were in France they would have received Michelin Stars long ago. Do you feel that Sweden’s culinary scene is becoming stronger and that the Michelin (Guide Rouge) has not been taking as much notice as it should?

L.M - Absolutely! I totally agree. If Gothenburg, Malmö or Stockholm had been located in France, these Swedish cities would have had at least double as many Michelin Stars. This is true regarding all Scandinavia. There are several excellent restaurants in Oslo, Copenhagen or Helsinki that would no doubt receive a Michelin Star if they were in France. The problem is the Michelin team barely even visits these countries. Look at what happened in Japan: when the Michelin team finally got there, they dedicated a whole Michelin book to Japan!

G.C - Who are the up-and-coming bright stars of your country’s cooking?

L.M - It is impossible to mention them all, there are too many. However, Chef Mattias Dahlgren is the uncontested best Swedish chef for the time being; he is brilliant and deserves each of his stars (Grand Hotel in Stockholm’s two restaurants, Matsalen with two stars and Matbaren with one star). Other brilliant Swedish chefs are for example Melker Andersson (7 restaurants in Stockholm), Stefan Karlsson and Håkan Thörnström, both with restaurants in Gothenburg, Pontus Fritjof with several restaurants in Stockholm, Johan Jureskog with restaurant Rolfs kök in Stockholm. But as I said, it is impossible to mention them all and these are just a few examples.

G.C - What other Scandinavian restaurants are “must visit” destinations?

L.M - There are many fine restaurants in Scandinavia, but to mention one in each capital let’s say Bagatelle in Oslo, Noma in Copenhagen and Chez Denise in Helsinki.

G.C - What do you make of the current modern cookery techniques or the style some might describe as “molecular gastronomy”?

L.M - When prepared by an expert, molecular gastronomy can be an incredible experience! When delivered by an amateur, which unfortunately is the case most of the time, it is a catastrophe. But most important is that I believe that even though molecular gastronomy can be looked upon as
experimental, it does play an important role: it is a source of inspiration; it is one way of moving cooking forwards. You can compare it to a fashion show when designers present their new collections. The clothes worn by the models are not the clothes that ordinary people would wear in the street. But trends are set at these shows. To keep on learning, chefs must dare experience and try new ways.

G.C - On a lighter note, I believe you were recently on a hunting trip, what did you hunt and how did you cook it?

L.M - I have one golden rule when it comes to fishing or hunting: only kill what you will be able to cook and eat! In Sweden we hunt elk, roe deer, larger deer, wild boar, hare, duck, goose, pheasant and so on. On my latest hunting trip I shot a roe deer and prepared one of my favourite dishes: pepper fried roe deer fillet with fresh white cabbage and a sauce made of thick cream and sliced winter truffles.
I just released my latest cookery book in Sweden, Mannerström’s Cookbook for Game, where you will find about a hundred game recipes!

G.C - You are renowned for your Christmas Season Feast of Herring. Can you tell us a little about it?

L.M - A traditional Swedish Christmas meal is to be enjoyed in several steps. The first dish is always different kinds of herring, served with roasted flat bread, boiled potatoes and some ripe hard cheese. In my restaurant, Sjömagasint, we serve 16 different kinds of hearing. I am convinced the restaurant got its Michelin star due to its herring! Herring is one of my favorite fish. One of my first cookery book, actually available in English (although not published in North America yet), is called Herring. It deals only with the different ways to prepare herring. We are lucky in Sweden to have herrings of very high quality, but I must say most of the recipes can be adapted and work for example as well with
sardines.

G.C - Finally as a chef that has had a forty year career in the kitchen, what would your advice be to a chef that has been cooking for just twenty years?

L.M - My best advice would be: enjoy the work, and enjoy it in a team! After forty years as a chef, I still enjoy it enormously: I love the smells and the sounds of a kitchen at work, the meetings with colleagues, staff and customers. Working in a kitchen is a team work. Another advice would be to keep updated: never stop experiencing, listening to and watching new talented chefs. Don’t get too comfortable!



Shellfish
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