Fäviken by Magnus Nilsson is a beautifully-put-together piece of art. The book is packed with wonderful images of food, wild meadows, foraged herbs, hanging charcuterie and cooking over fire. In essence, it takes a step back in time to how we used to cook.
Fäviken was a tiny ‘destination’ restaurant in a remote area of Sweden accessed by ox taxi or skidoo. I know a few folk who ate at this mystical place (that closed its doors in 2019). If you were lucky enough to have dined there, you might have devoured a scallop cooked over charcoal, or some meat from an old dairy cow, hung for a long time, cooked simply and served with something pickled, smoked or fermented.
The food may appear to be simple, but it is not simplistic. Great care and a lot of attention to detail goes into creating dishes that use few ingredients. I understand this approach to cooking and believe that delving into the past is a great way to see into the future. Young chefs are becoming excited by old skills like fermenting, pickling and smoking, learning techniques from books like this. Old methods can teach us a lot and provide great inspiration. As long as we enjoy the process and we’re not too earnest about it, then I’m all for it.
