Entertaining the Swedish Way

From everyday traditions like Fika, to annual days, the Swedish love nothing more than sweet celebrations to make the world a more magical and meaningful place. While there’s nothing wrong with a barbecued sausage in buttered bread, if you want to elevate your entertaining, here’s how to do it the Scandi way.

Have a beginning, middle and end

An interior designer expert explains, what season influences the type of entertaining, but a typical summer evening would start with a Vodka Schnapps “to loosen up”, followed by some “sill” herring on rye with dill, then potatoes in some form with more dill, together with salmon.

Dessert would be Swedish strawberries with cream and the evening punctuated with more Schnapps. “Each drink is accompanied with a song for each Skål! Swedes love to sing so the evening would end with everyone sitting around singing,” says the designer expert.

Prepare dishes in advance and store them in the Electrolux UltimateHome 900 French door refrigerator – with a fully convertible compartment, the TasetSealFlex gives you the complete cooling solution. Easily adapting to the required temperature, whether that’s for cheeses or cold drinks and ice cream.

Marry modern with traditional

Bringing a plate is a distinctly Australian tradition says another expert, while modern entertaining is about relaxed formalities. “I love the formality of traditional entertaining, but I prefer the modern way of eating. Sharing plates is my favourite way to serve food,” the expert says.

When it comes to what sets the Swedes apart, it’s taking pride in their homes, while they still dress up when going to someone's home. So make sure your favourite LBD is ready to go. Pressed for time? Electrolux’s 10kg UltimateCare 900 Front Load Washer comes with a handy Vapour Care program that freshens and gently revives your garments.

Make food the central celebration

The Swedish use any seasonal excuse for a celebration. “I love the strong Swedish identity, reflected in the nature of the various cultural events throughout the year where food is often the centre piece of the celebration like the ‘kraft skiva’ crayfish party,” Says the one expert. Her only rules are this: don’t try to do too many dishes and cook food you are comfortable with.

Don’t think entertaining is only dinner

The earliest memory of my family entertaining is Fika, the most common traditional way to entertain. “I remember enjoying coffee at 11 am with our neighbour, after having spent the morning tending to our animals and foraging in the forest. We’d eat homemade cinnamon buns and biscuits with black coffee in white porcelain cups with saucers,” she says. So don’t limit socialising to after hours.