VOICE OF THE FOUNDERS
The chef Björn Frantzén explains how the idea for Exceptionell Råvara was hatched when he and the journalist Mattias Kroon asked themselves the question: Why is there no Swedish pork or chicken served at the finest restaurants in Sweden? Is it really impossible to raise animals of a good enough quality if there are people willing to pay for it?
Björn sees the project as a plea from the top chefs in the country to producers to join them and develop Sweden into a food country of the highest class.
Björn explains:
– If we are to be honest then the produce hasn’t kept up with the pace as Swedish gastronomy has evolved. I can serve my guests the wonderful French Bresse chickens which I can get, but they can eat this at home in Paris or at the top restaurants around the world. We’ve had guests who have come here to Sweden and become disappointed when they got the same base produce as they got in the rest of the world. That’s not the reason food lovers come to Sweden – they want to taste the best that we can produce. And we chefs want to be able to offer a Swedish dish and produce of the highest quality.
It was from this need that the idea of a collaboration between chefs and farmers was born with the shared goal of developing Swedish produce of exceptional quality.
Björn Frantzén together with Mathias Dahlgren. Photo: Erik Olsson.
Foodjournalist Mattias Kroon. Photo: Erik Olsson.
