To Örebro University

Midsommar förknippas för många med sill, färskpotatis och ett glas iskal l snaps. Själv är jag verkligen en förespråkare för tradition, samtidigt som jag gillar gastronomisk utveckling. Så vad händer om vi byter ut det traditionsenliga mot något oväntat, som till exempel svenskt vin och svensk kaviar?

This narrative review explores the sommelier's role in contemporary gastronomy, focusing on how sensory training, aesthetic judgment, and interactive performance shape their expertise in high-end restaurant settings. Drawing on literature from gastronomy, cultural sociology, practice theory, and sensory science, this paper explores the sommelier's craft through three analytical lenses: embodied knowledge, aesthetic labour, and cultural mediation. I argue that sommeliers operate as cultural intermediaries who translate sensory knowledge into taste experiences through bodily practice, narrative performance, and symbolic judgment. Particular attention is given to food and wine pairing, a site where aesthetic legitimacy, cultural capital, and sensory logic intersect. The review highlights how sommelier practices are shaped by tradition and training, yet constantly renegotiated in light of sustainability concerns, technological innovation, and shifting consumer expectations. This synthesis offers new insights into the complexity of gastronomic professionalism and calls for greater interdisciplinary engagement with sommellerie as an evolving field of aesthetic, ethical, and embodied knowledge.

Sri Lanka är känt för sitt fantastiska kök. Under min tre veckor långa resa över jul och nyår blev jag gång på gång imponerad av de intensiva smakerna i curryrätterna och de kreativa användningarna av lokala råvaror.

This research article explores the socio-cultural dynamics of tea consumption in society and focus on how the marketing of "fika" (a Swedish intangible cultural heritage generally including coffee, pastries and socializing) can be enhanced by highlighting tea as a central and appealing beverage. Using an interdisciplinary approach encompassing cultural, health-related, and marketing aspects, the aim is to examine stereotypes, taste preferences, and marketing strategies associated with tea and coffee drinkers.

We analyze how tea, often associated with healthy and well-being attributes, can be positioned as an attractive alternative within the fika culture, where Swedish fika serves as a crucial context and cultural framework. Furthermore, we explore the possibility of marketing tea as an exclusive drink and emphasize the ritualistic and experiential aspects of tea consumption to further enhance the community-based and tradition-rich concept of Swedish fika.

This study suggests that incorporating tea into Swedish fika culture can be a catalyst to broaden the marketing of fika and attract a diverse range of consumer segments. By emphasizing sustainability and ethical considerations in tea production, opportunities are created to appeal to the growing group of conscious consumers and strengthen the connection between Swedish fika and global sustainability initiatives.

In conclusion, the article highlights how marketing strategies that consider these differences and integrate tea as part of the Swedish fika concept can contribute to preserving and developing the Swedish fika concept as an important intangible cultural heritage. Increased awareness of tea as a healthy and versatile beverage can also extend to other meals, promoting overall healthier beverage consumption. This opens opportunities for innovation and diversification within the beverage category, playing a crucial role in fostering public health in the long run.

In this chapter, the authors conceptualise the Swedish concept of fika in terms of a historically rooted, cultural meal practice encompassing specific values. The mundane but multi-faceted practice enables the exploration of a meal centred around social gathering and food composition. The authors also suggest that research into fika presents an opportunity to develop Culinary Arts and Meal Science by contributing to new scientific collaborations. By providing a “case” which, like the full gastronomic meal, can be looked at in relation to health and sustainability, financial soundness, internationalisation, branding, design, and other topics, the practice of fika is well worth investigating.

Forskning visar att hela situationen runt måltiden spelar roll för gästens upplevelse. Därför lär sig våra studenter också om estetisk gestaltning. Det innebär att vi aktivt arbetar med att höja kvaliteten på dina mat- och dryckesupplevelser genom design och närvaro i presentationer.

Ett nytt år är som en blank sida i en kokbok. I stället för de vanliga nyårslöftena som oftast rinner ut i sanden vill jag inspirera dig till ett gott nytt år fyllt av nya smaker och hälsosamma val.

The restaurant industry is currently experiencing a shift in taste judgements. Practices and discourses on taste are communicated and expressed in contexts where food enthusiasts meet, resulting in a complex debate about the production and consumption of “good and bad” taste. This study aims to explore the intricate dynamics that shape the performances of dining room professionals in contemporary restaurants. Based on autoethnographic fieldwork at two restaurants in Sweden, this study uses cultural taste and dramaturgical theory to understand the social processes in restaurant culture. The results demonstrate how dining room work is organized within an unstructured environment through organic service, aesthetical framing, and self-representation. Based on these findings, the article argues that the interplay between the restaurant’s ambiance and the self holds value in shaping specific hipster hospitality. For instance, this is achieved through the blurred line between frontstage and backstage. This study contributes to the understanding of the changing role of work in contemporary restaurant culture, in which a less pronounced distinction between private and public, and between formal and informal service are some of the elements.