I think we are spoilt for food in London and it is one of the things I enjoy a lot about my city of choice. We have the best cuisine in the world of everything and the markets and shops follow the needs of these. There are fresh supplies from all over the world arriving every day. London is truly a multicultural hotpot, from Michelin stars to granny’s kitchen.
Also it is no problem to shop for your specific food specification either, it being kosher, vegan, organic, halal and even Scandinavian cravings. London got it!
SHOPPING IN SWEDEN
And I have to admit that my heart sank when I was faced with the Swedish supermarket for the first time, after buying the summerhouse. At home in London, I get all my groceries delivered to the door and they are all organic. But here I was looking at huge vacuum packed portions, half dead organic vegetables and very very sad looking bread. There was a lot of organic choices though, however it was as if taste had been compromised for the organic claim. And I knew I would have to put some effort into finding the good food that I knew had to be around in this beautiful country side.
SALTÅ KVARN
And the first place I was lead to by friends was Saltå Kvarn, and I was told to go there for the best bread in the world. Apparently it had a reputation of being a little like a sect, but their bread was amazing. So I went there, and their bread was indeed amazing. Turns out they are not a sect though, they are just growing and refining foods after the bio dynamic philosophy. And they also have the best juice, super nice rice, great pasta and any grain under the sun you could desire, sold under their own brand. All of which became a Sweden diet stable straight away, and still is. I have been shopping there for the last 4 years. And now, many of their products are also being stocked in the supermarkets.
This year when I went for the first initial summer-stock-up shop, then I also noticed a difference in the place: It was absolutely packed!
First I noticed the parking spaces were full, and once I got inside the shop I saw all the people shopping there. It is a tiny shop, but it had gone from serving the occasional hippie buying a nice loaf to trendy mums and middle aged women filling 2 bags up with their goods. I was stunned, and it made me really happy too!
It is so nice to see this little corner of the world thrive so well, without compromising what they stand for.
A SUCCESS STORY
I have been told that they started out in a very humble way and was directed to this specific piece land with their ambitions as it seemed be irrelevant for industrial use. And now it has slowly but steadily grown to be a whole community including the shop/ bakery/ cafe, a bio dynamic farmers college, a Steiner/ Waldorf school teachers college, an anthroposophical health clinic and of course the people living there. It is indeed a very friendly place on earth.
The nearby town has also received a small boost from this thriving community and they have a well stocked health food shop and a small pharmacy for natural medicine, for which I am very grateful.
It is indeed a very inspired place to live close to and it is easy to see why the Prince of Wales and his Duchess chose to visit exactly this place last year on their Scandinavia tour. It is special!
Have a nice day,
Mettex
To see more, follow the links below:
SALTÅ KVARN
JÄRNA ANTHROPOSOPHICAL INFO
Mette the homeopath 