Scandinavian food: Why is it becoming popular in the UK?

02:25, 27 February 2012

LONDON. February 27. KAZINFORM Swedish food sales in the UK have risen by almost 30% in the past five years, with Norway and Denmark also reporting an increase in exports destined for our dining tables. So why is Scandinavian cuisine getting so popular here?

It began with the warm, creamy, cut-price meatballs designed to fuel flat-pack furniture fans seeking a break from the aisles of Ikea. But over the past few years Scandinavian cuisine has been spreading beyond Britain's retail parks and creeping into supermarkets and restaurants, BBC News reports.

The latest figures from government agency Statistics Sweden indicate that Swedish food and drink sales in the UK were worth almost £290m in 2010. Norway measures its performance in weight, with about 127,000 tonnes exported here in 2011, a rise of 18% since 2006.

Last January, food trends agency the Food People tipped Scandinavian food as the "hottest UK culinary trend of 2011".

Since then UK retailers Waitrose and John Lewis have been trying out Scandinavian speciality products, from crispbreads to speciality cheeses and lingonberry jam.

Marks and Spencer has launched a range of Swedish cinnamon buns. Danish Chef Christoffer Hruskova's London restaurant, North Road, has been awarded a Michelin star.

"There are two sides to food from the region," says Scandinavian-born Mark Ruby, who runs KRO - a budget-friendly chain of Danish restaurants in locations across Manchester and Cheshire.

For full version go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17156175

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