Local of the week - Dan Stenqvist in Malmö

The Barista and Coffee Roaster Dan Stenqvist is a dedicated coffee fanatic who changed a career in economics and professional tennis for a job working with coffee. You can find him at one of Malmö’s most famous coffee bars, Solde Kaffebar. Together with the owners, Jonas Westesson and Johan Carlström, he runs Solde Microrosteri where the perfect roasting profile is created. 

Hi Dan! What is the coffee culture in Malmö like at the moment?

Well, the same things are happing here as in London, the coffee culture is advancing as more and more coffee micro roasting companies start up.
What’s great here in Malmö is that we now have a lot of younger, independent and hungry Baristas who work at a lot of different places. One of these is Felix Mulder who’s a student in Lund and works at Kaffebaren Möllan and Djäknegatans Kaffebar. They young Baristas run these guerrilla Barista competitions in the evenings, having a few beers, pour in a bit of milk and just hang out. What’s also great is the proximity to Copenhagen and the ease of exchanging skills and knowledge with the Baristas there.

Which coffee micro roasting companies have started here in Skåne?

There are quite a few, Solde, Lilla kafferosteriet, Love coffee Lund, Koppi kafferosteri i Helsingborg, Sandby kafferosteri in Södra Sandby.

What is your best cup of coffee?

The simple espresso after a good lunch. Or just a normal cup of filter coffee after a long bike ride. The company you’re in makes the coffee though, there’s no need to over analyse your coffee.

What do you enjoy the most about your job?

It’s varied, as a Barista you get the tempo of working in a bar during the day. It’s fascinating to meet so many people in such a short time and to be able to deliver a fantastic experience with a good lunch. Then of course to make the coffee, to grind it and extract it – that’s exciting. Coffee is a living product and behaves differently every day. As we roast our own coffee it gives it an extra dimension, you really want it to taste good and it’s even more fun to serve your own coffee.

What are your favourite things to do in Malmö?

Cyckling around town
In the summer we’re a gang from the coffee bar who will cycle on our racing bikes from S:t Knut’s square and over the fields at Videdals. Great fun!

Ribersborgs Strandpromenad.
This is Malmö from its best side! I enjoy summer evenings here. Then I go to Ribersborg and just sit on a bench, watching all the people cycling, rollerblading and jogging past. You can then walk back in to town to get a good view over Västra Hamnen. Great if there is a nice sunset.

Stapelbäddsparken

I don’t skate myself but I love walking past to watch all the good skateboarders. Young kids who are remarkably good at skateboarding, and some of them are there with their dads too. Dad-skateboarding is big in Malmö!

Local of the week - Johanna Ritscher, Malmö

If you see the coolest chic with the largest earrings and the most funky shirt it’s probably Johanna Ritscher. A DJ and Art Director who will give you beats from hiphop, electro, tropical, baile funk and, if she’s in the mood, dubstep.

Johanna plays in the DJ-duo Collabo Queens, is nominated in the category “chickest” by a Swedish fashion magazine and performs with the artist Gnucci. In the beginning of June you’ll have the chance to dance to her beats in New York.

What going on at the club scene in Malmö?

The club scene in Malmö was at its peak during the 2000s. Before then it was like a blank canvas. During this time it was an incredibly open and creative environment where music, art, politics and anything else existed together as there were no rules to follow. We pushed boundaries and got spoiled by world famous artists and new artist coming to Malmö every other week.

Now that this era is coming to an end and we have established rules and traditions, I look forward to a renaissance where a new generation rebels.

Keep an eye out for some genius musicians here in Malmö, such as Gnucci, Spoek, Farkas and Joelito to mention a few.

What is your best clubbing experience?

I have some great memories from The Rumble but I’ve also done some fantastic gigs at Klaffbron’s summer deck. An old favourite is NERD’s after party at WOW a few years ago when the party almost exploded with sweat, sex and dancing.

Johanna, you’re always the coolest looking. What would you wear if you’re going clubbing in Malmö and where to you find the best shops?

I often buy clothes online, while travelling or inherit or get given stuff from friends who make clothes. Malmö has loads of flea markets and vintage shops where I go on Saturdays if I have the day off, anything from Chic, Myrorna, Öppna hjärtat to Drottningtorget. I also love spending money in the Hi on Life shop.

Great thanks! So where would we normally find you in Malmö?

Here in Malmö we are very into our coffee. There are a few places I go to as often as possible; Kaffebaren, Lilla Kafferosteriet and Solde. You will also definitely find me at a good gig, a play or at the opera.

The Swedest Thing – The Swedish Chef of course!

 

But the guy from the Muppet Show is not our only Swedish chef. Sweden is full of brilliant chefs and this week a whole bunch of award winning chefs will head to London for a blind date with Britain’s coolest food bloggers! You can follow all the action on Twitter under #SweDishDate

The chefs are all previous winners of the Swedish Chef of the Year competition and they will come to London to cook delicious and innovative food from different parts of Sweden.

Check out the bloggers’ own blogs below to see how they get on during their Swedish Blind Date.

Will it be love at first taste?

MissMarmiteLover, http://marmitelover.blogspot.se/ @msmarmitelover

The London Foodie http://www.thelondonfoodie.co.uk/ @thelondonfoodie

Tamarind and Thyme http://tamarindandthyme.wordpress.com/ @sulineats

Cook Sister http://www.cooksister.com/ @cooksisterblog

Local of the week - Malmö

He is the most well dressed man in Malmo, he have given name to a jeans collection and is vice president at the new office building for the media people of Malmö, Media evolution city. Magnus Thure Nilsson.

Hi Magnus, what are your 4 favourite places in Malmö? 

Outside the espresso bar Noir. It’s lot of people and movement going on and still Noir outside seating is a bit kept away from everything. 

The Corner Ystadsgatan/Claesgatan and all the incredible people there. This is a place at Möllan where all areas and cultures of Malmö meet and it’s hard to find anything like this in any other small city in the world. Old ladies in fur next to someone in Indian religious clothing beside a girl with dreads. Lovely.

Restaurant Bastard - you always feel welcome here, whether you want to eat, have a glass of white wine in the bar by yourself, or stay all night with friends. And it’s a very mixed crowd. I love the place.

Västra Hamnen - They have a wonderful boardwalk and it’s like Möllan. The whole world is coming here and makes the area human. 

Great thanks! What are your 4 favourite shopping places?

Bryggans bakery - In the new area Dockan, by the sea, there is a bakery with the best cardamom buns in town. More sugar, butter and cardamom than any other place.

Rolf shoemaker - The only really well stocked place to buy shoes in Malmö for men. They have good socks to! I have heard that there is another really good place for shoes opening up in the mall Caroli city as well.

Davidhallsgatan - On this street you have Popolino, Tjallamalla, A place, Spirit stores and more. Around the corner you have the shop Svensson (where you can buy the jeans ”Magnus Thure”) and woops you have emptied your wallet and your wardrobe is a bit happier.