We have just finished one of the most fun periods in our restaurant at home. The time when we have the great honor of having Norbert Lang as a guest chef in the kitchen. Norbert is a regular guest in our kitchen, in the fall he offers autumnal food with truffles in everything and in the spring he does the same with asparagus. For those of you who missed the experience this time, here is a summary of what an evening with Norbert in our home can be like.

Norbert starts the evening by explaining, in his very characteristic and amazing way, that he was "seduced by the black tuber - the truffle" when it was first discovered on Gotland, which was not long ago. He continues to tell us about the person who discovered that there were large quantities of truffles on Gotland. It was Christina Wedén, a researcher and teacher of pharmacognosy – the study of natural products, in Uppsala. It was as late as 1997 that the discovery of Gotland's abundance of truffles was made, although truffles had been found a few times before in Sweden. I think I heard Norbert say that truffles have been around for over 5000 years in Sweden.

Food for gods and quotes from ancient Greeks

After Christina made the discovery of the Gotland truffle, she and Norbert got to know each other well and even wrote a book together; Truffles, food for gods, boys and pigs . So when it comes to truffles, Norbert knows very well what he is talking about, and during the evening he shares facts, quotes and jokes about truffles. Among other things, Norbert quotes Aristotle who is said to have said "Truffles are a gift from the goddess Aphrodite. Why is that? Because it stimulates the human desires."

In a class of its own

Norbert Lang is a nestor in Swedish cooking, and a long-time mentor of mine. He has revolutionized the Swedish restaurant world and food, so it is as much an honor to have him in my kitchen as it is a pleasure for our guests. During the evenings that he was in the kitchen in our restaurant at Tranholmen, we cooked, among other things, tartare with truffle mayonnaise and truffle vinaigrette, foie gras mousse with truffle and cauliflower and mussel soup with a hint of truffle.

It is what it is in the restaurant in our home

Even though we've been doing this together for a few years, it's just the way it is in our house - it is what it is, which is exactly how we like it. So before the appetizer, we of course forget to present the food and the guests got the presentation after they finished eating. But then they also had time to guess the ingredients in the food. As usual, the noise level is high and many parties are talking over the tables. I inform and remind the guests that they are eating in a home that cares about the environment, so it is important to keep the cutlery when old plates are set out while the next dish is being prepared.

A big part of having Norbert visiting, is that I can focus even more on the wines when I get help with the food. This time I have found a Slovenian white wine that I think is really good, it is 100% Malvasia and has a slightly different flavor, which goes fantastically well with Norbert's starter, the cauliflower and mussel soup flavored with truffles and topped with caviar.

The noblest of truffles

There are three different types of truffles, Norbert informs our guests; false, real and noble truffles. It is of course the noble truffle we serve, the Gotland black truffle is just that, of the Bourgogne variety. However, the noblest of all noble truffles is unfortunately not our Gotland truffle, the king of truffles is the white truffle, also known as the Alba truffle because the largest amount of white truffles are found in the Alba area in Italy. The queen of truffles is the black truffle, mainly the Perigord truffle, which grows mainly in the south of France.

But back to the noble truffle of Gotland, which is not found by truffle pigs - the way most people have heard of. The Gotland truffle is only found with the help of truffle dogs. And not just anyone is allowed to look for truffles, the right of public access does not apply to what is underground, Norbert explains during the evening. "So don't buy those truffle packages with a mask, map and trunk that are sold on the Gotland ferries," he jokes.

Truffle in everything - just as it should be

We serve a red Syrah wine with the reindeer tartar, and of course I am in the middle of serving the food when Norbert asks me to present the wine the guests are drinking. I shout from one corner of the kitchen that "it's a Spanish wine, very good". I hope everyone heard me. During the evening I was asked if there are truffles in everything, my answer was "You bet there are!". Norbert even gets the truffle into the dessert's brownie with nougat, in an elegant way.

Crazy fucking good

Towards the end of the evening, I overhear a guest say that the food is "Crazy fucking good", while sitting with his eyes closed and chewing. I would say that it is a sign of a successful evening. Though, I had not expected anything else when Norbert Lang is standing in my kitchen at home.

An evening with Norbert Lang and truffles