“Table for One”, or “Bord för En” is one couple’s answer to how to enjoy a restaurant meal during Coronavirus. At Table for One, solo diners sit alone at a small table in a Swedish meadow. They’re served, without a waiter, via a basket on a rope from the kitchen.
Sweden’s not currently in lockdown during the Coronavirus pandemic. But if you’re self isolating for any reason, you might not want to sit on a restaurant terrace with lots of people. Even where every second table is blocked off.
Table for One – Alone with your nature and your thoughts
Come dream with me. May I transport you to a wide open meadow in beautiful Värmland, 350km from Stockholm. Take a seat as on a Table for One and enjoy a distraction free dinner for one. You will be the only diner that day at this temporary pop up restaurant. Without distracting crowds, all that remains is enjoy your own inner peace, bird song, nature around you and a chef prepared meal. Isolation at its best.
Solo dining with a seasonal, local and vegan menu
A local, seasonal and vegan three course meal will slide over to you via the wheelie system from the restaurant kitchen. To accompany, non-alcoholic drinks prepared by Joel Söderbäck, founder of Stockholm’s cocktail bar Tjoget. Access to ingredients during the Coronavirus outbreak are sometimes unpredictable, but focus remains on what’s seasonal and local. Currently, the menu is:
- Råraka (Swedish style hash brown, smetana, seaweed caviar, wood plucked sorrel)
- Black & Yellow (Yellow carrot-ginger puree, browned hazelnut butter, sweet corn croquettes, serpent root ash)
- Last days of summer (Ginned blueberries, iced buttermilk, viola sugar from our own beets)
Guests leave their dirty dishes in a bowl, which are left there for 6 hours before being washed twice.
The Table for One concept is imagined and realised by couple Rasmus Persson and Linda Karlsson. The idea was born when Karlsson’s elderly parents came to visit. Not wanting to risk the parents’ health, they set up a table outside for them to dine at a safe distance. They have thoughts around the concept possibly expanding “when this is all over”. On their website, there’s currently a call for chefs to “join our international crew”.
Only one guest is served each day, and the couple are not present on stage. “We want to avoid the feeling of being watched while you eat your food. We all are facing difficult times and there are people who have lost their jobs, a loved one or even their mind.”
Name your price
The location and solitude are not the only things making this restaurant concept unique. The price is too. There is no set price. Instead, pay what you can (or presumably, what you think it’s worth if you have the funds to do so). Rasmus and Linda want this restaurant to be accessible to anyone. Whatever financial fate has met them during Coronavirus shouldn’t be a factor in letting them dine at Bord för en – Table for One.
This Swedish pop up restaurant is open 10th May until 1st August 2020.
If you’re wondering where to eat in Sweden right now, this seems a very good bet! To book a table, go to the Bord för En website en.bordforen.com
If my Scandinavia is high on your list of great places to go, then have a look at other related posts like the stress cure in a glass cabin, the golden outdoor community sauna, things to do in Småland and why Finnish people are so happy.
If you want to get close to nature, why not bring nature into your life with some products in the Chalk & Moss shop:
Comments (2)
-
Hej Anna,
Well if Greta Garbo was still with us I suspect this concept would appeal to her. The Italians would make no sense of this idea. For them, food is love, and love is to be shared, discussed, argued and sung. Sharing good food together with good wine and even better conversation is one of life’s great joys.
I love the innovation, sort of, but I really hope it doesn’t catch on. When it comes to food and sharing it, I’m with the Italians.
Best, Richard/
-
Author
In many situations, I completely agree. One of my great joys in life is sharing a meal with dear friends and family. But in these times, I think I’d find immense pleasure in sitting looking out at the beauty eating wonderful food, lovingly and thoughtfully prepared.
-