Three things I didn’t expect from my trip to Sweden

Hej hej from rainy København!

Hej hej from rainy Copenhagen! I got in this afternoon after a successful visit to Belo’s Swedish Hot Dogs, a long awaited korvbar (aka a “sausage stand” or what we know as a “hot dog stand”) in Malmö that I’ve been following on Instagram. I specifically visited Malmö to go to this stand, but there was no guarantee that they’d be out in the park that day. I took a five hour train from Stockholm that arrived at 3pm and the stand would close between 3-4pm that afternoon. I am *always* cutting it extremely close with my schedule, trying to pack in as much as humanly possible in a short period of time. So no surprise here, I hadn’t left much time to get to the actual stand from the train station. I figured there would be an Uber within a few minutes and I would get there in 15 minutes - easy! 

Of course, the closest Uber was 18 minutes away (!), no taxis in sight, and the hot dog stand was a 25 minute walk through the city center and then through the actual park (which had dirt paths). I channeled my inner Kezia Wong (IYKYK) and put my game face on and started my jog to the hot dog stand, complete with a roller suitcase, a severely over packed duffle bag, and a somewhat sturdy but on it’s last leg reusable bag stuffed to the brim with Swedish hard bread and glass bottles of Swedish mustard. I’m sure it was quite a sight to see and it reminded me of when I sprinted down my street in San Francisco carrying a croquembouche on a plate trying to find my car before I missed my Barry’s class. Why am I this way? 

Sweden was an absolutely incredible trip. It was the first time I visited since I started Chef Hej Hej and experiencing everything through a different food lens was really fun. I had some memorable moments with my family, including dinner at Bar Agrikultur with my Aunt Anna and her friends, a (early) crayfish party with the whole crew, a special dinner at AIRA with my Aunt Karin, rooftop drinks with my cousin Anders and Hanna, and plenty of hot dogs. 

There were three things that did happen on this trip that I didn’t expect, so I thought I’d share! 

I doubted Chef Hej Hej multiple times  

I always tell myself not to “day trade” with emotions aka I try to analyze an experience at the end of it vs throughout the entire process. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t feel the emotions, but don’t take them and run off with them right away. I thought I would come to Sweden, sample a lot of hot dogs, share my concept with everyone and I would feel excited, eager, and inspired. These things did happen, but I also felt many waves of doubt. I talked about my Swedish hot dogs to strangers and was met with confusion and a little concern for how this would generate revenue and be sustainable. I don’t know that I am doing a good job of explaining my vision or where I see this going (do I even know?). I also felt like a little bit of an outsider in a place that is such a part of me, but that I still have so much to learn about. Needless to say, it was a little overwhelming! But I had a little cry and another hot dog and I decided to just keep doing what I’m doing. Don’t overthink it. If you’re starting anything - a new business, a new chapter of life, a new hobby or job - I think you are doing a great job and you’re very brave! 

I loved traveling alone 

Before this trip, I had taken many flights to Sweden on my own, only to be picked up at the airport to be with friends and family for my entire stay. This was the first time I had about 50% of my trip solo and it was a surprisingly nice balance. I love being with my friends and family, I’m extremely social and I’ve never set out to do a trip by myself anywhere. Obviously it helps that Sweden is a super safe country and I generally know my way around, but going to dinner alone is an amazing thing. If you haven’t tried it yet, you have to!  

There is no such thing as a “Swedish Hot Dog”

This one is funny because I realized I had probably coined this term along the way in reference to what I had created for my pop ups vs what it’s actually called in Sweden. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter, because I did create a “Swedish hot dog”, but it’s inspired by the traditional Swedish dish “tunnbrödsrulle”, which is a wrap filled with a hot dog, shrimp salad, mashed potatoes, pickled things, a mixed salad, and ketchup and mustard. I put these toppings in a hot dog bun vs the wrap, but it’s a similar concept, although I’ve been wanting to sell the wrap version at a pop up soon. It took me a couple of days, but after explaining my “Swedish Hot Dog” business to many confused Swedes, I finally realized I was saying it wrong. I sell a twist on tunnbrödsrulle where it’s on a hot dog bun vs in a wrap - and bam! We’re all excited. 

Thanks for reading as always - hope you have a nice Sunday 🍓

Amelia