A new duo will be cooking for the laureates at the 2024 Nobel Prize banquet. At the Nobel Foundation’s press conference today, Jessie Sommarström and Frida Bäcke are talking about why it is important to choose the right ingredients and about the role of food for the climate and public health.

Jessie Sommarström will be responsible for preparing the first course and main course at this year’s banquet. Her food philosophy is about combining sustainability and health. She wants more people to understand the connection between our food choices and the challenges the world is facing. She wants this to be reflected both in institutional meals and at prestigious events such as a Nobel Prize banquet. 

“Food is one of the great issues of our time,” says Jessie Sommarström, referring to the fact that the food system is a significant source of global emissions and has a major impact on the climate. “What we put on our plates affects not only the environment, but also public health. As a chef, I want to show that it is possible to cook good food responsibly.” 

One of the components of this year’s main course is cultured porridge made from Swedish grain. With this, Jessie wants to highlight the importance of whole grains and show that it is possible to create a banquet menu based on ingredients that almost everyone can afford. 

“Lack of whole grains is a major cause of poor health in Sweden,” says Jessie Sommarström. “We all need to eat a lot more whole grains to feel good. They are nutritious, tasty and filling.” 

Frida Bäcke is in charge of this year’s banquet dessert. One of the ingredients is apples.

“Apples are a fantastic ingredient, not least because they are among the few Swedish ingredients that are in season all year round,” says Frida Bäcke. “In 2024 we have also had a really good apple year, which makes them an especially great choice.”

Growing up in Dalarna province, Frida Bäcke learned to make use of what is in nature. She wants to safeguard what is nearby ‒ both what we can pick and what grows in the forest, especially to ensure that the next generation will gain that knowledge.

“I see the banquet dessert as an opportunity to highlight what grows wild in nature, in the hope that more and more of us will cherish it and want to spend time there,” she says.

There will not only be food during the evening. Beverages will also be served with the various courses.

“The beverages served with the banquet menu go hand in hand with the meal,” says Ulrika Karlsson, who is one of the Nobel Foundation’s gastronomic advisors and has an advisory role connected to the choice of beverages at the Nobel Prize banquet. “There is a focus on sustainability and craftsmanship when the beverages are selected ‒ which is also true in 2024. This year’s wines feel very exciting, with a high standard and quality.”

Jessie on Frida “Frida Bäcke is one of Sweden’s most prominent pastry chefs, a master of her craft, unpretentious and always generous with her knowledge. Being able to create the Nobel Prize banquet together with her feels both safe and inspiring ‒ right from the day that I was asked to serve as the chef, I was hoping that she would be the pastry chef.”

Frida on Jessie “Jessie is something of an idol for me. I greatly admire her drive in wanting to create a change, and in how she uses her expertise as a chef for something bigger. She fights for what is important, and I am very happy to be able to create this banquet along with her.”

The menu and all ingredients will not be revealed until all guests have sat down at their table at 19:00 CET on 10 December.

Jessie Sommarström was adopted from India and grew up in Vaxholm, outside Stockholm. In 2022, she was named Sweden’s Chef of the Year. She later received the gold medal of the Swedish Gastronomic Academy and was named Woman of the Year in Sweden’s hospitality industry. In 2024, she received an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Social Sciences at Umeå University. She has worked in restaurants such as Sturehof and Esperanto. Today, she is the head of food services at Sodexo AB. She has also hosted Swedish Radio P1’s “Summer” programme. 

Frida Bäcke grew up in Västerby outside Hedemora. She has been head pastry chef at restaurants such as Franzén and AIRA. For five years she was a member of the Swedish National Culinary Team, and she has competed in both the World Championships and the Culinary Olympics. For three years in a row, Frida has been named Sweden’s Pastry Chef of the Pastry Chefs. Last year Socker Sucker, the Stockholm patisserie which she runs together with her colleague Bedros Kabranian, was also named Pastry Shop of the Pastry Chefs.

Longer interview:
https://www.nobelprize.org/ceremony/banquet-chefs-2024/

Detailed media material for the week can be found here: https://www.nobelprize.org/press-documents-for-media/

More information

The Nobel Prize
Since 1901, the Nobel Prize has been awarded 621 times to 1,000 laureates. Because some have been awarded the prize twice, a total of 965 individuals and 27 organisations have received a Nobel Prize or the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.

The Nobel Prize banquet
The approximately 60 tables in the Blue Hall of Stockholm City Hall will use about 800 meters of linen tablecloth, and the meticulous table setting will include about 9,240 pieces of porcelain, 5,230 glasses and 9,240 items of cutlery. During the evening, a total of about 40 chefs and 190 servers will be working.

The Nobel Foundation’s gastronomic advisors
The banquet menu has been developed in close collaboration with the Nobel Foundation’s gastronomic advisors: Fredrik Eriksson of Långbro Värdshus and Restaurant Nationalmuseum; Ulrika Karlsson of Krakas Krog; and Gert Klötzke, Professor of Gastronomy at Umeå University. Fredrik Eriksson and Ulrika Karlsson are creative leaders at Restaurangakademien.

Guided tours of the kitchen
On 7 and 8 December, there will be an opportunity to visit the chef and pastry chef in the City Hall’s banquet kitchen. For more information about this, please contact: Maria Torén, Head of Marketing & Communications, Stadshusrestauranger, maria.toren@massrestauranger.se