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SWEDE OF THE WEEK

CHEF

‘It’d be strange if I wasn’t nervous’: royal chef

The Swedish Royal Court has announced that Stefano Catenacci will be cooking for the royal family at Princess Madeleine's wedding this summer. The Swedish Chef is on the menu as The Local's Swede of the Week.

'It'd be strange if I wasn't nervous': royal chef

Chef Catenacci will be writing the menu and acting as restaurateur for the reception Drottningholm Palace in Stockholm following the June wedding of Princess Madeleine and her financier fiancé Chris O’Neil.

But it’s not the first time the Swede will be cooking for royal appetites – he was head chef at Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel’s wedding in 2010 – and guests shouldn’t expect the same dishes this time around.

“Yes, it won’t be the same food, but I can’t tell you any more, unfortunately. But it will be something different,” he told the Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) after the announcement on Tuesday.

He did hint, however, that the ingredients would be Swedish, just like last time.

The chef has a colourful background in kitchens across Europe, with stints in Milan, Paris, and Brussels leading to his employment at the Operakällaren restaurant in Stockholm, where he has cooked since 1996.

Since 1961, Operakällaren has been responsible for the food at official dinners, gala banquets and other dinners hosted by the royal family.

Catenacci boasts a string of accolades to his name, including most recently finishing second at Kockarnas Kamp last year. He was also elected by his peers as the Chef of the Chefs in 2000.

But work in the kitchen was more of a lifestyle for the Swede before he took up the job professionally.

“I was very young when I decided to follow in the footsteps of my father. When I was 14 years old I began to work as a cook in my parents’ Italian restaurant in Stockholm, the Caina,” Catenacci wrote on Operakällaren’s official website.

“At that time we were only three persons working in that restaurant… my parents and myself. There has never been any alternative profession in my mind ever since.”

In terms of the royal spotlight, Catenacci explains that the June wedding will showcase typically Swedish food.

“The tradition is to honour the country itself, you really want to show what the country’s got. It’s important. All eyes will be on us so we’ll have to really show off what’s on offer,” he told SvD.

The chef will be in charge of over 50 other chefs, cooking for a hall full of diners, all the while trying to keep one step ahead of the guests.

“There’s a lot that can go wrong but the guests can never know. It can always go wrong when you’re cooking such big meals. But you always need a backup plan and this case is no exception,” he said.

And despite his considerable experience, the chef admitted a few butterflies were already doing the rounds in his stomach.

“You’re obviously always a little nervous when you’re doing these kinds of events. It would be strange and quite insensitive if I wasn’t nervous,” he said.

Editor’s Note: The Local’s Swede of the week is someone in the news who – for good or ill – has revealed something interesting about the country. Being selected as Swede of the Week is not necessarily an endorsement.

SEE ALSO: A list of The Local’s past Swedes of the Week

Oliver Gee

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WORKING IN SWEDEN

Swedish Royal Guards scrap ceremonial helmets over safety concerns

The King’s mounted Royal Guards will no longer be able to wear their iconic ceremonial helmets on parades, after the Swedish Work Environment Authority warned of serious safety concerns.

Swedish Royal Guards scrap ceremonial helmets over safety concerns

“We take the safety of our employees extremely seriously and we are going to address this immediately,” colonel Stefan Nacksten, head of the Royal Guards, wrote in a statement. 

Employed by the Armed Forces, the Royal Guards are the King’s cavalry and infantry units and are a well-known sight at ceremonies in Sweden, including at the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace of Stockholm every day in summer – a popular spectacle for Stockholmers and tourists alike.

The helmets will no longer be used by Royal Guards on horseback from July 7th, as they do not conform to safety standards for riding helmets, although guards parading on foot will still be permitted to wear them.

They are part of the 1895 parade uniforms and were last modified in 2000. The Armed Forces will now create an entirely new helmet which looks the part, but is also safe for riding.

“We’re working on finding an alternative solution as quickly as possible which meets safety requirements and can also be used during parades,” Nacksten said.

“We’ve been working long-term with this issue but now that it has been assessed [by the Swedish Work Environment Authority] we need to take measures immediately,” he added.

“This is good, and now we’re working to make sure something good comes out of this and we can get a safe riding helmet for parades in place as soon as possible.”

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