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‘What I love about Sweden is they say things straight, which isn’t the case in many other countries’

The Local speaks to Francois Mauraisin, who after an eventful life in France and the UK is now bringing colour to squares across Sweden with his international markets.

Published: 27 March 2017 06:59 CEST

'What I love about Sweden is they say things straight, which isn't the case in many other countries'

Francois Mauraisin runs International Street Markets in Sweden. Photo: Francois Mauraisin

Francois Mauraisin's story has more twists than a Nordic noir novel, and doing it justice isn't a straightforward endeavour. Born in Paris, after finishing school he went to work in London at the UK's first three Michelin star restaurant, starting at the bottom of the ladder in waiting and working his way up.

“I was one of the only ones getting on well with the waiters and the kitchen staff, which is unusual,” he recalls.

A meeting with millionaire nightclub owner Lennie Bloom led him to switch jobs and become a cocktail barman – which included working at the private party for the launch of Pink Floyd's 1982 The Wall. Pretty soon he was running a restaurant, and everything was going well, until…

“The French army called me to do national service! I complained that they were asking me to close my business and put people out in order to join up. They answered straight away by sending me straight to a semi-disciplinary camp in Germany,” he chuckles.

Disruption became opportunity however. Mauraisin was put in charge of catering for the international troops and excelled to the degree he was asked to stay on once his service was over (he politely declined). After leaving, a car crash almost cost him both of his eyes and put him out of action for two years, but thankfully he soon met his wife and went into business supplying clothing for yachts in Cannes. Sir Alex Ferguson for example has him to thank for the clothing worn by his yacht captain at the time.

“We then moved to Paris and I accepted an interview with Groupe Geraud markets. My father had been involved in markets before and they'd always asked me to come in. They were happy and they wanted me to join the company,” he recalls.

Mauraisin in Sweden. Photo: Francois Mauraisin

But what about Sweden, you may ask? Little did the Frenchman know that the decision to get involved in street markets would change the course of his life and eventually result in him moving to the Nordic country.

It's all thanks to him deciding to focus on international street markets. The idea was born when he was running markets in Manchester's Moss Side in the 1990s, an area which was struggling with social problems at the time. Shifting the focus of the markets to a more continental feel brought success, and they eventually spread to other cities in the UK including Glasgow and Aberdeen, the latter of which won an award for best speciality market.

“I was contacted by Gunnar Ericson from Malmö Stad (The City of Malmö). They were looking for something to help the city centre, which was suffering from the establishment of big shopping centres outside town, dragging people away and impacting footfall. They contacted me and asked me to come and do a presentation, which I did.”

“At the end of the presentation they said 'Francois, what do you need?'. 'I need the best,' I replied. 'Ok, you have it!' So I had the best location right away. Then Stockholm said they wanted it at Sergels Torg, and it spread,” he adds.

One of the markets in Linköping. Photo: Francois Mauraisin

Between 2008 and 2012 he ran the International Street Markets across Sweden while still being based in Liverpool. After doing it for almost a decade now, he feels the markets have helped to bring some life back to smaller Swedish towns left behind by urbanization:

“These events we deliver refuel a lot of cities. It can’t be 12 months a year in most areas, but it helps with unemployment. The next step is to develop those squares that are dead most of the time now in Sweden.”

“We also have specific targeted markets, like in Södertälje (a town south of Stockholm with a large Assyrian community) and some areas of Stockholm where we have ethnic markets. They’re like the ones in the suburbs of Paris, where there's a real mix of people. It's fantastic. That’s what I want to achieve here in Sweden as well,” he adds.

The experience of working in Sweden was so positive that eventually Mauraisin pushed to move there permanently in 2012. Initially, his employer had reservations.

“I told my bosses at the time 'I need to go to Sweden'. They weren't convinced and said it wouldn't work. I pushed and they had to accept. They were very happy afterwards,” he laughs.

His theory is that many people in the UK have the wrong image of the Nordic nation:

“When I first told people in the UK we were going to Sweden they thought 'hang on, it's an iceberg up there'. They don't really have a correct image of Sweden and think it's always cold. But I've always been a traveller. I like to mix with different people and nationalities, and I knew Sweden was the only step to grow. I was also very attracted by Scandinavian countries and a bit fed up of living in Liverpool.”

Francois in Luleå, northern Sweden. Photo: Francis Mauraisin

The success of the markets in Sweden suggest the Frenchman was right to push to move. “The first time we did it in Falun, they couldn't believe it,” he reveals. “People jumped on it like crazy. In Lund for example you'll hear customers say 'this week we’re not cooking. We'll have paella one night, langos another'. We focus on details, quality, and give respect to people, smile. That’s why it works.”

It hasn't all been straightforward though. One of the big challenges is not being able to offer card payment because many of the people running stalls at the markets are international traders from outside the country – an annoyance in Sweden, where society is increasingly cash free.

“The main problem is the banks. Because the stalls are foreign traders they can't open bank accounts in Sweden, which means they can't take card, and that's a major problem. Or if we take card, people have to pay a 10-15 kronor charge due to the exchange rate and what the foreign banks take,” he bemoans.

“For the public it's not a major issue though. Sometimes the ATMs empty so we always have to ring ahead to make the banks aware we're coming.”

Another bugbear, though minor, was being targeted by some angry activists on Facebook:

“We've got 13,000 followers and are rated at 4.3 (out of five). We were at 4.7 or 4.8 but had some problems with vegan people in Stockholm, who hammered us with one star ratings!”

“We have vegetarian options on every stall, but they were protesting with pictures of people eating meat. I was really annoyed.”

A market in Luleå. Photo: Francois Mauraisin

The businessman stresses that these are small grievances though, and from the way he speaks about Sweden, it's clear that his view is his adopted home compares positively to the other countries he has lived in.

“What I love about Sweden is they say things straight. Maybe it isn't as easy to make friends, but at least you don't have someone putting an arm on your back one minute, then stabbing you in the back as soon as it can benefit them. You don't find that so much, there's respect. I also think the politicians show that through example, which isn’t the case in the UK, France and many other countries,” he notes.

The Swedish style of education is another thing he admires, something he has had a chance to see at both ends of the spectrum, having some kids in school and others in university.

“In France you need to be able to read by 'x' age, but here in Sweden they say 'no, first they need to be taught to respect each other and grow. And be close to nature'. That's perfect.”

“I have two of my kids, 20 and 21, at uni here too. Once they had done their A levels (secondary school exams), I gave them a kick up the arse, sent one out to Australia with a nice backpack. He toured there for eight months then I called him back as soon as Malmö University agreed to take him. He's learning English literature and Swedish at Malmö university, he’s very very happy.”

“The other did his A levels and we kicked him towards Tahiti in French Polynesia where he attended uni. As soon as he knew he was being taken on by Jönköping University he stopped uni in Tahiti, travelled around all the Polynesian islands, then came back here. A bit of a difference in temperature!”

Linköping, southern Sweden. Photo: Francois Mauraisin

The results of going to university in Sweden have been positive according to the content dad. It has also changed their eating habits (and not yet led to any angry reviews on Facebook that he knows of):

“They were kids before, drinking alcohol, eating too much occasionally. Now they don't drink and they're both vegetarians! Focusing on learning, enjoying it very much, and when they go back to France they stay for three days, see some of their peers and think 'my god, what is this?' and can't wait to come back. It's great.”

Mauraisin has one change he would like to make himself meanwhile: learning the Swedish language. That hasn't happened so far because of how busy he has been with work, he explains, and also because it has in some ways been beneficial to his work with international food not to.

“I'm often on radio and it’s always much better for the kind of international event we do here to have a broken French-English accent, which is a little more exotic. My consultants have told me not to learn. But I think it would be respectful to do so.”

“My daughter was born in Liverpool and was at school there then moved here. She speaks fluent Swedish but never wants to do it in front of us! So if the teacher talks to her and we're there she doesn't answer. It's silly, but she’s totally Swedish. When there's a game on, France against Sweden, she supports Sweden. My little boy who is four doesn't care, he speaks Swedish, and my wife learned it at SFI. So I'm the only one! I'll get there,” he promises.

Along with being determined to learn Swedish, Mauraisin has decided he wants to go one step further and fully commit to becoming a Swede.

“I'll apply for nationality next month. I'll die here!” he emphasizes.

Content with his life in Sweden, his advice for others is to do what both he and his children have done and try new cultures and countries.

“I think if people don't feel that great in their country and don't think they can achieve something, they need to travel. Travelling opens doors. Languages open doors. Meeting people opens doors. That's the best way to do it,” he concludes.

How to grow your own fruits and vegetables in Sweden

Know your growing zone

Sweden is split into eight different growing zones, known as växtzoner in Swedish, with one being the mildest zone in the far south of the country and eight being the harshest, in the far north.

The easiest way to figure out which zone you live in is to search your address on a digital growing zone chart like this one from the Swedish Garden Association.

There are two “bonus” zones too, which you’re unlikely to see on plant labels: zone zero, which refers to extra mild conditions in zone one, like a sheltered south-facing garden or the climate inside an unheated greenhouse, and the fjällzon or zone nine, which is found in mountain regions.

Lots of fruit trees can handle snow, for example, but not all of them will survive the winters in harsher, colder zones.

“Apple trees or fruit trees will survive snow,” British gardener and cider maker John Taylor, known for presenting Swedish gardening show Trädgårdstider (Garden Times), told The Local.

“You can grow all kinds of apples, pears, plums, cherries, we can grow edible quince in southern Sweden, so there’s a bunch of fruit trees which will survive, but it depends what rootstock they’re on – that’s called grundstam in Swedish,” he explained.

“There’s one rootstock called B9 that survives down to minus 40, because it’s from Russia, then there’s another called M106, and that probably doesn’t want to live in the depths of Norrland.”

Buy plants local to you

An easy way to make sure the plant you’re planning on buying is going to survive in your zone is by sourcing it from a local plant nursery or garden centre, as they won’t sell plants that can’t handle the local climate.

“There’s a nursery in the north of Sweden and Finland called Blomkvists, they sell lots of fruit varieties which will survive up there,” Taylor said. “You can grow pretty much anything you want up there, just as we can [in Skåne, southern Sweden], but it will be different varieties that taste different and will survive the frost.”

You won’t be able to grow Mediterranean fruits like lemons or oranges in Sweden unless you bring them inside during the winter, although you should be able to grow peaches or nectarines in most of the country.

“The further up in the country you go, the further north you are or the further away from the coast, the harsher the climate becomes, so you might need to have them on a south-facing wall or in a greenhouse,” Taylor said.

Think outside the box

Although the growing season in Sweden may be shorter than it is further south, there are still a number of crops from warmer climates that do surprisingly well.

“People don’t really grow cucumbers outside here, I don’t think they realise that you can actually grow them outside,” Taylor said. “Tomatoes, too. You don’t need a greenhouse, you just stick them in the ground, they’re basically a weed – you’ll get so many you won’t know what to do with them.”

Sweetcorn, for example, performs well in a Swedish climate, Taylor said, although Swedes more often grow it as a feed crop for pigs.

You can also test things by trying to build a microclimate so you can grow things that are one or even two growing zones away from yours. Usually this is done by providing shelter from the wind and the weather using fences, hedges or by planting near buildings, as well as providing protection during the winter.

And if you’re pushed for space, look into companion planting, where you can grow multiple plants which complement each other in the same space.

One example of this is the “three sisters”: corn, climbing beans (or peas), and squash. The corn provides a support for the beans or peas, which anchor the corn in high winds while fixing nitrogen in the soil, while the squash’s large leaves provide shade for the soil, preventing it from drying out.

Don’t be put off just because you don’t have any outside space

Thinking outside the box applies to balconies too.

“If you’re in a built-up area, you will get reflected light from other buildings, so even if you’re on an east-facing balcony, you should be able to grow a lot of stuff. North is a bit more tricky, but east and west are probably better than south as you’re not getting hammered by the sun all day,” Taylor said.

You should be able to grow things like tomatoes, cucumbers and flowers, but it’s important to get hold of good soil and replenish it each year, so your plants have enough nutrients.

“Anybody with a balcony can grow pretty much the same that you can in a garden, you just have to get the soil up there and you always have to fertilise, the soil becomes nutrient deficient after one season.”

“But if you’re prepared to get the soil up on your balcony you can grow anything, even fruit trees. They will be smaller and stunted, and won’t give as much fruit – I’ve done it myself – so don’t see it as an obstacle, see it as a possibility.”

Kale and tomatoes growing on a balcony. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT

Take inspiration from Swedish growers

Thinking outside the box doesn’t mean that you should completely ignore what all your Swedish neighbours are doing. If you’re not sure what to plant in your garden or what fruit and veg you should try to grow, take a look at what other people who live near you are growing.

You might also come across some crops you’ve never tried before which work well in a Swedish climate, like Alpine strawberries (smultron), honeyberries (blåbärstry), wild garlic (ramslök) or sea buckthorn (havtorn).

This doesn’t just apply to varieties, but also where you plant them in your garden. Some crops need full sun, some work best in shade, and others, like asparagus, can grow tall and cast a shadow over your garden.

“You want a south-facing location for all fruit, and berries – check out what your neighbours are doing,” Taylor said.

If you don’t want tall plants to cast a shadow over other crops, see if you can plant them at the northernmost edge of your garden, while making sure that sun and soil conditions are still optimal. Blueberries, for example, need acidic soil to thrive, meaning you will probably need to amend your soil if planting in the ground, or even plant them in containers.

Think about what you want to do with your harvest

This may seem obvious, but it’s important to plant what you like to eat, too. If you hate the aniseedy, licorice-y taste of fennel, why bother growing it?

You should also choose the variety of crop based on what you’re going to use it for. Do you want to make pickles with your cucumbers, or are you going to eat them on salads? Do you want cherry tomatoes for snacking on, or big beef tomatoes for making sauces?

“Think ‘what am I going to do with my harvest’,” Taylor said. “Am I going to juice it? Am I going to preserve it? Am I going to make cider with it, for example?”

Apples, for example, can range from sweet eating apples to tart cooking apples, so make sure you do your research before you commit to buying an apple tree. Most varieties exist in English-speaking countries, so you should be able to search the name of the variety online and find some information in a language you understand, if you don’t speak Swedish.

“Patience is a virtue,” he added. “A lot of fruit trees are going to take two or three years, or even more, to give a harvest. So you have to have patience.”

Learn to deal with the Swedish weather

Many areas of Sweden along the coast or in the south of the country can get windy, which you’ll have to learn to deal with.

“How to deal with the wind? You can’t,” Taylor said. “We cannot affect this, we are powerless.”

“What you have to do is plant them in areas where there’s less wind, usually behind large buildings.”

Some plants simply won’t survive the wind, so either you plant them close to buildings, protect them, or accept that you’re restricted in what you can grow.

Make sure to provide supports for crops which will grow tall, like sunflowers, peas, beans and sweetcorn, and tie these down well or bury them deep in the ground, so summer storms can’t blow them away.

Listen to the full interview with John Taylor in The Local’s Sweden in Focus Extra podcast for Membership+ subscribers. Out on Wednesday, May 8th.

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