On Being Swedish-American

I realize that after doing this for many years, I’ve never written a newsletter or made a video explaining my background as a Swedish American in the food space, or really, done any sort of formal introduction. Some of you may have found me during my Food52 days, when I worked in the test kitchen developing recipes and filming content for their socials. Some of you may have found me because of our shared love for Scandinavian food, and some of you while looking for cake recipes. Regardless, if you’re new, welcome–I feel so lucky to have been able to build this community. I couldn’t do this without you.

I’ve had a surprising number of people reach out recently, curious about my background, how I ended up with a niche in Scandinavian cuisine, and whether I speak Swedish. Being on the internet is a funny feeling, because when I get these questions, I’m often surprised that people care to know–which I think is part of why I don’t share much of that information to begin with. But I think it’s exceptionally sweet, and I’d love to give a little more insight into where I come from, what my connection to Scandinavia is, and what’s inspired me throughout my career so far to those of you who are curious!

In their early 20s, my mom–from Växjö, Sweden–met my dad–Italian-American from Guilford, Connecticut–while they were both studying at a glassblowing school in Sweden. They had me in Sweden, but because there weren’t many opportunities for a career in glassblowing there, they eventually moved us to Norway, where they opened a studio with two of their friends. Both of my siblings were born in Norway, and we lived there for about five years. We then moved back to Sweden (to an area called Båstad)–with a very short stint in Burlington, Vermont along the way–and stayed in Båstad until I was about 12, when we moved to Burlington permanently. I grew up there after that, eventually attending the University of Vermont, all while returning to Sweden to visit family at least once (sometimes twice) a year.

I’ve always felt grateful that my parents made such an effort to bring us back, and that my mom never stopped speaking Swedish to us. It helped that my dad had learned Swedish while living there and urged us to continue speaking it primarily at home. I still only speak Swedish to my mom and siblings, and English to my dad. Because he always spoke English to us, we grew up without accents–speaking a funny mix of Swedish, Norwegian, and English when we were little.

Growing up, I spent as much time as I could in the kitchen–though neither of my parents were big cooks, which meant I was mostly left to experiment on my own. My dad has gone through a few obsessive bread-baking phases, and my mom loves to swap in oat flour for pretty much any baking recipe she tries–but most of my early inspiration came from my Swedish grandparents–Bengt and Anna–, my Italian-American grandmother–Joyce–, and food that I ate in different places growing up.

Through time spent with my Swedish grandparents and my memories of food in Norway, I got a really good look at Scandinavian cuisine, culture, and most importantly (to me), the baking style. While Swedish cooking can involve a lot of cream and dairy, I’ve always been drawn to the broader Scandinavian way of eating–lots of fish, small cookies for fika, potatoes, dill, onions, citrus, and overall fairly fresh food. And of course, whipped cream in baked goods. This has translated pretty naturally into how I cook today.

On my dad’s side, my Italian-American grandmother gave me a small glimpse into a very different culinary world. She made a delicious lasagna and always got lots of seafood for Christmas, but most of my memories are of her baking endless Italian cookies and bringing home fancy pastries from the Italian bakery in New Haven. She bought me all my first cake decorating kits, and it was in her kitchen that I found my love for making cakes.

While most of my cooking and baking today is inspired by my Scandinavian roots, I feel lucky to have been introduced to two very different food cultures growing up. My hope is that if you stick around, you’ll learn more about Scandinavian cuisine and culture as a whole. I also love hearing from others who have some kind of connection to Scandinavia–whether it was a quick visit or you have a distant relative–so if that’s you, I’d love to hear from you. In the meantime, thank you again so much for being here. I can’t wait to bring you more new and delicious (and maybe some nostalgic) recipes!

Nea