Skagen, the delicious and creamy seafood dish that has been around for six decades, but where does it come from? Surely it must be Danish you think, because, well Skagen is in Denmark, right? Yes, the name does indeed refer to the Danish port town, but despite that, Skagen as a dish is relatively unknown in Denmark and it doesn’t have a Danish origin like the name suggests. It is actually the legendary Swedish chef Tore Wretman, the man behind some of the most famous restaurants in Sweden, who is the inventor of this delicious dish loved by Norwegians and Swedes.
Skagenröra refers to the creamy spread and Toast Skagen refers to the spread on top of a piece of bread, toasted or fried in butter. Tore is the inventor of both and although Tore sadly has passed, Skagen lives on!
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Tore came up with the idea in 1956 when he was taking part in the sailing competition “Skagen runt”. Suddenly the wind disappeared and with that also the chances of winning. The crew was extremely disappointed and Tore decided he needed to cheer them up. Tore being a chef knew that the best way to cheer anyone up is with food. He used the ingredients he could find on the boat which were: eggs, oil, shrimp, dill and lemon. He mixed it all together and voila- the Skagenröra was invented. He then toasted some bread and put some fresh roe on top and served it to the crew members. They all curiously sat down to enjoy this new dish and asked: “Well Tore, what do you call this little delicacy?”. Tore looked across the ocean, and in the horizon he saw the outline of Jutland's northern tip. He then replied in a whim: “Men kära hjärtanes, det här är ju en typisk Toast Skagen!” ("Oh dear! It's a typical Toast Skagen!") and with that he had unknowingly created what would later become one of the most popular starters in Sweden- Toast Skagen.
However, as with any good story, there's a second version. The second version of the origin of Skagen claims that the boat with Tore Wretman was actually outside Smögen when Tore was asked about the name of the dish and that he actually said "Toast Smögen!" but the crew heard him wrong, so it became Skagen. No matter which version is the truth, we are very happy this delicious dish was invented. It's a dish that is at the very core of Swedish dining. Thank you, Tore!