Michelin-starred chef  Mathias Dahlgren cooks for the Culinary Academy of Sweden international food writer delegation 2011. The excitement is palpable. Grace Fitzgerald, CAS blogger thinks: “OMG. I am sitting beside Mathias Dahlgren. Look normal. Look normal“. Either that, or she has just spotted some food again.

Crayfish parties are not for the faint hearted. “There’s a lot of sucking and squeezing involved” says our guide Pernilla Nordström.

“Some bakers want exact recipes, but I go with my feeling for it” — Dan Brouwer of Järna Vedugns Bageri.

Östermalma slott in Sörmland; an oasis of Swedish countryside calm and beauty. We are on day 3 of the CAS gastronomic adventures programme. My elasticated pants are in the suitcase and today, we are hitting Sörmland with gusto.

It is approaching 6.30 p.m. on Day 2 of the CAS program. After an entire day of eating, I have just walked my stomach back to my abode for a quick rest after our last pit stop at the Hilton for cocktails and a visit to the bees. Yes, that’s right. Bees. They live on the patio and make honey for the guests. Very service minded apparently. But more of that later. Here is the update on lunch at Gubbhyllan yesterday.

This is not a time to think about GI diets. This is Swedish fika-time!

Came for love, stayed for the food …