The chef Jacob Whitson, a River Cottage alumnus, has designed foodie tours that journey through Sweden’s abundant Värmland region. Robbie Hodges reports

There’s much overlap between British and Swedish culinary history, providing you know where to look for it. Having lived in Sweden for the past decade, the British chef Jacob Whitson has it all mapped out and is inviting curious travellers along for the ride on a series of intimate tours arranged by Secret Sweden.

Whitson cut his teeth as a chef at the River Cottage in Devon, a restaurant known for pioneering what then became a global shift towards organic, seasonally focused fine dining.

Attendees can expect this same spirit to percolate through the tours, which will draw upon Whitson’s extensive network of hunters, anglers and growers scattered around Sweden’s Värmland region.
Known to some as "the Lake District" of Sweden and others as the "Original Sweden", the region has acres of deep forest and over 10,000 lakes – a wealth of natural resources that have shaped its rich food culture over centuries.

With Whitson as their guide, guests will try such delicacies such as "kalvdans", a creamy delicacy made using a cow’s first milk, and get the chance to taste smelts, a small fragrant fish that swarms its lakes.More than simply taste the foods, guests will be expected to roll up their sleeves and help to source the raw ingredients from nature directly, too. Sweden’s Allemansrätten, The Right of Public Access (which roughly translates as "every man’s right") means visitors will not only be able to fish and forage but encouraged.

As guests walk and canoe through Sweden's lakes and valleys, wicker basket or fishing net in tow, Whitson will bring his passion for food history to the fore – relaying cultural anecdotes and highlighting the synchronicities between Swedish and British traditions.For Whitson, it’s about time Värmland land’s secret bounty is brought to the attention of global travellers. “I first came to Sweden in 2009 and was immediately captivated by its forests, lakes, wildlife, and incredible produce,” he says.

“Many of the ingredients we cook with daily in Sweden would be considered rare delicacies in the UK or simply unavailable. Sweden has so much to offer, but its best-kept secrets lie just beneath the surface. My greatest joy is revealing this ‘Secret Sweden’ to others.”
The tours will make the most of Sweden’s summer bounty by running from July to October 2025.