Foodstock is a food festival that was organised at Fjäderholmarna this weekend. We visited the festival on Sunday, and had a nice summer day in the sun with interesting food experiences.
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Foodstock on Fjäderholmarna
Our friends Lennart and Beata invited us to Foodstock at Fjäderholmarna last Sunday. Good with friends who take fun initiatives! Food festival focused on Nordic food culture and craftsmanship, bringing several world-renowned chefs to the small Stockholm island.
The festival is described in the brochure as 'the first edition of the Foodstock gastronomy festival', which means there may be plans for more festivals in the coming years. "We like both food and festivals, and the combination with a beautiful archipelago island is perfect. It was a nice event in many ways, but we also have comments on the event that we summarise at the end of the post.
By ferry to Fjäderholmarna
We started Sunday with a lovely boat trip by archipelago ferry to Fjäderholmarna. On the way there we took the ferry from Slussen (Fjäderholmslinjen), and on the way home we took the ferry to Nybrokajen (Strömma).
Once we arrived at Fjäderholmarna, we sat down for a first beer in the summer heat. Wonderful!
Cosy on Fjäderholmarna
Fjäderholmarna is really cosy, and when you come here you wonder why you don't visit the island more often. It only takes 20 minutes by ferry and there are several nice eateries on the island, such as Rökeriet.
Great festival atmosphere at Foodstock
Now there was also a food festival on the island. We must say that there was a really nice atmosphere at Foodstock on Fjäderholmarna. Several tents had been set up and beer and various small dishes were served all around. Chill music was playing everywhere, giving a relaxed festival feeling.
Food experiences at Foodstock
The tents were densely packed and there were plenty of different flavours to choose from, ranging from vegan dishes to Japanese quail eggs. Most dishes were priced at 48 SEK, and in most cases you had to pay with special vouchers (three were included in the ticket and more could be bought in the harbour, in booklets of three).
The best tasting portion we had was a Sami reindeer blood pancake with chanterelles. Vanishingly good indeed! Among other things, we also tried a pizza slice with root vegetables and air-dried ham at "Bistromarknaden" and a herring burger at Fjäderholmarnas krog (which also cost 48 kronor but had to be paid with money instead of a voucher).
Arts and crafts
You could also check out Nordic crafts and art, such as knives, blacksmithing and jewellery. We talked for quite some time with a woman from the company reindeer skullwho talked about how the small Swedish family business reaches out to restaurants with its craftsmanship, but also to customers in the US and Asia, including through Instagram.
Meeting with the organiser
We accidentally bumped into the organiser Niklas Ekstedt, who is known as a chef and TV presenter. How nice!
Praise and criticism of the festival
We had a great day at Foodstock on Fjäderholmarna with our friends. We really like organising festivals and we have already told you about all the positive experiences in connection with Foodstock. Here is also feedback to the organisers about things that we did not experience as completely positive, in case the festival should be organised again:
- Price did not feel entirely comfortable. We paid SEK 500 per person for the ticket, which included a boat trip (SEK 150) and three tasting portions (3 x SEK 48). What you got for the remaining 200 kronor was unclear to us. Probably you paid to get into the area, but it felt double, like paying to get to a stand where you can pay. Some workshops were organised "for people who are really interested in food or industry colleagues", but these required pre-booking.
- The concept of flavour tickets was a bit tricky. They were valid in many eateries (and you couldn't pay with cash/card) while in other places you could only could buy with cash/card. It was difficult to judge how many tickets to save and when we ran out of vouchers at the end of the day and wanted to buy a final portion, it became tricky. The food place didn't take cash/card and the places that sold vouchers (only in booklets of three...) were not nearby.
Fluid check on the way home
Anyway, it was a nice Sunday outing, and on the way home the gentlemen were still so "thirsty" that they had to check their fluids in the cosy hotel bar at the Bank Hotel on Arsenalgatan. Anyone else who visited Foodstock on Fjäderholmarna this weekend? Please tell us!
Britt-Marie Lundgren says:
In Skövde, their food festival celebrated its 30th anniversary this weekend. We were a long way from there, but according to the newspapers it was a real success. Of course, it's a bit different there because there are activities throughout the centre and all the restaurants and businesses are involved. Anyway, you buy a festival booklet with 4 coupons for 210 SEK. Loose vouchers can be purchased.
The booklet also contains a number of discounts in shops that can be used during the autumn.
"Entry" to Fjäderholmarna also sounds a bit cool to us!
03 September 2019 - 8:22
Helena says:
Interesting! Yes, I think the voucher system could be made a bit simpler! But I should perhaps clarify that it was not entry to the whole island but to certain parts of the island with specific food stalls and beer tents, where you needed a wristband to enter.
03 September 2019 - 8:28
Ditte says:
We visit Fjäderholmarna a few times every summer but I think it's sad that the prices to get out there are so high... We usually eat at Rökeriet, Fjäderholmarnas krog or Röda villan. Was not out here and is not directly so fond of these "food festivals" Now I like to sit down at a table and preferably be served. Had friends who were out here at the "food festival" and their views were in line with yours.
03 September 2019 - 11:44
Helena says:
You are good at getting away! For us, it's been several years since we were last on Fjäderholmarna, although it's quite close.
05 September 2019 - 6:56
Ama de casa says:
Like the name - Foodstock, clever! 😀 In Skellefteå they had for several years the Trästocksfestivalen, also a fun name. But I think it is closed now?
It is so heavenly nice out there on Fjäderholmarna 🙂 .
03 September 2019 - 19:41
Helena says:
Agreed, good name indeed!
05 September 2019 - 6:56
BP says:
The idea is brilliant, but I think the price is horrible. Not only five hundred kronor, but also 48 kronor for these tiny tapas, not to mention the whole system. In addition, the beer and schnapps also cost a (big) penny, so oh well. So an ordinary "mortal" with a family probably won't make it to the festival. But maybe the organiser only wants the "elite" as guests. Festivals are always cool (and the name Foodstock is really clever, but as you say, you have to think about it a bit.
03 September 2019 - 21:11
Helena says:
Yes, it was an expensive day! In addition to the 48 kronor for the small dishes, you paid 200 kronor to "go in", which means that the dishes were actually even more expensive ...
05 September 2019 - 6:58
Towe Ahlin says:
I read this post after the festival and got a bit of a stomach ache. Saturday seems to have been terrible luck you went on Sunday ? https://thatsup.se/blog/stockholmandme/2019/09/foodstock-2019-eller-den-totala-bristen-pa-sjalvra/
05 September 2019 - 6:09
Helena says:
Wow! Yes, we were there on Sunday and that was probably lucky. We didn't run out of food or anything like that, although we grumbled about the prices and the "system". But I heard some rumours about that on Saturday. Sounds really bad when you read the post you link to!
05 September 2019 - 7:01