The adventurous
pastry chef

Chocolate Expert, World Champion, Master Pastry Chef, author of best-selling books on ice cream, chocolate, bread, cakes, pastries and desserts and the man behind Göteborgs Pour Bon bakery and café concept – when it comes to satisfying those of us with a sweet tooth, Jan Hedh is a man of many talents. Jan took time from his busy pre-Christmas schedule to share a few thoughts and secrets with us. And if you give in easily to sweet temptation - we suggest you stop reading now!

Jan – when did you develop this sweet tooth that’s led you to where you are today?
– I guess it goes back to when I was quite young – about 14 years old. My father liked to visit nice restaurants so I was exposed to fine dining from an early age. Also, my older brother had a job that involved travelling so he was always bring me back exotic treats from his travels. These things probably fired my imagination!

So where do you look for inspiration now?
– My career has taken me to Switzerland, where I studied at one of the world’s best bakery and pastry schools, to Italy, France, Spain. All these places have inspired me, but for me, France is the place for baking, pastries, cakes and chocolate making. When it comes to creativity, presentation and of course, taste, the patisseries there are simply the best in the world. I worked for a time as a pastry chef on ocean going liners too, which was an extremely rewarding experience. Not many people can say they’ve had the opportunity to create chocolate and sugar sculptures on the QE2!

You’ve had an international career – how does this express itself at the moment?
– Amongst many projects, we have Peter’s Yard in Edinburgh – a bakery and café that’s introducing the Swedish tradition of ‘fika’ (coffee pause) to Scotland. Through my bakery, Olof Viktors Bageri in Glemminge, we sell delicious, high quality jam, marmalade and ice cream to iconic stores such as Fortnum & Masons and Harrods. We’ve even catered for the Swedish embassy in London when they’re holding prestigious diplomatic events.

The produce you supply from Olof Viktors Bageri sounds interesting.
– Yes – our watchword there is quality and I think the stores where you’ll find our produce show we’ve succeeded. There are absolutely no artificial flavourings or colourings in any of our produce. We only use the best ingredients available – no exceptions!

Let’s talk chocolate – or more specifically, the Porcelana cocoa bean.
– The Porcelana cocoa bean can be considered as the ‘Mother’ of all cocoa beans, in that it is the source of many other types. We source ours from Mexico, roast them ourselves then use them to create chocolate with a 75% cocoa content. Porcelana beans produce a chocolate with a lighter tone and an extremely agreeable flavour. Try it – you won’t be disappointed.

Christmas is approaching – what does this mean in your business?
– Christmas is without doubt our busiest time of the year. People like to treat their friends, families and themselves to sweet things more than ever over the holiday season. Right now, we’re at full speed preparing marzipan, nougat, pralines as well as our other products. And of course, Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without traditional Swedish pepparkakor (ginger biscuits) – here in Sweden, we can’t seem to get enough of those!

Why not visit PourBon while you’re in Göteborg? You’ll find it at Korsgatan 13, right in the heart of the city centre.

2011-11-18