“I opened Skogen Kitchen after being inspired by the wonderful bakeries in Sweden selling beautiful home-made pastries called bullar –heavily scented with cinnamon or cardamom.
“I always wanted to make these from scratch, baking them each morning to fill the café with the warm cosy smells of home-baking and spice. Over the last two years they have become our favourite product with sales going from just 12 a day to over 60!
“Our buns are a perfect match for a good cup of coffee and epitomise the feeling of Fika. This Swedish word means ‘to take time out of your day, slow down and enjoy coffee and a little something to eat whilst catching up with a friend’.
I know first–hand how important these moments are, for people to connect with each other, or take a quiet moment on their own to feel nourished and cared for.
After we closed the café down for COVID-19, I took a couple of weeks off and began to think more and more about the power of this bun.
“It didn’t take long before I was yearning to bake them again and so I started offering them to friends in my village. Fast forward a week or two and I’m back at Skogen baking huge batches of buns and delivering them all around Oxford twice weekly.
“I really wanted to offer something to the NHS frontline staff and have also donated a large quantity each week to the Oxford Hospitals – I think they liked them too!
“When I knock on a door and leave the buns, I always stand well back to make sure they are picked up. To see the delight on faces or curiosity when they have been gifted has been so heart-warming. Follow-up messages of thanks have shown what these simple buns have meant during the strangest of times.
“What’s next for Skogen? We will be open again for takeaway in the next week or so, once I have made the necessary changes for safe working and customer interaction.
“We will initially open from Tuesday to Saturday to see how it goes. I’ll be excited to bring back a couple of our furloughed staff, who can help me make and bake all those buns. I don’t expect things will be returning to normal for a long time but while we still can, we will continue to bake and share the wonderful concept of Fika.
“My favourite quote of all time is “eat today for tomorrow you may diet”. Carpe Diem indeed!”
Buns can be ordered on-line for home delivery within the Oxford ring road or collection from Skogen at www.skogen.kitchen
