As one of Sweden’s most prominent chefs, Ronge is now the host of a new American TV series called People of the North. Visiting people that live and work up here, the show also takes part of the food culture as well as surfing, skiing, iceboating, and more. To offer picky customers something extra, she creates personal set menus for them together with the venture Truestory, focusing on sustainability and blue food. As the culinary director of TAK Stockholm — a huge Nordic/Japanese restaurant at the heart of the Swedish capital which will also open in Oslo September 1, at the rooftop of brand new art deco hotel Hotel Sommerro at Frogner — she’s responsible for the restaurant concept, menus, and the sustainability work. The latter includes taking part in a recent project, developed by the Swedish Axfoundation and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, called 5 tonnes of green fish.
Farmed fish is normally raised on feed which mainly consists of imported soy and wild-caught fish. This fish is often caught and transported as a fish feed from different parts of the world to the place of cultivation. The mentioned project’s idea was that our food should preferably not eat our food and that wild-caught fish could instead be used as food for humans without taking the detour through the fish feed.
After three years of research, the university and Axfoundation were able to bring a green, locally produced rainbow trout to the market. It’s been bred on a circular fish feed where the raw materials are almost exclusively produced in Sweden and not so attractive to use for other ways of consumption. For instance, a main ingredient in the feed is insects, which, in turn, have eaten organic waste in the form of shells, kernels, and bread scraps from the food industry that would otherwise have been discarded. Additionally, the circular fish feed contributes to reduced eutrophication, which is good for the waters. Four tonnes of the green rainbow trout were produced and TAK Stockholm was one of four restaurants serving the fish, as a Sashimi with wasabi and ponzu.
— Hopefully, I can be a part of new technologies for farming food for our future, Ronge says. The green rainbow trout was amazing — the texture and taste were perfect! — and I hope that we all can enjoy this type of protein anytime soon. These kinds of projects are crucial for humanity if we want to continue eating fish in the future.
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