Welcome Fellow food fighters and advocates of gastronomy!

Charlotta Ranert, project manager of Stockholm – European Capital of Gastronomy held this speech at the inauguration dinner at Stockholm City Hall:

Last autumn I was in Dublin where I met this English couple in their thirties in a pub. They told me they had been to Stockholm for the first time that July. They explained they’d wanted to visit for the city for its scenery, galleries, and the Abba museum of course.
But they told me the thing they would remember most… was the food.

They’d expected to enjoy Swedish classics like pickled herring and Swedish Fika and modern Nordic Food of course. But what they found was a global gastronomic hub. A place that celebrates food and gastronomy from around the world. And in a way that reflects Sweden’s outward looking, and welcoming national character.”

Looking out on all of you today, chatting away, sitting close, networking and enjoying each other’s company fills me with immense joy. That's because you are the people who have made so many moments like this happen. Stockholm is one of the world’s most sustainable cities. It is a city with a strong emphasis on health, work-life balance, and social equality.

It is thanks to you - our city’s chefs, restaurants, and food entrepreneurs - that Stockholm boasts an attractive, innovative food scene benefitting locals and visitors alike.

Tonight you have been invited to a wonderful celebration of Stockholm’s gastronomic excellence. You are also invited to be part of Stockholm’s gastronomic future.

As together we use our year as European Capital of Gastronomy to establish our city as one of the world’s great gastronomic destinations. Not only this year. But next year and for many years to come. You can all be part of that legacy by participating for free.And I also hope many of you here today will help us turn Stockholm's year as European Capital of Gastronomy into an investment.

When you support our organisation as a Partner you will play a vital role in establishing a lasting legacy for Stockholm and its gastronomy long into the future.

I'd like to take this moment to challenge you. To challenge you to innovate. To co-create. To collaborate. And to fill this year to the brim with sustainable, innovative gastronomic experiences and conversations.

To share what you are doing, we have a created a platform called capital of gastronomy where we showcase all of you. At the heart of the platform is a gastronomic calendar that we will market and communicate, home and abroad.
The platform capitalofgastronomy.se already includes lots of activities like festivals, pop up’s, conferences, jubilees, activities around public food, gin makers dinners, talks, food walks, brewery tours, urban farm visits … you name it.

Your challenge is to send thousands of happy people back to their homes around Sweden and the world, saying... "do you remember that incredible food experience we had in Stockholm". Just like that English couple I met, in an Irish pub.
Their memories and enthusiasm... will be Stockholm's greatest advertisement.

I hope you you want to play a part. Or indeed… become a partner, towards that legacy. We will be reaching out to you over the next few weeks and months and we would love to hear from you too”.