As you might know I lived and worked in Singapore for almost 2 years and loved every minute of it and so did my girls who managed to fly over on several occasions to spend some quality time with me there.
Omg how we all miss that wonderful apartment and the pool area where we spent relaxing days, how can we not miss this place.
Moving to the other side of the world takes some curiosity and friends who can support when times get tough and I can't thank all of them enough for this crazy adventure, fun times and special friendship bonds that will last us forever, always grateful for what that city showed me and I learned so much great things and discover asian culture and understanding so much better, Singapore you rock!!
I was thrilled to be invited to the technical college in Beijing to do some masterclasses for the students who has chosen the western cooking style program, what a great experience for me but for sure to the students as well, supermany photographers on site to shoot everything and at first little difficult and some language barriers but we managed to overcome all thanks to Tong, one of the professors who did her schooling at CIA in CA.
I did a 8 course dinner western style and some extra dishes all in 3 days there, I also told them the story about Remy the rat in the movie Ratatouille, no matter who you are and what you are you can learn to cook and become somebody, I actually told them my own story all in 3 hours, damn!! I should write a book!! anyone want to help me?
I love and dedicate my life to share knowledge to younger and eager cooks who dreams and want to sacrifice everything to learn and I am more than honored to assist in any way i can, Sharing is Caring.
Where to start, my time in Singapore was a great experience in diversity of people, city life, and foremost all the amazing food that you can find just about everywhere, from 3 Michelin stars to the whole hawker culture, to explain hawker for you is something like this, take 50+ food stalls in one spot and add chairs and tables in the middle and choose whatever you like to eat, easy affordable and delicious, I was lucky to have local friend who showed me around to their favourite places very frequently, and this is one of many things that I miss about Singapore food scene, be brave and try everything, life is to short to miss out on things.
oyster omelet, Bak chor mee, clay pot rice grilled stingray and I can go on forever.....
One thing that have been on my bucket list for many years is to visit Ankor Wat in Cambodia, I was always intrigued as a youngster for that special place and now I have finally made my dream come true, I must say that this place left me speechless, what a amazing place to visit with a vibe of ancient times combined with Tomb Raider, a true Indiana Jones feeling around it and the best thing is the guide!! you must have a guide and a private car rental to drive you around the area (HUGE) don't be stupid and try to bike around if you are not superfit, will take you forever.
When walking around you feel humble for all the people who lived there centuries ago and the hard labour to build all the temples and all the carvings made by hand and all is different,
If you have a chance make sure to visit the temples and stay in Siam Reap for some extra days, great hospitality and good food, Stay at Ankor Palace resort & SpA hotel, great relaxing place and super helpful staff.
all people who knows me also know that I am not a traditional religious person, don't believe in Jesus, Allah or other manmade figures who made people suffer for centuries, but I do believe in universal powers that can change our faith and that cosmos is something special and can make miracles, but still I have some religious tattoos from Christian,Vikings, Celtic and decided to do some to honor Buddhist as well.
The story is actually little crazy but I advised one of my friends before I went to Thailand about my ideas and it ended up that I spent a whole day with a Buddhist munk to understand more about his religion and his beliefs, extremely cool guy and very laid back and told me his life story and did a blessing tattoo on me with a sharp bamboo stick and some greasy ink... pain? not at all, he was chanting something the whole time and this maybe made a difference, I really cant tell but its still there and I will meet him again next time I go to Thailand.
This is something that you must visit if you get a chance, feels like James Bond is around and you just wait for the shooting and motorcycle racing over the rooftops and boat chasing to start :-)
It can at some points be crowded but rent your own boat so that you don't have to follow other peoples every bloody stop to do this and that, OHH look honey let's stop and try some hats for 30 minutes!!!
Its a bit of a drive outside Bangkok but well worth it, bit of pricy especially if alone but hey...be your own boss and enjoy the ride.
Traveling restrictions right now is putting all of us down a bit so I try to stay travel positive and to look back on travels I did pre covid and Thailand and Bangkok is one of the most amazing places to visit especially if you happend to have friends living there and can show you around to all the amazing sites and not least the Thai food that I just can't get enough of eating, so yummy and spicy.
one of this friends is Swedish/Thai Kenneth who I know thru his brother Gunnar who also lives in Thailand with his wife and daughter, Kenneth is the coolest guy and knows the best in every aspect, food, bars, music places so not to waste precious time in the city, thank you again for a most exciting days bro.
Luckily enough taking a trip from Singapore to BKK is a short flight and excellent way to spend a weekend there and visit Sombat, another one of my friends who knows all the historic and religious sites in BKK and always takes me to new places so to discover more and more, fascinating and interesting guy.
I sure hope to catch up with them soon again, I miss my dirt cheap and delicious food.
Please, tell us a little bit about your first encounter with wine & the wine industry? Any particular mentors at that time? What specific traits or skills should a Sommelier(e) possess for professional performance and is there any person with that qualities you especially admire within the wine industry? What would be your advice to a young Sommelier(e) i.e. Commis Sommelier(e) where to look finding an adequate position at home or abroad? Any further tips?
I started to understand the power of wine when I found a mentor in cooking who forced me to learn food & wine pairing at an very early stage and from that on it have been my leading star thru all my years in the culinary industry so my advice to all young sommeliers is to remember what customers want from you and that is a good advice on wine to their food so put focus on learning from the best. Remember to travel a lot and to visit colleagues around the world to see how they operate so you can learn more from it.
Active:
When a customer asks for advice on selecting wine what’s in your opinion would be the best approach?
The best way and approach in this case is to ask what preferences they have and also what kind of wine they appreciate at home and after that make a suggestion that would make them interested of trying something new but in that same style.
Are you working with well known brands or are you considering new brands as well and how do you determine?
I work with the best known brands of glassware and I find them the best and easy to replace.
What advice would you give people on pairing wine with food? Should a Sommelier(e) taste the guest’s wine?
Giving people advice on food & wine is easy, I do not make it to complicated 🙂 and I think that the sommelier should taste the wine if the smell seems off or other strange thing occur.
Where would you suggest a young Sommelier start searching for Sommelier positions on the internet in your country?
To find a sommelier position in the Nordic countries is easy and everybody knows everybody – be positive and socialise.
Wine list:
What are the key ingredients for creating a wine list for a restaurant and what is your opinion on some ridiculous pricing on wine in restaurants, do you have tips on how to determine markups?
To create a wine list is all about to find the best match with the chefs food a with some interesting choices and some well known labels that some of your customers recognise, all people are not adventures and the like to go safe sometimes, the markup on wines should reflect the establishment and also the size of inventory, a reasonable pricing is beneficial for everybody.
How do you manage to stay on top of the changes in the wine industry?
I try to stay on top by visiting winemakers and wine areas of the world, you learn so much by just listening to good winemakers.
How would a new vineyard get the attention of someone like you to notice their wine and what’s the best way for producers to improve their chances of being listed?
I love new wine areas and are very open to changes as long the wines are well made.
Favourite pick:
If you were a wine, which variety would you be, and why? What are the top 3 types of wine (your faves) would we find in your home wine collection and what’s your desert island wine?
If I was a wine I would probably be a good garnacha from Spain, spicy, bold, tannic with long aftertaste and good balance, I always have Champagne, Barolo and some sweet wines at home for any occasions.
My desert island wine would be a high class Champagne, just can not get enough of it.
Dragan Unic
@ by Dominik Kozlik – Zeitgeist Sommeliers – International Sommelier Positions
Covid-19 have truly have a big and negative impact on hospitality industry and nothing will ever be as before, life will change to some kind of new normal and business will suffer for a long time to come, with or without vaccine many people are hoping for, this will not be the ultimate solution to this epidemic.
The world is changing and so must we withit, stay healthy and support your local restaurants.
Hi guys, I'm back here and will continue to write about my culinary adventures and new in the cooking world so please join in.
Time flies and so many things have happend since I was here last time, I moved to Singapore and back, quit my position as continental director and board member at worldchefs, my girls are so grown up now and I am so lucky for those young and brilliant ladies and how amazing they have become.
I have been discovering new countries and citys and have meet some adorable and fantastic people along the way and tried some crazy delicious food that some just took my breath away, som much in such a short time, life is truly precious and should be used to the max.
I have not been here for a very long time and it is a shame becouse I love to share my life with you,
I am now at the Hotel Öresund in Landskrona for a year and I just love my work and all the great staff that I have, you guys rock!!
Back today after more than 3 weeks of summer vacation is a strange feeling that I am not use to but it feels great and I am looking forward to all the new excitement coming ahead this season, we are changing the restaurant concept and I will show you some pictures in a few days but for now Im happy to back.
Sometimes life is complicated and things do not turn
out as one could expect.
My time I Kosta at the hotel is over and it have been
some fantastic time with great colleagues
and amazing projects, thank you Torsten Jansson for this opportunity to work
for you and with you, you will be remembered.
New challenges are on the rising and many new doors
are open for me and I would like to thank you all for being part of my life.
