There is a new dimension to Stockholms food scene, and it takes you to far away places and flavours you cant find anywhere else in this timezone. 

Gastronaut offer a platform for talented and passionate chefs to cook and sell homemade food cooking from home. The platform enables the chefs to earn a living and reach out beyond their own networks.

Through Gastronaut people that may have difficulties securing a traditional job in Sweden, get the chance to start their own restaurant and enter the job market. The chefs take a hygiene and regulations course based on the Swedish National Food Administration (Livsmedelsverket) guidelines and base life decisions depending on their income from Gastronaut. There are high standards to meet in order to be a successful Gastronaut. Vijay from India and LaoZhao from China are two of the most popular chefs, that you now also find through Wolt. Läs hela menyn här<<

The collaboration between Wolt and Gastronaut started with both companies seeing the potential by spreading the Gastronaut experience to a wider audience, when offering home delivery through the Wolt platform.

Between May 8-19 you can try Gastronaut through Wolt with free delivery. In order for LaoZhao and Vijay to be able to prepare the fresh food, there is a 12 hour preorder window.

Welcome to a new experience!

LaoZhao together with his wife Grace

Hello LaoZhao! How and why did you become a Gastronaut?

I arrived in Sweden last year in August. I’m not very good in languages so it was difficult for me to learn Swedish quickly. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to find work until a friend of mine told me about Gastronaut. I had some experience cooking so I decided to try Gastronaut.

How is the food culture where you come from?

I cook two important dishes. One is chicken and noodles which comes from a province in China called Sichuan. These are Sichuan noodles. In the Sichuan province a lot of people like spicy food with peppers, so this dish is important for its Sichuan ingredients. This noodle recipe is more than one-hundred years old, maybe older. It’s very famous in Sichuan and in all of China. I lived in Beijing and I ate these noodles a lot and I thought people in Sweden would probably love them too. In China we call these buns “the Chinese burger.” They come from the Shanxi province but the recipe is very old, over two-thousand years probably. It’s a very famous food all over China and I love it so that’s why I like to cook it. These two dishes are very popular in China and you can find them in every town and on every street of every province.

What characterises your cooking?

These noodles give you a special feeling when you eat them. You will taste sweetness, and heat, and salt, and sour, and spices. Your lips might tingle a little bit. It’s five feelings in balance and it must be balanced. It’s important to make sure. And the noodles must not be too soft, they need to stay a little firm, that is also very important. The sauce is the soul and the noodles are the bone of the dish.

How long have you been cooking food?

I did some cooking in China, but just for my family at home. But when I came to Sweden I took some culinary classes and learned more skills. Then, I practiced a lot. You have to practice lots and lots, not just rely on text books.

Where does your interest in food come from?

 When I was a little boy, just ten years old I started helping my parents in the kitchen, washing dishes, cutting vegetables. Then on summer breaks I had more time so by the time to help. By the time I was sixteen I could cook a lot of different dishes. Cooking is one of my favourite things to do. I love to make specialty foods and famous foods.

 

Vijay Sareen

Hi Vijay! How and why did you become a Gastronaut?

I started my business to be able to cook authentic Indian food and serve people other dishes than just Chicken Tikka Masala. I just posted a notice on Facebook and a couple from India gave me really good reviews. They said that they found my food delicious and since then my business has gone pretty well. But Gastronaut helps me a lot with reaching out to people from other countries than India. I want more people to enjoy more real, authentic food! I heard from my colleague about Gastronaut and felt I should join so I could reach more people with my food ideas.

How is the food culture where you come from?

I am from India so I don’t think that I need to say more about our food culture. Our culture derives from our food only.

What characterises your cooking?

Most people make this dish out of cheese that they buy in the supermarket but I don’t. I make the paneer from scratch with fresh ingredients, all by myself. My food is authentic, real, and delicious!

How long have you been cooking food?

I started learning cook when I was 7-8 years old but professionally I started 10-11 years ago. My passion for cooking began when I was around 7 years old. It all started when my parents hired a private tutor from Burma. Nowadays you can find professional cooking schools but 20–25 years ago you couldn’t, so I had to study something else.

Where does your interest in food come from?

My well-educated tutor always emphasise how important it is to be able to cook so she taught me everything from buying groceries to cooking. This wise woman always said to me that I will never know what happens in the future. Even though a person can be a trained doctor they can still be in the position of not finding a job. It was essential to teach me how to cook. And to cook from scratch.