In this episode of Order, Order, Terry Wiggins sits down with Sweden-based chef and chocolatier Sara Bjork to trace her journey from Yorkshire’s iconic Betty’s Tea Rooms to nearly a decade cooking across the UK Parliament kitchens — and ultimately to launching a chocolate-led shop and catering business back home in the Swedish countryside.
Sara recounts early life in rural Sweden, a formative exchange year in the US, and a UK work stint that first put her in professional kitchens. That spark led to roles at Portcullis House (cafeteria and the Adjournment restaurant), the Terrace Kitchen in the Palace, Banqueting, and finally six years in the Pastry kitchen — experiences that shaped her craft on both the hot and sweet sides of service. She highlights inclusive menu development in the Adjournment and the shock of scaling from 1-kilo stews to 80-kilo batches on tight timelines.
A hallmark of Sara’s story is curiosity anchored in Swedish tastes. She explains the much-loved Swedish “sandwich cake” — a layered, savoury centrepiece built from white bread and creamy fillings such as prawn-mayonnaise with red onion, rested overnight so it sets neatly for service. She also explores Scandinavia’s deep affection for liquorice (including salty varieties), how that divides opinion abroad, and why preserved, salty flavours feel familiar to Swedes. She recalls weaving liquorice into desserts where possible, pairing it with white chocolate, lemon and violet, and the time liquorice powder on seared scallops with lemon curd was vetoed on its way to the menu.
Chocolate is now Sara’s calling card. She breaks down her meticulous four-day bonbon process — polishing and painting moulds in multiple colours, casting shells, layering fillings over successive days, then capping before release. Alongside filled bonbons she makes toffees, bar moulds, marshmallows, pâte de fruits, brownies and cakes, noting that customer traffic is driven primarily by chocolates.
From Sweden, Sara describes the realities of building a small food business — tricky supply logistics and minimum-order hurdles — to opening a storefront with a separate production kitchen, and why she currently sells locally rather than internationally. There is light lunch and coffee-and-cake seating, but fresh counters are kept tight because most customers come for chocolates.
Throughout, Sara threads in Swedish flavour anchors — cardamom in cinnamon buns, rhubarb (including lessons from raw juiced rhubarb in a light mousse), and seasonal produce — alongside memories of mentors and colleagues in Westminster’s kitchens.
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