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Skandium supper club with Carl Hansen and iittala

When Scandinavian design and food come together I’m one happy (greedy) girl . I recently attended an incredible event at the  Carl Hansen & Son showroom for the spring Skandium supper club. The evening was also a celebration and relaunch of the Hans J. Wegner’s early CH22 lounge chair and new CH26 chair.

Before sitting down to eat I had a good look around the showroom. This incredible 3 storey building with exposed brick, beams, metal spiral staircases and huge windows, was a dream to walk around. There were sets designed with the Carl Hansen products looking very tempting to lounge on, the showroom felt so relaxed and welcoming without pretence unlike some (not to be named) design shops. Whether this is because of the craftsmanship and handmade nature of the products, creating a warm relaxed atmosphere, I’m not sure but I feel like it had something to do with it.

The CH22 lounge chair (pictured below in black) was part of Hans J Wegner’s debut collection created for Carl Hansen & Son in 1950. The series included the iconic (and one of my favourite chairs) CH24, Wishbone chair. The details within the CH22 lounge chair are striking with refined joinery, finger-joined corners, colour contrasting wooden wedges (with the natural wooden finishes), oblong cover caps, and woven seat. Understandably it was a challenge to have had this chair in production back in the 50’s because of the level of detail and craftsmanship needed. It’s great to see that this chair has been relaunched and manufactured in the exact same way as it was originally intended.

CH22 Lounge chair by Han J Wegner

CH26 chair and the CH22 lounge chair by Hans J. Wegner

Wegner also produced blueprints transforming the CH22 lounge chair into a dining chair titled CH26 but this was never before produced. The CH26 chair has now been brought to life thanks to Carl Hansen & Son, keeping the dimensions and design the same, but adding a few centimetres in height to accommodate modern table and desks.

CH22 Lounge chair by Han J Wegner

Okay back to the Skandium supper club…

The showroom was presented beautifully with Carl Hansen furniture, classic Scandinavian lighting and dressed tables with iittala accessories/serveware and wild flowers. The spring dinner was cooked, served and presented by the Cambridge Cookery School who specialise in Scandinavian cuisine.

Skandium supper club at the Carl Hansen showroom in London

After a welcoming Raspberry Fizz we all sat down to a trio of starters. Gubbröra, a very fancy egg salad. Classic Swedish poached salmon with pickled red onions and Venison meat balls with beetroot salad. These were all served with rye breads and on iittala’s famous Tanssi plates.

Skandium supper club

Then for a springtime vegetable soup with Klimp, swedish dumpling. 

Skandium supper club

I was very happy with this Gravad Cod, remoulade and frazzled onions.

Skandium Supper Club

Mature Västerbotten cheese (delicious) served with forced rhubarb and rose compôte.

Skandium supper club

Then to finish with Cardamom shortbread and saffron and liquorice fudge. These were very rich and in some cases and acquired taste. I loved the liquorice fudge but the saffron was a bit too strong for me.

DANISH LESSON : I’ve recently learnt a new Danish word, tandsmør , which roughly translates as ‘toothmarks in butter’. I could only manage nibbles of this fudge, here you can see the tandsmør I made. This word would commonly work if you see the tooth marks in butter on bread.

Skandium Supper Club

These Kastehelmi bowls are so cute to serve sweets.

Skandium supper club

A magical evening and with this being my second Skandium supper club experience, I have to say that they are well worth a try. It’s a great opportunity to try some Scandinavian cuisine whilst using and trying out iittala’s dinnerware and glassware AND the opportunity to dine in some incredible locations. I’ll be sure to come back to the Carl Hansen showroom, it’s so inviting and a feast for the eyes.

Sign up to Skandium’s newletter, this is how I found out about the Skandium supper club, they often have other cool things too like competitions and events. Maybe I’ll see you at the next supper club?

H x

*Thanks Skandium for the invite!

The CH22 and CH26 chairs will be available at Skandium in June.

Visit the Carl Hansen & Søn Showroom London
16 Bowling Green Lane
London
EC1R OBD
United Kingdom

3 Comments

  • Reply Carole April 11, 2016 at 5:06 pm

    Lucky girl Hannah. Looks like a lovely evening. x

  • Reply Molly April 11, 2016 at 5:15 pm

    Oh that chair! It’s so lovely, and the redesign to fit with modern times/tastes/table heights is just perfect. Your photos of the table and food are great, but I think I might struggle with those flavours and textures – Scandinavian tastes seem odd to me, but then my experience of them is limited to Ikea 😉 I would love to try the supper club though, but being down south west it seems unlikely, boo 🙁

  • Reply geraldine April 12, 2016 at 3:56 am

    Yum! Looks delicious. I’ve been to one their events before in Heals last year. The food was so delicious. I would love to do the cookery course some time.

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