Tore Wretman

Tore Fredrik Wretman (7 May 1916 – 13 February 2003)[1] was a Swedish chef and restaurateur. Wretman is perhaps best known for introducing cooking to men in Sweden, and his work as a restaurateur founding several of Stockholm's most popular restaurants. He is also known for creating Toast Skagen.

Tore Wretman
Wretman in the early 1960s
Born
Tore Fredrik Wretman

(1916-05-07)7 May 1916
Stockholm, Sweden
Died13 February 2003(2003-02-13) (aged 86)
Stockholm, Sweden

Biography

Early years

Wretman was born in Stockholm to writer Harald Wretman and Helga Nordström.[2] He was the nephew of writer Tora Nordström-Bonnier.[2] His parents divorced when Wretman was very young, and he spent part of his childhood at a children's home. This was revealed in the documentary Tore Wretman – kökspojken broadcast on Sweden's national public television broadcaster SVT in 2015.[2]

Apprenticeships and Second World War

Wretman did not succeed in school, and at the age of sixteen he began apprenticing in the kitchen at the Hotel Continental in Stockholm.[3] A year later he started working as a waiter at Operabaren in Operakällaren.[4] There he met wine importer Fredrik König, who subsequently got him a job at Maxim's in Paris, in 1933.[5] At Maxim's he learned the basics in the kitchen and was an apprentice under chef Louis Barth and restaurant owner Albert Baser.[6] He worked as commis saucier and poissonnier.[6][5]

In 1937, Wretman worked as head of the bar at the restaurant Soleil de Minuit in the Swedish pavilion at the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne.[7] There he became acquainted with Sara Reuterskiöld, who was about to open the restaurant Regnbågen; she hired Wretman as head chef. He got the opportunity to introduce French cuisine on the menu.[8] His position at Regnbågen was short-lived as in 1937 he was drafted into the Svea Life Guards infantry regiment.[7]

After his army duty, Wretman spent a few years in the United States. In 1941, he started working on the Finnish cargo ship SS Winha, so he could return to Sweden via Finland.[7] The ship was boarded north of Iceland by the British navy and was brought to Kirkwall on the Orkney islands. Afterwards Wretman was brought to a camp in London and was ultimately released.[9] Because of the ongoing war in Europe, he was unable to return to Sweden.[9] He obtained a job as a receptionist at a London hotel, where he stayed until 1943 when he finally had the chance to return to Sweden.[9][7]

Later life

In 1943 and 1944, Wretman worked as head waiter at Operakällaren in Stockholm. In 1945, at the age of 29, he bought the restaurant Riche on Birger Jarlsgatan. The restaurant was in bad shape after the war years, so Wretman set about to make several big changes.[3] The pillar sections were halved, and its entrance was built on Nybrogatan, where Wretman opened his second restaurant Teatergrillen, which soon became one of Stockholm's most popular restaurants.[3]

Five years later, Wretman took over the Stallmästaregården restaurant, which became one of the most renowned restaurants in the country after only a short time.[3] In 1955, Wretman took over Operakällaren.[3] After renovations and a complete overhaul, the restaurant was reopened in 1961, with Werner Vögeli as head chef. In 1971, Wretman did the same with Restaurant Victoria in Kungsträdgården.[10]

Wretman later sold his restaurants and moved to Mougins on the French Riviera.[11]

Personal life

Wretman's first marriage, from 1945 and 1953, was to actress Lillebil Kjellén. The couple had two daughters—Ann-Sofie (born 1946) and Charlotta (born 1949).[12] His daughter Ann-Sofie is a food writer.[13]

His second marriage was from 1953 and 1971 to actress Meg Westergren. They had a son named Fredrik (born 1953) and a daughter named Malin (1956–1997).[14][15]

He married flight attendant Ewa Wikmar in 1971.[16] The couple had two children—Johan (born 1973) and Filip (born 1975). Together they ran a real estate business called Wretman Estate on the French Riviera.[17][7]

Legacy

Wretman played a big role in educating Swedes about the world of cuisine with his radio show Novisen vid spisen on Sveriges Radio.[18] The radio show began broadcasting in 1950 and was hosted by journalist Folke Olhagen.[18] The duo also presented segments on television meant to educate men about cooking and cuisine, a task that had previously been considered a woman's duty.[19][20]

He is known to have introduced avocado and green pepper to the Swedish public,[21] as well as prawns on toast, a dish which is better known as Toast Skagen.[22]

He received an honorary PhD from Umeå University, as well as an honorary doctorate in gastronomy from the same university.[23][24]

In 2002, Wretman was featured on a stamp in the series "Svensk Gastronomi".[25]

Bibliography
  • Ur främmande grytor (1953)[26]
  • Menu (1958)[27]
  • Svensk husmanskost (1966)[28]
  • På tal om mat (1970)[29]
  • Bjudningsboken I (1973)[30]
  • Bjudningsboken II (1974)[30]
  • Smörgåsbordet (1976)[31]
  • The Swedish Smörgåsbord (1970)[32]
  • Festmeny (1980)[33]
  • Mat & minnen (1987)[34]
  • Om den ärbara vällusten (1988)[35]
  • Kökspojken (1996)[36]

References
  1. Sveriges befolkning 1970, CD-ROM, Version 1.04, Sveriges Släktforskarförbund (2002).
  2. Dokumentärfilm: Tore Wretman kökspojken Archived 2018-06-12 at the Wayback Machine svt.se Retrieved 20 December 2019
  3. "Tore Wretman död". 13 February 2003. Archived from the original on 12 May 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019 – via Svenska Dagbladet.
  4. "Klassikerduellen: Teatergrillen möter Operabaren". Dagens Nyheter. 27 September 2018. Archived from the original on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  5. "Kökspojkens revansch lyfte stans krogar". mitti.se. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  6. "Tore Wretman – en stor inspiratör och läromästare". HD.se. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  7. "Tore Wretman död". Dagens Nyheter. 13 February 2003. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  8. "Tore Wretman - lyfte svensk mat ur brunsåsträsket". Strövtåg i Världen. 8 December 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  9. "Alla svenska stjärnkockars fader". svenska.yle.fi. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  10. "Svenska Dagbladets historiska arkiv". Retrieved 20 December 2019 – via Svenska Dagbladet.
  11. "Mougins - en juvel på franska rivieran". Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  12. "1425 (Vem är Vem? / Stor-Stockholm 1962)". runeberg.org. Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  13. "117 (Vem är det: Svensk biografisk handbok / 1993)". runeberg.org. Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  14. "Tore Wretman var kökets mästare – skulle fyllt 100 i år". Land. 27 December 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  15. Sveriges Dödbok 1901–2009, DVD-ROM, Version 5.00, Sveriges Släktforskarförbund (2010).
  16. "1209 (Vem är det: Svensk biografisk handbok / 1993)". runeberg.org. Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  17. "Team | Wretman Estate". www.wretmanestate.com. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  18. "Novisen vid spisen – osten i kosten Filmarkivet.se — Hundra år i rörliga bilder". www.filmarkivet.se. Archived from the original on 24 January 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  19. "Historieätarnas Richard Tellström: "De som vill ha nyttig mat på julbordet är fel ute"". vlt.se. 31 October 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  20. "Januari 2020". 7 December 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  21. Hammarkrantz, Oskar (23 March 2017). "70-talets största maträtter – vilka av dem håller i dag? (SvD Perfect Guide)". Archived from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019 – via Svenska Dagbladet.
  22. "Introducing Sweden's easiest and tastiest fish dish". The Local. 11 March 2015. Archived from the original on 20 September 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  23. Om den ärbara vällusten:mera mat & minnen, Tore Wretman, Page 253.
  24. Radio, Sveriges. "Tore Wretman 100 år - OBS". sverigesradio.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  25. "Frimärke: Tore Wretman (Sverige) (Swedish Gastronomy) Mi:SE 2306,Sn:SE 2444c,Yt:SE 2288,Sg:SE 2234,AFA:SE 2234,Fac:SE 2325". Colnect. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  26. "Ur främmande grytor | Bokbörsen". www.bokborsen.se. Archived from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  27. "MENU | Tore Wretman | Bokbörsen". www.bokborsen.se. Archived from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  28. "Svensk husmanskost av Tore Wretman (Bok)". Bokus.com. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  29. "På tal om mat | Tore Wretman | 90 SEK". www.bokborsen.se. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  30. Wretman, Tore (20 December 1970). "Bjudningsboken med Tore Wretman som värd: menyförslag med recept för hela året från nyår till jul". Åhlén & Åkerlund. Retrieved 20 December 2019 – via Google Books.
  31. "Smörgårdsbord med isobelisk. Tore Wretman på Operakällaren, Stockholm". digitaltmuseum.se. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  32. "The Swedish Smörgåsbord | Tore Wretman | 375 SEK". www.bokborsen.se. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  33. Wretman, Tore (20 December 1980). Tore Wretmans festmeny. Atlantis. ISBN 9789174860115. Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  34. "Mat & minnen - Wretman, Tore". www.bokstugan.se. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  35. "Om den ärbara vällusten | Tore Wretman | 250 SEK". www.bokborsen.se. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  36. "Kökspojken: tankar och minnen från min provençalska terrass av Mats Ekdahl, Tore Wretman (Bok)". Bokus.com. Retrieved 20 December 2019.

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