Ölme Prästgård shines

We have long talked about visiting Ölme vicarage because we live so close and pass it often. Since a little less than a year ago, Ölme has got new owners and as we heard so many good things about their good food, we decided to strike.

At Ölme Prästgård you can have lunch, dinner or just have a coffee and why not crawl into a comfortable bed in one of the beautiful rooms when the evening comes? If you still long for home, there are buses to both Karlstad and Kristinehamn.

We went big and took a package with a seven-course tasting menu and overnight stay in the suite. When we checked in, there was a small bottle of champagne and a cheese and charcuterie tray in the room. An excellent start to our stay that left us wanting more.

First out of the seven dishes was a struva baked on sourdough that has lived and thrived for nine years. My goodness, it's like a schoolchild! This struva was served with a garlic cream cheese and trout roe. After this start came Henrik's favourite, white asparagus with Kalix vendace roe and nettles.
There is an ambition to serve as much local produce as possible and this was certainly evident in the next course, a steak tartare with top sirloin, fried nettles and engraved egg yolk. The waitress pointed out the window and told us that the meat came from her parents' farm across the road.

We now came to my favourite, a tartlet with smoked venison from Kristinehamns-based Hygns Vilt, almond cream and rhubarb. These first four dishes were slightly smaller, so it was perfect that the fifth and last dish with grilled guinea fowl, cheese cream and grilled broccoli was a little bigger. Now we were ready for dessert in the plural. The sweet part of the meal started with a sponge cake with violet ice cream and liquorice meringue. For those of us who grew up in the 80s, used to the scary Viola ice cream, this may not sound so exciting, but this violet flavour was something completely different from the old box, super delicious! As the icing on the cake, the evening ended with a cup of coffee and madeleine cakes with lingonberries and cream.

All in all, we were treated to a well-composed and really good dinner with good wines by the glass. Something we really appreciated was that the ingredients were locally produced to such a large extent. Rumour has it that chef Gustav spends a lot of his waking hours picking mushrooms, harvesting crops and spices or pickling, juicing or cooking something in the kitchen. This was really noticeable as everything was well cooked and flavoursome, no shortcuts here.

After a good night's sleep, we came down to the dining room and were greeted by a set table with a yummy breakfast. A little tired after yesterday, it was pleasant to sit in peace and quiet and munch. Here, too, the theme continued with locally produced charcuterie and homemade jams and marmalade.

As you can imagine, we were completely spoilt at Ölme Prästgård and had a super nice weekend! They also have some wine evenings and other activities that we hope to book in. The only thing we possibly missed was a whirlpool or beer garden to sit and have a glass of bubbly before dinner. Luckily, there is a beautiful nature reserve just nearby.

Cumulative wage

On the other side of the road from the vicarage is Ölme church. If you turn off there and drive about five kilometres, you will come to the small nature reserve Kummelön. Perhaps not for the hiking nerd but well for the coffee-hungry. Walking around the two short trails takes no more than half an hour, but there are plenty of benches where you can set up your picnic basket and look out over the water while you drink your coffee. At this time of year, Kummelön is a lovely place with all the whitecaps glowing in the spring sunshine.

A wonderful weekend in Ölme, with good food, cosy suite and beautiful surroundings. Now we have refuelled spring sun and gained energy after a long winter, ready for new adventures that you will soon read more about.