At seven scenic locations in Sweden, Visit Sweden and Swedish tourist regions have placed tables where foreign tourists can prepare a healthy gourmet meal from ingredients they themselves collect in the Swedish countryside. The tables are booked via Bookatable.

Swedish star chefs have composed recipes with ingredients such as perch, juniper and chanterelles. Rustic wooden tables have been specially designed, carved and placed in beautiful locations in Skåne, Jämtland, Bohuslän, Värmland, the Stockholm archipelago, Swedish Lapland and Småland. Bookings via Bookatable have opened. Everything is ready to gather ingredients from land and water and prepare a healthy gourmet meal outdoors – in the middle of the beautiful and accessible Swedish nature.

Today, Visit Sweden is releasing the campaign The Edible Country, which will inspire foreign tourists to enjoy dining experiences and activities in the Swedish countryside throughout the country. The campaign will create awareness for the destination Sweden in Germany, France, the UK and the USA in particular. Tables can be booked via Bookatable between May and September.

– We hope that being able to have a unique nature and food experience following the Swedish star chefs' specially composed recipes will create great attention for Sweden in the world. The campaign also leads to other food and nature experiences that you can have during a visit to Sweden, says Jennie Skogsborn Missuna, Chief Experience Officer at Visit Sweden.

The foreign tourists to whom Visit Sweden directs its marketing of Sweden are very interested in getting to know Sweden on a deeper level, for example nature, culture and lifestyle, Swedish food and drink, and Swedish traditions.

– Interest in eating healthy food is increasing and we want to let more people experience the rich pantry that Swedish nature offers. The Swedish lifestyle close to nature arouses curiosity among foreign travelers and eating food in the open air is as close to the Swedish folk spirit as you can get, continues Jennie Skogsborn Missuna.

The site visitsweden.com/ediblecountry has all the recipes and instructions needed to prepare your meal, along with information on how to follow the right of public access and stay in the Swedish countryside. There are tips on nature experiences, accommodation, restaurants, cafes, farm shops and hikes that can be done in the regions where the tables are located. Visitors are also inspired to take help from knowledgeable local guides in nature and food.

The Edible Country campaign will be spread in food, travel and news media and via purchased and earned reach in social media, primarily in Germany, France, the UK and the US. Visit Sweden will also highlight the campaign during the international chef competition Bocuse d'Or in Lyon at the end of January. Bookatable, Europe's largest restaurant booking site, will also spread the campaign across its channels. Films, instructional videos, interviews with the campaign's Swedish chefs and other material will further inspire people to experience Swedish nature and food.

Back in October, journalists and influencers from four countries visited Småland to test the experience.

The campaign is a collaboration between Visit Sweden and Tourism in Skåne, the West Sweden Tourist Board, Visit Värmland, Småland Tourism, Destination Småland, Region Kalmar län, Visit Stockholm, Jämtland Härjedalen Tourism and Swedish Lapland. The Swedish chefs participating in the campaign are Titti Qvarnström, Niklas Ekstedt, Anton Bjuhr and Jacob Holmström.

Visit Sweden is also collaborating with Bookatable.com, Håll Sverige Rent, Primus and Fjällräven in the campaign. The Edible Country is part of the Sustainable Nature and Ecotourism in Rural Areas programmes, which are part-financed by the government, and the Export Programme for Sweden's Food Tourism, which is part-financed by the EU's Agricultural Fund and the government's Rural Development Programme.

Bookable tables all over Sweden
Jämtland/Härjedalen: Bydalen, by Lake Dalsjön in the Bydalsfjällen
Swedish Lapland: on Skeppsholmen in Arjeplog
Småland: near Asa north of Växjö
Stockholm archipelago: on Utö in the southern archipelago
Skåne: Ormanäs near Höör
Värmland: in the Kittelfältet nature reserve, between Molkom and Filipstad
Western Sweden: in Ramsvikslandet near Smögen