Qianren Jin - China 
Title: Research engineer 
Age: 44 
Number of years in Sweden: 20

What do you have on your plate? Homemade dumplings with vegetables and minced pork – one of my favourite dishes, but I have a Chinese stomach so I like most of the food from my country. 
What is the difference between lunch in China and lunch in Sweden?
In smaller cities in China, children often go home for lunch and, in that case, one of the parents goes home to cook the food. During the warmer months, there is also time for a siesta in the middle of the day. 

Favourite Swedish dish? Meatballs and spaghetti. 
New in the pantry? Since my arrival in Sweden, I started using cinnamon when I bake cinnamon buns and apple cake, and also on the children’s oatmeal (which is completely different to Chinese porridge which is rice-based).

Worst Swedish flavours? Liquorice and pickled herring!

Srisaiyini Kidnapillai – Sri Lanka
Title: Postdoc
Age: 31 years
Number of years in Sweden: 9 months
Has anyone in Sweden managed to pronounce your name correctly on the first attempt? No, not really. 

What do you have on your plate? Dahl, rice, carrots and kale with onion, coconut flakes, lime. 
What are the characteristics of Sri Lankan food? Often the base is rice and curry and then you can complement it with protein – fish is common. 

What is the difference between lunch in Sri Lanka and lunch in Sweden? In Sri Lanka, it is common for people to bring a parcel of rice with curry – sometimes traditionally wrapped with banana leaves. People often bring some extra food and share their lunch with their colleagues. 

Favourite Swedish dish? The shrimp sandwich!
New in the pantry?  I love to bake and I have discovered pearl sugar – that is something I had never seen before. 

Worst Swedish flavour? Liquorice. 

Darcy Wagner - USA
Title: Research group manager
Age: 34 years
Number of years in Sweden: 2 years

What do you have on your plate? Crisps, a sandwich with peanut butter, apple and ants on a log. 

What is the deal with ’ants on a log’? It is celery with cream cheese and sultanas. It started as a way to get children to eat vegetables but I still like it. You can make them in different ways – for example, some people use peanut butter instead of cheese.
What is the difference between lunch in the USA and lunch in Sweden? In the USA, people eat lunch in fifteen minutes and rarely eat hot food. In many workplaces, they do not even have a kitchen. It is also very segregated; the manager hardly ever eats with their group. I really like the Swedish way of enjoying the break together with your colleagues. 
What is it like working in such a multicultural group? We have people from nine different countries in my group. To facilitate the work and reduce conflict we do several things, including working in a team. We also eat dinner together once per month and we take it in turns to choose the restaurant and in that way try food from different countries.   
New in the pantry? Dill!

Deniz Bölükbas - Turkey
Title: Postdoc
Age: 33 years
Number of years in Sweden: 2 years

What do you have on your plate? Börek – filo pastry with, for example, spinach and cheese. 
Who do you usually eat lunch with? Usually with my research group. Sometimes I have lunch with other people from my home country – but it does not need to be Turkish food.  
What is the difference between lunch in Turkey and lunch in Sweden? In Turkey, people rarely bring food from home; instead, they go out to eat together with their colleagues.  Workplaces do not always have a kitchen. However, we do have a strong tea and coffee culture –there is even someone employed just to make tea and coffee. When we make coffee it is more of a ritual – it is not just about going to a machine and pressing a button. 

What do you think about the coffee and tea here in Sweden? The coffee in Sweden is a bit too strong for me. People also drink many cups of coffee each day.  

Favourite Swedish dish? All kinds of fish – especially pickled herring 

Worst Swedish flavour? Coffee that is too strong!

Maria Öhlin - Sweden
Title: Finance officer
Age: 54 years

What do you have on your plate? A meat patty with boiled potatoes and onion sauce. 
What is it like eating lunch with people from so many different cultures? It is good English practice and, all of a sudden, when you are not talking about everyday life and work, someone will tell you something interesting about life in their home country. You get true insight into how things can be different in different countries just by having lunch together.  
Favourite dish? Spinach stew with sausage and boiled egg.  

Which country’s food interests you the most? I am interested in the food from every country – that is half of the experience of travelling abroad.  
Is there anything you do not like? Black pudding.

What do you have on your plate? Khachapuri – one of Georgia’s oldest dishes, which is a kind of pasty with cottage cheese and spinach. Different regions have different kinds of Khachapuri. 
What else is typical of Georgian food? Actually, wine is possibly the most typical, since we are the oldest wine-producing country in the world!
What does lunchtime mean to you? Primarily, it is about communicating with colleagues, but it is also about gaining insight into the cultures of other people. It feels good that people are equal and that there are no hierarchies at lunch.  
Favourite Swedish dish? I ate Swedish potato salad at midsummer – I liked that. It was also interesting that you can eat meatballs with a sweet sauce – lingonberry jam. 

Hani Alsafadi - Palestine
Title: Doctoral student

Age: 28 years
Number of years in Sweden: 1.5 years

What do you have on your place? Knafe, which is really a dessert – it has a cheese base, topped with semolina, spices, pistachio nuts and syrup.  

What are other common Palestinian foods? Common dishes would include an upside-down dish with rice, vegetables and some kind of protein or a vegetable stew served with rice and some meat.   
What is the difference between lunch in Palestine and lunch in Sweden? In Palestine, people usually just drink coffee in the morning and then we eat breakfast around ten. That is why lunch is also later – around three. In Sweden, there is no direct ceremony around food, people eat their lunch and that is that. In Palestine, we enjoy our food for longer and often together with our families. If possible, people go home from work to eat lunch. Or the family comes to work. 

Favourite Swedish dish? Mashed potato and meatballs. I would really like to try more Swedish food. 

Worst Swedish flavour? Kalle’s caviar – I tried it once and never again.

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