This year Polarbröd celebrates its 50th anniversary. An anniversary that the venerable bread producer is celebrating by campaigning for the classic and loved smörgåstårta (the sandwich layer cake) to become Sweden's official national dish.
By collecting the best recipes for smörgåstårta and inviting people to sign a petition, Polarbröd hope to start a people’s movement to make the sandwich cake Sweden's new national dish.
– For us, the sandwich layer cake is the perfect national dish. It has a rich history, can contain almost anything and changes with the times. As such, it is always relevant and keeps up with food trends and can be naturally influenced by other food cultures. We look forward to sharing all the wonderful recipes for this timeless classic, says Jenny Jeppsson, Marketing Area Manager at Polarbröd.
The campaign was created together with Perfect Fools. Highlighting the sandwich cake felt like the obvious and natural choice when the team realised that Sweden doesn't actually have an official national dish. There are regional dishes, and there are also other classics that are competing to become a national dish, but the sandwich cake feels like the obvious winner.
– The sandwich cake is festive and fitting for an anniversary. At the same time, it is actually perfect as a national dish because it can contain any dish. If you like meatballs and mashed potatoes, go ahead and put it between some bread. A sandwich cake doesn't discriminate, it represents everyone and can be easy and difficult to prepare. It’s up to you to decide where to put the bar. The fact that it's not already a national dish is a minor scandal," says Desiré Engström from Perfect Fools.
The campaign, which is mainly visible on social media, leads to a petition with the hope that many Swedes will side with the smörgåstårta.