Åland Post’s Nordic stamp appears on 18 March. Every second year, the Nordic postal administrations issue a stamp on a joint theme. The 2016 theme is Nordic cuisine. Åland masterchef Michael Björklund composed a 3-course menu, tastefully illustrated with his buckthorn dessert throning on the stamp.

Åland cuisine has always been coloured by local farming, fishing and hunting, yet, Åland seamen have picked up influences from around the world at the same time. Michael Björklund is one of the Åland chefs who have contributed to putting Åland cuisine on the map. The winner of the Chef of the Year titles in both Sweden and Finland, he has taken part in several TV cooking shows and authored a number of cooking books. Located near Kastelholm castle, his restaurant Smakbyn also houses a café, a farm shop and a distillery that produces its own brandy from local fruit. Smakbyn is also one of three Åland restaurants included in the Nordic White Guide 2016 covering the entire Nordic restaurant scene.

Michael Björklund’s especially composed menu consists of an appetizer, a main course and a dessert. The stamp shows the dessert, buckthorn in three guises with chocolate and vanilla. The first day cover tempts us with an appetizer consisting of poached perch topped with whitefish caviar and dill sauce on the front. A delicious serving of glazed leg of lamb with summer primeurs forms the main course presented on the back.

Åland Post produces a presentation pack holding the stamps of the Nordic postal administrations on the Nordic cuisine theme. Appearing in early May in a strictly limited edition, the pack sells at €21.95.

Date of issue                                              18 March 2016
Photographer                                              Staffan Sundström
Edition                                                       140 000
Denomination                                              Världen (€1.30)
Price FDC                                                  €2.00
Stamp size                                                 35 x 35 mm
Sheet size                                                  2 x 15 stamps
Paper                                                         110 g/m2
Perforation                                                  13 per 2 cm
Printing method                                           4-colour offset
Printing house                                             Cartor Security Printing

To order, please visit Åland Post Stamps web shop at www.posten.ax/webshop/en