#1 International bestseller

"I love Niklas's food, and it certainly makes me happy to eat it. It's fascinating to see that the links between good food and good mood are backed by the latest science. All the more reason to tuck into these delicious dishes." Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, May 2018

'Writing this book has changed our lives. And it could soon change yours too. Although both Niklas and I have devoted a great deal of our adult lives to food and how it affects us, the work we've done on HAPPY FOOD has forced us to re-evaluate everything that we have learned.' - Henrik Ennart

The conversation around gut health and the food we eat has been ongoing for a while, but in this book Niklas Ekstedt and Henrik Ennart go one step further to look at how the food we eat affects our brains and mental health, too.

You won't find a more interesting and hands-on book about this subject that delves deep enough into the science without being dry. The unbeatable combination of Ekstedt's recipes and kitchen know-how with Ennart's research and flowing narrative, along with beautiful pictures and impeccable Nordic cooking, makes this book a must-have. HAPPY FOOD brings Hygge and lagom into your kitchen, allowing everyone the chance to live and eat like the Scandinavians.

With its practical and inspiring advise, HAPPY FOOD will be your companion in everyday life, both in and out of the kitchen. Ennart and Ekstedt elegantly navigate between the "Early Bird" health-shot and the anti-inflammatory burger all the way to super-beetroot juice. It's all about good food, and how the right meal can change your life.

Discover how eating well affects mental and physical health: vegan, veggie or carnivore, this book is for you!

Based on ground-breaking new research, Happy Food For Life extends the conversation around gut health and its effect on our mental and physical health, ensuring every reader is equipped to make the best choices for our all-round health - and the planet too.

From mindful eating to how to get children to eat (almost) anything, and with an in-depth look at the increasingly popular Nordic diet, this book is packed full of simple, healthy recipes and great everyday advice.

The quick, mouth-watering and wholesome recipes include:

• creamy salsify tagliatelle with mushrooms
• roast chicken soup with crudites
• buckwheat risotto with fennel and pea sprout salad
• whole roast sweet potato with mint, coriander, chilli and cashew nuts
• blood orange and Brussels sprout salad
• whole grilled sea bass with green vegetables.

The crackling of birch, the sizzle of the pot and the scent of wood smoke in the air... the relaxed style that typifies Scandinavian open-fire cooking is explored in this cool new cookbook from Michelin-starred chef, Niklas Ekstedt, who is famed for cooking over wood only. This innovative selection of recipes highlights the best of modern Nordic food, themed around ancient cooking methods. Fire pits are easy and affordable to source, even portable types are available for those with limited outdoor space, and wood is re-emerging as a fuel source. Considering how little specialist equipment is required, the flavours achievable with this back to basics method of cooking are outstanding. Niklas' book naturally features plenty of fire-building tips, aromatic smoking recipes, pickling and preserving techniques, but he doesn't expect you to go foraging for ingredients or to give up cooking in a traditional kitchen - a cast iron skillet over a gas flame will produce similar results. Easy to find ingredients mix with easy cooking techniques to produce delicious family feasts and food for sharing. From simple ember-baked salmon with cucumber and fennel, to flame-roasted celeriac with brown butter and hazlenuts, to a Skansk apple pie, this is food to excite the appetite of the modern cook and inspire your next family or party gathering. Word count: 30,000

'With equal parts of birch wood and passion, we keep the flames alive. We cook all our ingredients over an open fire. Charcoal and smoke are our most powerful tools. No electric griddle, no gas stove – only natural heat, soot, ash, smoke and fire. We have chosen these ways to prepare our food as a tribute to the ancient way of cooking. At Ekstedt it is the flames that are superior.'

Through his bold flavours at the eponymous Michelin-starred restaurant, Niklas Ekstedt ignites our primal fire-side instincts. His abandonment of modern technology may be a little difficult to replicate in your own kitchen, but his spirit will convince you to get back to basics where you can.

The restaurant, Ekstedt, is at the very heart and centre of the book, providing the foundation for Niklas' stories of seasonal, and regional, traditional Swedish cooking. Dishes from the restaurant, and in the pages of this sumptuous book, include braised lamb shoulder with seaweed butter and wild garlic capers, juniper-smoked pike and perch, ember-baked leeks with charcoal cream, pine-smoked mussels, and wood-oven baked almond cake.

Stunning photography from David Loftus brings Niklas' recipes and the Nordic seasons to life.

'With equal parts of birch wood and passion, we keep the flames alive. We cook all our ingredients over an open fire. Charcoal and smoke are our most powerful tools. No electric griddle, no gas stove - only natural heat, soot, ash, smoke and fire. We have chosen these ways to prepare our food as a tribute to the ancient way of cooking. At Ekstedt it is the flames that are superior.' Through his bold flavours at the eponymous Michelin-starred restaurant, Niklas Ekstedt ignites our primal fire-side instincts. His abandonment of modern technology may be a little difficult to replicate in your own kitchen, but his spirit will convince you to get back to basics where you can. The restaurant, Ekstedt, is at the very heart and centre of the book, providing the foundation for Niklas' stories of seasonal, and regional, traditional Swedish cooking. Dishes from the restaurant, and in the pages of this sumptuous book, include braised lamb shoulder with seaweed butter and wild garlic capers, juniper-smoked pike and perch, ember-baked leeks with charcoal cream, pine-smoked mussels, and wood-oven baked almond cake. Stunning photography from David Loftus brings Niklas' recipes and the Nordic seasons to life. This special is uniquely and sumptuously packaged and signed by Niklas.