A sunny summer on Gotland was the setting for "Best Summer Afternoon", where enthusiastic sheep get help with table setting, food, and decorations. Gustav Boström is the host and "table setting nerd", Finnish food creator Kia Arpia cooks, and Karl Fredrik Gustafsson is responsible for flowers and decorations.
But I will also go for a walk in a forest area to find edible things, I make a herb garden-like plan and elderflower juice, he says enthusiastically.
In the first episode, a couple gets help creating a fusion between Gotland and Italy. Then, Karl Fredrik boils rowan jelly, just like his grandparents did in his childhood.
As a child, I got to help with sowing and harvesting, I got to taste the ripe red rowan berries directly from the bushes and take the first summer bouquet together with grandfather, he says.
It's clear that the interest in cultivation started somewhere there.
Finnish Background
The series is a "minority series" with parts in Finnish. Karl Fredrik Gustafsson himself has Finnish roots – his grandmother was Finnish and his grandfather Estonian. With both KAJ's Melodifestival victory and the security situation in the world, he sees an increased focus on the Baltic Sea region.
It feels like we have come closer to our neighboring country Finland. It feels more in the air now and it's very fun. Before, Finland hasn't been so hot. I have always been proud of my background, but extra much now, he says.
Karl Fredrik Gustafsson thinks the new series feels modern in many ways. The tips focus on both reuse with flea market finds for the table, self-picking of flowers, and self-sufficiency.
I love watching "Garden Times" and "Mandelmann's Farm" but there aren't many Swedish productions. What's so good here is that we get raw materials, plants, and techniques that we can use at home, he says.
It feels fresh, youthful, and right on time.
For Dialogue
Karl Fredrik Gustafsson hopes for a continuation of the new trio. But he emphasizes that despite TV4 having paused "Karl Fredrik on Österlen", he would gladly continue with that series as well.
I have a dialogue with both SVT and TV4, so I'm not closing any doors. I think it's super fun to record TV but also have my daily routine on Österlen, where I'm taking care of the flowers before Easter.
Corrected: In an earlier version of the text, an incorrect date was stated in the fact box.
"Best Summer Afternoon" is hosted by Gustav Boström, with Karl Fredrik Gustafsson and Kia Arpia as experts. The series consists of five episodes, premiering on Walpurgis Night, April 30.
