Some childhood traditions stay with us long after we have left the places where they began.
In Escargot, Susanne Cerha returns to the royal gardens of Rosersberg Palace, north of Stockholm, where gathering snails was once part of a cherished family ritual. Part memoir, part cookbook, the book brings together memories of a Swedish childhood, the pleasures of the garden, and the traditions carried from one generation to the next.
A personal celebration of food, family, and the places that shape us.
It began in a palace garden
"Our favorite route began off the right palace wing along a gravel path, veering right to the old oak tree, our first stop. I would hide in the hollow. Then we passed the servant’s quarters and the apple orchards and entered the European beech woods. In here, light filtered through the canopy in a sort of constant dusk, a few glittering flashes of brighter light here and there.
When our wicker baskets were full, heavy with our live bounty, we’d put them in the back of my mother’s yellow Mini Morris and drive back home."
Memories, traditions, and the family table
About the author
Originally from Sweden and based in New York, Susanne Cerha is a designer, author, and founder of Silo Design New York. Her love of gardening and food began in childhood, inspired by her mother, artist Magdalena Cerha, who foraged, grew vegetables, and cooked from scratch.
Today, Susanne continues many of these traditions at her home in Upstate New York. She holds a Certificate in Horticulture from Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
Escargot: From Palace Garden to Family Table brings together her love of gardens, food, and storytelling through memories of a cherished childhood tradition shared with her mother.
Escargot: From Palace Garden to Family Table
Available in print and as a digital edition.
Published by The Modern Victorian LLC/Silo Design New York.