Andrew Zimmern's IKEA Food Court Order Is Chaotic

For some of us, IKEA is really nothing more than a theme restaurant at the heart of a furniture maze. Andrew Zimmern, it seems, may be among our numbers; how likely is it that a man with a net worth of $10 million would be in need of flat-pack shelving? This famous foodie, however, seems to eat at IKEA's food court often enough that he has a go-to order there. Zimmern's order from the food court itself isn't anything too out of the ordinary. He gets the world-famous IKEA meatballs, of course — because who doesn't? They may well be the chain's greatest hit, after all. He supplements these with one of IKEA's hot dogs, as well, although not a vegan one since he really doesn't care for these.

Where this celeb chef really takes things over the top, though, is with his take-home treat from the Swedish food market: not one, but four tubes of salted cream cod or pollock roe. Such a fan is he of the caviar (or "kaviar," as the Swedes spell it) sold in a toothpaste-like tube that he tells his YouTube audience, "If you are what you eat, I'm 5% Swedish cream roe." (We dare not ask the former host of "Bizarre Foods" what the other 95% might be comprised of, although it's likely that Minnesota hot dish amounts to a few percentage points.)

Zimmern, a true kaviar fanboy, calls it "literally my favorite thing in the whole world" and says he eats the stuff on crackers. Despite his endorsement, kaviar doesn't seem to be universally popular. In fact, major manufacturer Kalles based an ad campaign around how its is such a niche product that really only Swedes (plus a certain celebrity chef) seem to understand its appeal.

If you, like Zimmern, are extremely fond of kaviar, you could be out of luck. The IKEA website doesn't feature the product at present, so you may not be able to find it in stores, either. Unless you live near another Swedish specialty store or are willing to shop online and pay any associated shipping and handling fees, you might have to do without this totally tubular treat.

If you can get your hands on kaviar, though, and would like to explore other squeezing options in lieu of crackers, Swedes often eat it as a sandwich spread or a topping for boiled eggs. It's also included in several recipes for sauces used with fish, thus creating a Swedish spin on the Chinese chicken and egg dish known as Mother and Child Reunion. (Which came first, the fish or the roe? Our heads are swimming, too!) However you eat kaviar, you can rest assured you're enjoying, as the Kalles commercials put it, "en väldigt svensk smak," which translates to: "a very Swedish flavor."