Expectations are sky-high as Sweden's culinary king Marcus Samuelsson comes to Stockholm. His new eatery confirms that Sweden is one of the haute cuisine highlights in Europe. Rob Hincks investigates the current hunger for fine dining.
Marcus Samuelsson and his latest creation, Aquavit Grill & Raw Bar. Photo: Mathias Nero/www.clarionsign.se/
Marcus Samuelsson is already famous in his native Sweden. Known for his cookbooks, TV series and his multi-award-winning New York-based Aquavit restaurant, he has achieved the seemingly unachievable: without ever having rattled a single pot or pan on home soil Samuelsson has become a household name in Sweden.
Gutsy move
Now that he is bringing his Aquavit brand to Stockholm, Sweden’s gourmet glitterati await the results with the kind of nervous anticipation usually reserved for a soufflé; will he rise, or will he fall?
Aquavit Grill & Raw Bar opened on February 5 in the new Clarion Hotel Sign in central Stockholm. Luckily for Samuelsson today's culinary landscape is very different to the one he left behind when he first crossed the Atlantic in 1991.
“There has always been good cooking in Sweden, and great raw ingredients,” Samuelsson says. “But in recent years there has been a boom in top-class restaurants.”
Growing appetites
Ten years ago it was a different story. Gourmet restaurants in Sweden were few and far between, formal and old-fashioned. But entry into the EU and the IT boom of the late 1990s changed all that. Borders opened and money and international influence came in equally heavy measures.
Haute cuisine tonight, anyone? Swedes are spoilt for choice. Photo: Theresia Parsby/www.imagebank.sweden.se
Mikael Mölstad, director of the White Guide, the most respected restaurant guide in Sweden, says: “Competition between young chefs in Sweden is intense. They have worked in innovative restaurants abroad and have brought back these experiences with them.”
Diners, too, are demanding more, Mölstad says. “Swedes are curious and keen to learn. They have money, they travel for gourmet experiences, and when they come home they demand interesting and innovative fine dining.”
And where there is demand, there is of course supply. And not just from Samuelsson.
Money no object
Restaurants like Oaxen, Mathias Dahlgren, F12, Esperanto, Lux and Vassa Eggen to name but a few command the utmost respect, create hunger-inducing waiting lists, earn awards by the plate load and charge for the pleasure accordingly.
Björn Frantzén is co-owner of Frantzén/Lindeberg, a 19-seat gourmet restaurant that has just opened in Stockholm. The veteran chef has worked in some of the best restaurants in Europe and hopes the trend in gourmet dining continues.
“It’s a good period for restaurants in Stockholm right now. Last year was amazing, this year is looking even better. It’s crowded at the top, but I would rather have 19 expensive seats to fill than 150 mid-priced bistro ones. The trend in Stockholm is to serve high-end fixed menus for more money and people are showing that they are willing to pay for that.”
Left: Björn Frantzén and Daniel Lindeberg from the restaurant Frantzén/Lindeberg. Right: Try a delicious dessert at Oaxen in the archipelago south of Stockholm. Photos: Frantzén/Lindeberg, Anders Thessin/www.imagebank.sweden.se
It’s a story that is repeating itself outside the capital, too. “Gothenburg has long competed with Stockholm for the title of Sweden’s food capital,” Mölstad says. “But you can find great restaurants all over Sweden now. Malmö, Umeå, Uppsala, Växjö, Visby and Borgholm all have restaurants that are among the best in the country. The movement is being driven by young chefs who work abroad, or in Stockholm, and then return to where they grew up."
Same food, new dressing
As the Swedish food scene grows, a new style of cooking is also developing. Swedish chefs are returning to their culinary roots, rediscovering classic Swedish dishes and fantastic local seasonal ingredients and giving them a modern twist.
“Stockholm will never be another New York or Tokyo, but it is already attracting visitors because of its food, and that will spread across the rest of the country,” Mölstad says. “Someone like Marcus is known internationally, PR-minded and a nice guy. By opening a restaurant in Stockholm he will certainly go a long way to further establishing innovative Swedish food on the world map."
As for Samuelsson, he’s confident about his first venture out of New York. “I’m not nervous; never nervous. It’s going to be exciting," he says.
After all, as the song goes, if he can make it there, he can make it anywhere, can’t he?
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Rob Hincks is a British food and travel journalist based in Stockholm. Last month he worked his way through the seven-course tasting menu at F12 and can confirm that it was slightly better than the food he cooks every day for his two daughters.
The author alone is responsible for the opinions expressed in this article.
Classification: A234EN
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