Disclaimer: I am not a food critic nor do I attempt to be one. I also believe that half the food endeavour lies in doing the research and understanding what you are eating and not simply consuming mindlessly. I do my best but naturally there are gaps in my knowledge and experience. I can only give my own account of any particular meal, it is up to you to try it for yourself to create your own opinion.
Mere hours ago, mum and I were seated in Frantzen, the 12th best restaurant in the world. I am still in awe of both the food we had, our good fortune in obtaining a table on the weekend at the very last minute and simply how blessed I am with opportunity to sample something as decadent as this.
Frantzén, aptly renamed after the remaining chef Björn Frantzén is Modern Scandinavian food served with an Asian twist. I admittedly do not otherwise have much experience with Scandinavian food let alone its fancier modern fine dining counterpart, but from what I can discern from this meal Scandi cooking lies predominantly in seasonal produce and ‘game’ meat such as reindeer.
Our menu differed slightly but you can view the full 2014 Winter Edition here.
Prologue (right to left)
Mille of celeriac, truffle and chestnut
Blood and liver pancake
Vichyssoise
Confit of pig’s head on pork skin
Galanga root macaron with bird’s liver
Appetizer
Oyster “45 min”, fir tree oil, goat’s milk, walnuts and frozen lingon berries
King crab leg’s poached in beer and dill
Horse tataki, lichens and grated frozen liver
Photo of the truffle that was casually hanging out at our table.
Bone marrow, caviar, smoked parsley and creme fraiche
“Bread”
Soup of fermented rye with soured milk and smoked bacon fat
Signature
Scallop, cooking juices and truffle
Jerusalem artichokes, fermented beans and chicken skin
Satio tempestas, a Frantzén staple no matter what the season. The ingredients for this change daily subject to the availability of produce from their own garden. Today’s consisted of 30 ingredients.
Catch of Today
Cod cooked for three hours, preserved anchovy juices, vendace roe and yellow onions
“Hot Pot”
Cabbage, beef and beef tongue, cabbage boullion
Pattiserie
Chestnut ice cream with honey, chestnuts and spices
Dried beetroots, blackberry marmalade, lavender and 100- year old vinegar
My favourite thing about our dinner was the diversity in the ingredients used. Some of the tastiest dishes did not even contain wow factor foods (e.g. truffle, uni, toro being the usual go to’s), showing that you don’t need the most expensive item to make something delicious. This was however the most expensive meal I have ever had, racking up a 4967 SEK bill which included a few glasses of wine but not the generous tip we left them.
exquisite !
Now this – this, looks like it’s worth the money. I never did get to do any Nordic-style food when I was in Europe, but this looks like it’s going to go on the list when I go. Thanks for the post!
I was still getting back into the mojo of blogging so I really wish I took better notes at the time. Scandinavian food is really interesting, from reindeer to fish paste in a tube. I’m really excited for Adam Liaw’s new Destination Scandinavia series, should definitely bookmark that if you’re planning on heading north any time soon!
Sometimes all you need to say are “it was awesome” and provide great pictures 😀
It does look very interesting; a market Sydney isn’t quite getting at the moment. Perhaps it’s time for a new wave of Nordic goodness?