This text is part of the special book Plaisirs
For 20 years, and the birth of the iconic Noma restaurant in Copenhagen, the foodies combine Scandinavia with culinary excellence. World’s 50 Best, Bocuse d’Or, Michelin Guide… the new Nordic cuisine dominates all competitions and inspires cooks all over the world. It is therefore with great excitement that Montreal tables are preparing to receive a delegation of Scandinavian chefs during the 24e edition of the Montréal en lumière festival. Meet some of them.
Contrary to the clichés that are often conveyed about it, the Scandinavian geographical area, like its cuisine, is far from being monolithic. Strictly speaking, Scandinavia comprises three countries: Denmark, Sweden and Norway. But we can also add Iceland and the Faroe Islands, which share the same cultural and linguistic base with it, as well as, by extension, Finland.
A kitchen of products in Denmark and Sweden
The Scandinavian countries have almost all experienced a different food reality. Bordering Germany and Canada (on Hans Island), Denmark established itself as a commercial (and colonial) power, which allowed it to have early access to products and know-how from everywhere.
Its neighbor Sweden has also benefited from this proximity, but has always defined itself as agricultural. “We are by essence farmers, even if we also fish on our coasts and draw from our forests,” confirms chef Martin Moses, owner of the Human restaurant (Gothenburg). As Sweden is 80% self-sufficient in food and has a range of products, the chef will be spoiled for choice when constructing the five-course menu which will be presented at the restaurant La Chronique on February 24 and 25. Grilled langoustines, halibut smoked with aquavit (Scandinavian spirits with caraway or dill) and an original interpretation around the potato should be part of the festivities.
Norway: the great contradiction
A neighbor of Sweden, Norway has not had the same journey at all. The country having been the poor relation of Scandinavia and quite isolated until the oil boom of the 1970s, its inhabitants fed themselves through fishing, livestock (lambs, goats, reindeer) and gathering in the forest. “Unfortunately, our sudden prosperity has had the effect of causing us to lose all of our food and culinary heritage in the space of two generations,” says chef Ola Solfridson Klepp indignantly. We are, moreover, one of the countries where people spend the least on their food and have the most supermarket culture, including the purchase of fish from China. »
This critical vision, which scratches the aura of excellence enjoyed by several Norwegian establishments, does not prevent the young chef from working tirelessly to reconnect the customers of his restaurant K2 (Stavanger) with the principles of healthy eating. local, organic and sustainable. It is therefore with this philosophy that he will take over the kitchens of H3 on February 23 and 24, marrying Norwegian and Canadian products in his own way in a 10-course menu in the evening (7 for the noon). With, among other things, herring, scallops and oysters from here, as well as reindeer pudding (a meat whose taste is somewhere between that of deer and duck), caviar, kvass (a fermented and sparkling drink made from cereals) and brunost (a brown cheese with a caramelized taste) from there.
Surprising Iceland
Even though he has lived between Sweden and Norway for several years, chef Sigurður Rúnar Ragnarsson, who will be received at the Renoir restaurant on February 17, 18 and 19, has not forgotten his Icelandic roots. On this volcanic island located between Greenland and Norway, colonized by the Vikings from the 9the century, life was pretty tough. “I grew up in a village where we only had what was around to eat. That is to say fish, lambs (whose fat and even droppings were used for heating, for lack of trees on the island) and a few crops. The principle of using an entire animal or plant is therefore part of my DNA, as is that of transforming it as little as possible,” says the chef, born into a family of fish farmers who dried cod in salt (clipfish) before selling it.
The nine-course menu that will be presented at Le Renoir will reflect these origins, notably with salted dried cod, lamb smoked by Sigurður’s father as well as kleinasmall Icelandic twisted donuts.
Nordic Dating
The presence of these chefs at the Montréal en lumière festival, beyond satisfying our curiosity, allows us to observe what the Scandinavian Nordic heritage and our own boreal cuisine have in common.
According to Jean-Sébastien Giguère, chef and co-owner of H3, “we have climatic constraints on both sides that have influenced our diet, with preservation methods developed to be able to feed ourselves during the winter”. Obviously, we immediately think of smoking, salting and drying, traditional on both sides of the Atlantic. We also find in these two cuisines some related ingredients: cod, seafood, forest products, tubers, flat breads resembling bannocks, etc. “We also all acquired a base of French cuisine before plunging into our culinary roots,” adds Sigurður Rúnar Ragnarsson.
On the other hand, the Scandinavian countries have an uncommon mastery of fermentation, an approach which has also contributed to the reputation of Noma. Vegetables, meats, fish, cheeses, drinks: fermented elements of all kinds, which open our senses to other flavors and textures, will be found on the menus of all the guest chefs.
The latter are also eager to discover during their visit several jewels from here, such as maple, blueberries and pepper from the dunes. “I think we’re going to learn a lot from each other,” concludes Jean-Sébastien Giguère. And so are we, festival-goers, armed with our forks!
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the Duty, pertaining to marketing. The drafting of Duty did not take part.