Back in Stockholm, chefs Anton Bjuhr and Jacob Holmström of restaurant Gastro-logik are so smitten by the farmers whom they buy from that they made a book about them. “A close relationship with producers is vital for quality,” says Holmström, who has done away with menus to give him the freedom to cook whatever comes in fresh that day (one recent example: wild salmon with onion flowers and spruce shoots in aquavit). And at Frantzén/ Lindeberg, a 17-seat restaurant on Stadsholmen Island owned by chefs Björn Frantzén and Daniel Lindeberg, you’ll find photographs of farmers on the wall.
Among them is Jan Andersson, a onetime preschool teacher who now owns four hothouses near Malmköping, 70 kilometers south of Stockholm. I drive there with Frantzén to see what is destined for that night’s dinner plate: candy-striped Chioggia beetroots, curly kale, sea aster, and kohlrabi, which all come together in the Satio Tempesta (“Satisfaction of the Season”), an extravagant salad starring 40 different types of fruits and vegetables, most from Andersson’s garden.
Frantzén/Lindeberg is renowned for its wild pairings, and dinner there is certainly an experience. I partake of a buttery langoustine served with pork fat, celery, and apple foam, and bone marrow with smoked parsley and caviar. Then comes the salad. After that, it gets a little strange. A glutinous cockscomb with monkfish and hazelnuts combines too many textures for my liking, while a succulent lamb steak is overpowered by anchovies. But it’s the dried pig’s blood with blackberries and chocolate served 22 courses in to this 27-course tasting menu that throws me the most.
Despite—or perhaps because of—such oddities, Frantzén/Lindeberg is by far the most applauded restaurant in Sweden at the moment, with two Michelin stars and a coterie of devotees. Together with Magnus Nilsson, its owners are influencing a whole new generation of chefs, which we are likely to hear a lot about in years to come.
“There is a lot of energy in the restaurant scene in Sweden now,” says Holmström. “It’s a really great moment to be a chef.”
