Our 3 favourite New Nordic restaurants
Max AlmTHE AREA
The rolling green hills, farmsteads and castles of the southern Swedish coast have seen Skåne likened to Tuscany. Beyond the main town of Malmö, which gained three Michelin-starred restaurants in the Nordic Cities 2015 guide, this is a bucolic region of artisan producers. Old farms are being transformed into organic bistros, like celebrated eco estate Ängavallen.
THE INGREDIENTS
Dill and cucumber are standouts. And simple foodstuffs - grains and lamb - form the basis of hearty but unfussy cuisine. Regional ice wine is the world's best.
THE STAR CHEF
Daniel Berlin's cottage restaurant, Daniel Berlin Krog i Skåne Tranås, seats just 14 and epitomises the Skåne mood. Starters are served in the garden; most ingredients - from hackberries to celeriac - are grown on the three-acre site. He's tipped as a successor to René Redzepi from Noma and is bringing his food to a wider audience, planning events in London later this year. +46 417 20300; www.danielberlin.se
STAY
A 25-minute drive from Daniel Berlin's eponymous restaurant is Karlaby Kro, a farmhouse-turned-inn with an excellent restaurant, 22 bedrooms around a courtyard and a spa in the old orangery. +46 414 203 00; www.karlabykro.se. Doubles from about £170
THE AREA
Until recently it was mainly fishermen, campers and bird-watchers who travelled to this smattering of stunning islands linked by fjords and rocky coves in south-west Norway. But local chef Ørjan Johannessen, winner of this year's Bocuse d'Or (the culinary version of the Olympics), is drawing a new type of visitor to his just-about-secret restaurant Bekkjarvik Gjestgiveri. It's off the beaten track but accessible by boat from Bergen.
THE INGREDIENTS
Bleak-weather food for vegetable dodgers - wild sheep, monkfish, salmon.
THE STAR CHEF
Johannessen has gained plaudits for his seasonal seafood menu, served in a harbourside mansion where seafaring paraphernalia and original ships' lights are no urban-hipster pastiche. Expect variations of his prize-winning creation: sole stuffed with shrimp, black bread and dill. +47 55 08 42 40; www.bekkjarvikgjestgiveri.no
STAY
In the guesthouse above the restaurant: the rooms are old-fashioned but have amazing sea views. Doubles from about £140
THE AREA
The country's northernmost region - a land of windswept, grass-fringed beaches and organic farms - 'is the base of all Nordic cuisine,' says local chef Morten Nielsen of Mortens Kro. And it seems the area's fresh, salty flavours are in the blood of many of the country's most accomplished chefs. The star-making ability of the cooking school in Aalborg has helped fuel the area's rise - along with a boom in restaurants dotted along the seaside villages and towns.
THE INGREDIENTS
'Limfjord oysters are world-famous,' says Nielsen. Mushrooms from Rold forest are the king of fungi and local spirit Aalborg Aakvavit is served across Denmark.
THE STAR CHEF
Kenneth Hansen at Svinkløv Badehotel, a clapboard hotel on a remote beach, is one to watch following his turn at 2015's Bocuse d'Or. +45 9821 7002; www.svinkloev-badehotel.dk
STAY
Ruths Hotel near the fishing port of Skagen. +45 9844 1124; www.ruths-hotel.dk. Doubles from about £170
This feature was first published in Condé Nast Traveller June 2015
