Totally Stockholm 1
Ekstedt It might be Great Britain next for star c
hef Niklas Ekstedt. But first he’s going for another star for Restaurant Ekstedt, while at the same time running the adjacent bars and restaurants Hillenberg and Tyge & Sessil. And on top of that, his new TV-show Four Hands Menu has just had its premiere. Words: Pelle Tamleht We’re at Niklas’ eponymous one-starred restaurant Ekstedt on Humlegårdsgatan. Since taking the reins of Restaurang Hillenberg, he now more or less runs the whole block, also including the wine bar Tyge & Sessil. So is this home now? It really is. It’s such an incredible luxury to have all your ventures at the same place, just around the corner. I’ll never have a restaurant in Stockholm further away than this. It’s so much easier to actually be present. Plus all the synergies, not only those visible to the public, but also when it comes to personnel. For Restaurant Ekstedt, the obvious aim currently is acquiring that second star. Niklas tells me that he has recruited personnel from Stockholm’s previously high-flying upscale restaurant Esperanto, and that he has refurbished the whole restaurant to up the quality level a couple of notches. I ask how he works, personally, to reach that level. “I’ve never felt stressed, really, but always thought it was pleasant to come in second after the likes of Björn Frantzén. But now with several Swedish restaurants having reached two or three stars I feel we have to step up our game to continue being second best. On a personal level it has mostly been about trying to organise my life, to find a structure. My problem is that I become under-stimulated and struggle to pull the brake [on working]. But I now have people helping me with that.” Because you’re grown-up now, you’re turning 40. I know. It feels good but there are a few things on the list I wanted to have checked off before I turned 40. Like what? I would have liked to have had a restaurant abroad, 8 preferably in England. And I would have liked another star, but that’s obviously a bit tight now. In a previous interview, you likened yourself to a publishing editor rather than a writer. I think that sounds like a telling comparison. Would you care to elaborate? We’re looking a lot at how other lines of businesses work within the creative field, like for example advertising agencies or the media. I would say we look more towards them than, for example, top restaurants in France, which have an almost military-like hierarchy, Napoleon style. We want a more modern system where young people can flourish and develop. Just as an advertising agency has an editor, an art director and a copywriter, restaurants need to assign clear roles. If someone gets a piece of plastic in their dish, or are served bad meat, it’s my responsibility. If someone calls me, disappointed by a visit because the waiter has been rude I cannot throw the waiter under the bus, it’s still my responsibility. I think the structure is important to implement into society in general, that there is someone who actually is responsible for things. You cannot cook, release or write whatever you want – there is a legally responsible publisher, someone that is responsible for everything. I think it’s easier for both the guest and my staff if it’s clear who is accountable for the restaurant. At the same time I feel one of the most important tasks for a publisher is to bring out new young talent, how do you do that? It’s a very important question, it’s the exact same in the restaurant business. I think I have become pretty good at seeing talent and can sense fairly quickly when someone distinguish themselves. The hard part is rather to know when it’s time for someone to move on and work at a three-starred restaurant in France or in Spain, and to dare to release them at that stage. You offer chefs under the age of 25 half price off the menu on certain days. It’s probably the best form of employer branding I have seen. Are there many chefs taking up the opportunity? Haha, unfortunately we don’t get much attention because of that, and we were the first to do it. I know that Noma does the same thing now. But there are nevertheless fairly many who take advantage of the offer, at least once a week. I read somewhere that the hard part really isn’t to be creative and get accolades but to become a legend. If we are to talk about age again I can feel it’s a bit hard to change gear from being young and promising into becoming the one who’s supposed to elevate the next generation. But I suppose this is one way of doing it. ‘Four Hands Menu’ is an expression in the restaurant world meaning two chefs meeting up and cooking together. To make a TV show based on that concept was Niklas’ own idea, and he’s also the executive producer. He will also appear in one of the episodes, where he cooks together with Australian chef Lennox Hastie, who is also famous for cooking over open fire at his restaurant Fire Door. Just like Niklas does at Ekstedt. In the first episode, which Niklas dubs The Masters of the Flames, the chefs meet in Australia. You couldn’t stay away from the screen? Haha, well that was the original idea. But the buyers wanted me in one of the episodes. Well, you got to go to Australia anyway. It feels like Four Hands Menu is quite a costly production. It’s probably the most costly food series ever made in Sweden.