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Rural Swedish chef wins first two Michelin stars

The Local Sweden
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Rural Swedish chef wins first two Michelin stars
Magnus Nilsson, head chef at Fäviken Magasinet. Photo: Robert Henriksson/TT

A Swedish chef running a restaurant in the middle of nowhere celebrated on Wednesday as his eatery became the first in Sweden outside the capital to claim two Michelin stars.

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Rising star Magnus Nilsson nabbed the double gong for his restaurant Fäviken Magasinet, located in northern Sweden near the Åre ski resort in Jämtland, more than 600 kilometres north of Stockholm.

But despite often being billed as the world's most isolated restaurant, tables at Fäviken are ususally booked up a month or more in advance – even before winning its two stars.

"We have peformed at international top level for a while now. More agile guides have noticed it before, and we belong to the most famous restaurants in the world," the Swedish chef told the Dagens Nyheter newspaper after being told the news on Wednesday.

Nilsson trained in Paris as a sommelier and only became a chef when he moved home to open a restaurant in his native north. His cuisine focuses on what you may call a series of hyper-Swedish dishes, including raw cow's heart with marrow and wild trout roe in dried pig's blood.

The lavish menu has to be ordered and paid for in advance and costs 2,200 kronor ($260) per head. Drinks not included.

Most of the food is locally sourced or grown or caught by Nilsson's team themselves. And it's a job he clearly takes seriously. When asked by Swedish media how he planned to celebrate his win, he replied: "We're going to go to Norway to fish for cod next week."

 

And here it is again mid-cooking, ready to be shown of in the dining room. #pigsfatmakesyouhappy #wellknownfact

Ett foto publicerat av Magnus Nilsson (@faviken) Feb 19, 2016 kl. 11:28 PST

Elsewhere in Sweden, Hotel Borgholm on the picturesque Öland east coast island, PM & Vänner in Växjö and Daniel Berlin in Tranås received one star each in the Michelin Nordic Guide 2016 as the culinary guide for the first time extended its accolades to areas outside of Scandinavia's big-city regions.

"International food tourists' focus will now also be on restaurants outside the big cities. That means new jobs, growth and development of the Swedish countryside when Swedish gastronomy receives this recognition," said Eva Östling, CEO of tourist organization Visita.

Sushi Sho in Stockholm and Upper House in Gothenburg were also two of the new star restaurants shooting on to the prestigious list for the first time.

Over in Denmark and Norway, two restaurants were celebrating receiving their first three stars, the top level in Guide Michelin: Maaemo in Oslo and Geranium in Copenhagen.

The Swedish restaurants included in the Michelin Nordic Guide 2016

Two stars:

Frantzén, Stockholm

Mathias Dahlgren-Matsalen, Stockholm

Oaxen Krog, Stockholm

Fäviken, Järpen

One star:

Ekstedt, Stockholm

Esperanto, Stockholm

Gastrologik, Stockholm

Mathias Dahlgren-Matbaren, Stockholm

Operakällaren, Stockholm

Sushi Sho, Stockholm

Volt, Stockholm

Bhoga, Göteborg

Koka, Göteborg

Sjömagasinet, Göteborg

SK Mat & Människor, Göteborg

Thörnströms Kök, Göteborg

28+, Göteborg

Upper House, Göteborg

Ambiance à Vindåkra, Malmö

Bloom in the Park, Malmö

Vollmers, Malmö

Borgholm, Öland

Daniel Berlin, Tranås

PM & Vänner, Växjö

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