Updates from The Kitchen Club with restaurant manager and chef Mathias Nolin
Between rising bread doughs, simmering pots of deliciousness and plans for
next weeks menu we managed to catch restaurant manager and passionate chef
Mathias Nolin for a quick few questions about what he wants to bring to The Kitchen Club table. If you read this between today (October 11) and October 18 you might be here because you want to know more about the upcoming changes at The Kitchen Club. If you read this after October 18, you might be here because you are curious to know what food ethos and philosophy the Kitchen Club is built on. Let's hear what's on Mathias mind!
Hello Mathias, what's cookin'?
We're putting the final touches on todays braised beef cheek and prepping the beautiful celery before it becomes puree and we're just about to put the turnips in the oven and check that the pickled mustard is on point flavour wise...
Ah…I meant more in a "what's happening"-kind of way. That does sound delicious though!
Haha, never ask a chef what's cooking if you don't want to talk about food! Lots of things are happening. We are so happy to see more and more people in the restaurant. So full steam ahead on making sure we keep our quality and cooking philosophy and find a smooth way to serve all the knew faces that we are now getting to know!
Speaking of philosophy - how would you describe what you serve at The Kitchen Club?
In short I would summarise our cooking philosophy as keeping a curious and liberal view on flavour inspiration, whether it's taking inspiration from countries around the world, the Swedish seasons or simply bringing out the best flavours of a specific produce. But if we're liberal with flavours, we are more strict regarding what produce we choose and how we refine them. I have a real fancy for using the less obvious parts of produce which often leads to slow-cooking as a method we use plenty in the kitchen. And vegetables! Vegetables bring us so much flavour and opportunities, and that is something that we really want to showcase at The Kitchen Club!
That sounds like a whole heap of focus on sustainability!
It does doesn't it? Sustainability is of course always in focus. But honestly, a lot of the times what we do is more sprung from simply wanting to serve really good food - and that's when you start looking at more vegetables, more organic and local - because it brings so much quality to the food! A wonderful win win.
But we do, obviously, look at sustainability broader than what quality it gives to flavours. As we all know sustainable change doesn't just happen on it's own and we have a lot left to do; for instance we are completely dependent on inspiring and nudging our guests to eat more vegetables and less meat, and to set up flows in the restaurant that minimise food waste. These things are kind of key to the next level; apart from being important to sustainability on its own - it also gives us opportunities to spend that little extra on purchasing produce that are even more sustainable and high quality. It's all a virtuous circle!
You say you have a lot left to do - what's the next step?
Right now we are making a few changes on the lunch buffet flow. First of all we are working to make it easier for our guests to choose a lunch according to their personal preferences. In October we are introducing a new way of presenting our food, both in how we write the menus and how we display the food. We will still write complete curated menus but once you get to the restaurant it will be more obvious that they are "Chefs Recommendations" but that you are encouraged to combine your lunch freely.
The biggest change is however that the buffet will be paid for by weight. This has proven to minimise the waste that our guests throw away at the end of the meal. When you pay for what you actually take people tend to treasure the food more - and eat it all up! We've also seen guest ratings go up, partly because you feel that your not paying for more than you actually take, and partly because less waste means we can afford putting in even higher quality produce.
Interesting and exciting! Finally - what do you think is the next step after that?
One step at the time is our motto! But ok - something that we are also adding in the coming change is more items on the buffet that aren't written on any weekly menus, but created from what we have in our storage right now, and what our suppliers might have a surplus of that risk becoming food waste. If this is appreciated maybe the next step is a menu completely made up day by day, Plat du jour-style. That would be exciting and would lower food waste even more - as well as keeping us chefs on our toes creatively.
But let's see - we want to make these changes with our guests and will listen to them a lot! It's their day we're trying to make better through our food!
Thank you Mathias - we'll let you get back to your pots and your pans and your plans for the future!
Hello Mathias, what's cookin'?
We're putting the final touches on todays braised beef cheek and prepping the beautiful celery before it becomes puree and we're just about to put the turnips in the oven and check that the pickled mustard is on point flavour wise...
Ah…I meant more in a "what's happening"-kind of way. That does sound delicious though!
Haha, never ask a chef what's cooking if you don't want to talk about food! Lots of things are happening. We are so happy to see more and more people in the restaurant. So full steam ahead on making sure we keep our quality and cooking philosophy and find a smooth way to serve all the knew faces that we are now getting to know!
Speaking of philosophy - how would you describe what you serve at The Kitchen Club?
In short I would summarise our cooking philosophy as keeping a curious and liberal view on flavour inspiration, whether it's taking inspiration from countries around the world, the Swedish seasons or simply bringing out the best flavours of a specific produce. But if we're liberal with flavours, we are more strict regarding what produce we choose and how we refine them. I have a real fancy for using the less obvious parts of produce which often leads to slow-cooking as a method we use plenty in the kitchen. And vegetables! Vegetables bring us so much flavour and opportunities, and that is something that we really want to showcase at The Kitchen Club!
That sounds like a whole heap of focus on sustainability!
It does doesn't it? Sustainability is of course always in focus. But honestly, a lot of the times what we do is more sprung from simply wanting to serve really good food - and that's when you start looking at more vegetables, more organic and local - because it brings so much quality to the food! A wonderful win win.
But we do, obviously, look at sustainability broader than what quality it gives to flavours. As we all know sustainable change doesn't just happen on it's own and we have a lot left to do; for instance we are completely dependent on inspiring and nudging our guests to eat more vegetables and less meat, and to set up flows in the restaurant that minimise food waste. These things are kind of key to the next level; apart from being important to sustainability on its own - it also gives us opportunities to spend that little extra on purchasing produce that are even more sustainable and high quality. It's all a virtuous circle!
You say you have a lot left to do - what's the next step?
Right now we are making a few changes on the lunch buffet flow. First of all we are working to make it easier for our guests to choose a lunch according to their personal preferences. In October we are introducing a new way of presenting our food, both in how we write the menus and how we display the food. We will still write complete curated menus but once you get to the restaurant it will be more obvious that they are "Chefs Recommendations" but that you are encouraged to combine your lunch freely.
The biggest change is however that the buffet will be paid for by weight. This has proven to minimise the waste that our guests throw away at the end of the meal. When you pay for what you actually take people tend to treasure the food more - and eat it all up! We've also seen guest ratings go up, partly because you feel that your not paying for more than you actually take, and partly because less waste means we can afford putting in even higher quality produce.
Interesting and exciting! Finally - what do you think is the next step after that?
One step at the time is our motto! But ok - something that we are also adding in the coming change is more items on the buffet that aren't written on any weekly menus, but created from what we have in our storage right now, and what our suppliers might have a surplus of that risk becoming food waste. If this is appreciated maybe the next step is a menu completely made up day by day, Plat du jour-style. That would be exciting and would lower food waste even more - as well as keeping us chefs on our toes creatively.
But let's see - we want to make these changes with our guests and will listen to them a lot! It's their day we're trying to make better through our food!
Thank you Mathias - we'll let you get back to your pots and your pans and your plans for the future!