A Brutalist cuisine restaurant in Stockholm, in analogy with the architectural current, offers programmatically elementary dishes. The concept is by Carsten Höller and a manifesto defines its rules, in line with the principles of Brutalist architecture: only one ingredient per dish, often divided and cooked in different ways and then added again on the same plate. Elaborate cooking techniques are allowed, as is raw or quickly heated food, but decorations are forbidden: it is all about bringing out the essential flavours. After all, as children we start eating as Brutalists (see below “mother’s milk is essentially Brutalist” Ed.) tasting only one flavour at a time, driven by curiosity. Höller trained as an entomological researcher, but between the 1980s and 1990s he became an artist, so much so that he is represented by the influential Gagosian art gallery. In 2022, he opened the restaurant in Stockholm: why open a research restaurant in Sweden? Was there a need for a new ‘ism’ to harness the cuisine in such strict rules? Possibly, the ‘New Nordic Food‘ manifesto had prepared the audience for such a radical offer. The menu features a sequence of ingredients selected by chef Stefan Eriksson, who has been working for some time bringing forgotten products to light, the result of careful research whose aim is extreme quality: 99% of the raw materials come from Sweden, and all the vegetables come, for example, from an organic farm outside Stockholm. The menu adapts to the use of the various materials available, also based on what is left over from each animal chosen and cooked. The Brutalist Kitchen Manifesto per definition puts a huge emphasis on the produce being the best it can be: in turn, working with the best local ingredients possible inevitably means that the menu is a constant subject to change. It might even on occasion feature special items for just a night or two, like mushrooms handpicked by the chefs, wild game hunted by friends, or specialty items from the network of producers they work so closely with.

THE BRUTALIST KITCHEN MANIFESTO

  • Brutalist kitchen is a dogma kitchen where certain rules apply
  • Brutalist kitchen is titled in reference to Brutalist architecture, renowned for its linear and blockish appearance.
  • The main rule is the following: ingredients are used alone for a certain dish; only water and salt may be added.
  • In Orthodox Brutalist Cuisine, neither water (nor salt) is added.
  • Generally speaking, the Brutalist Kitchen is less about recipes and more about finding and preparing ingredients.
  • We are born as Brutalist eaters, as mother’s milk is essentially Brutalist.
  • One ingredient is often divided and cooked in different ways and then added again on the same plate.
  • The use of overlooked, hard-to-get or rare ingredients, or ingredients that are generally discarded, is characteristic of Brutalist kitchen.
  • Brutalist Cuisine is not about lack of sophistication, but lack of combination of different ingredients and a commitment to purity.
  • Elaborate cooking techniques are allowed, as is raw or quickly heated food.
  • Decoration on the plate is avoided.
  • Different ingredients are not permitted on the same plate, they have to be presented as different units. The different dishes may be served at the same time.
  • The eater may combine the tastes of different ingredients while eating. Instead of a chef imposing what should go together and which amount for a given serving, the eater takes these decisions.
  • Portions tend to be of substantial size.

Read more on Brutalisten.com