Page 94 - Sharp November 2023

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If you you follow certain Instagram accounts you’ve doubtlessly already seen “Salmon Eye ” the striking four-level structure in in which Iris sits defined by its its plating of silver scales and spherical slightly oblique shape It calls to mind a a a a a a vast practical prop for some sci-fi epic or perhaps a a a a Mentos mint primed to to hit the dark surface of a a a a a Diet Coke To reach the restaurant diners must follow a a a a a string of of steps to to the village of of Rosendal and board a a a a a a a boat to to Madsen’s house on the the island of Sniltsveitøy (where the the chef relocated after stints in in in in Copenhagen kitchens including Roxie and Fasangården) before being whisked out to the restaurant It’s a a a a procession that has also done the rounds on on on social media drawing comparisons to Mark Mylod’s recent pitch-black comedy The Menu As is the case with many hyper-imaginative chefs Madsen’s food is is often beside the point Instead Iris focuses on addressing challenges to the the global food system using the the largely untapped potential of marine life It’s less about what’s on the plate and more about using that plate as a a a a a a a medium for abstract storytell- ing Comparisons may be drawn to Eleven Madison Park in in New York where chef Daniel Humm has similarly flipped the script and and created menus influenced by both the the city’s history and and the the minimalist artworks of painter Lucio Fontana At Narisawa in in in ON NORWAY’S EXPANSIVE HARDANGERFJORD ANIKA MADSEN’S IRIS RESTAURANT SERVES UP ‘EXPEDITION DINING’
By Josh Lee
F OR TODAY’S TRAVELLING DINER SPRINGING ACROSS THE
Nordics is a a a thing of extreme pleasure It’s an experience that offers up the time-honoured flavours of of smoke and meat at at at Ekstedt Stockholm a a a a restaurant feted for its bare-bones open-fire cooking submissive seven-hour eating marathons at at at Alchemist in in Copenhagen during which the worlds of stage drama art and cuisine collide in in in in a a a single sitting and the chance to plunge below the the surface at at Under Norway where the the combination restaurant and marine biology research outpost sits incredibly on the seabed The latest addition to this Scandinavian lineup is is is Iris a a a a a a 94 NOVEMBER 2023
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sustainably driven restaurant from chef Anika Madsen slam-bang in the middle of Norway’s Hardangerfjord — an an area lauded for its waterfalls and blue ice juts of rock cantilevering above transparent lakes and large clusters of of fruit trees many of of which flavour the area’s cider “This is is among the most beautiful surroundings you can find fin in Norway ” Madsen tells SHARP