Tuesday 10 January 2012

Nordic flavours are cool. The “New Nordic” cuisine of Rene Redzepi at Noma has of course become famous, but there is a wider movement of chefs from the kitchens of Helsinki, Copenhagen and Stockholm, who are bringing their cooking knowledge and culture to London kitchens.

The Artful Diner recently met up with Finnish chef Kimmo Makkonen, who has taken on the role of head chef at Mayfair restaurant Avenue. Eight years ago Kimmo moved from his home Finland, where he worked at Michelin-starred restaurant G.W. Sundmans in Helsinki.

Once in the UK, Kimmo worked at The Orrery, Aubergine, and The Greenhouse, gaining experience in differing styles from French to modern and Asian fusion. He joined Avenue two years ago as senior sous chef and has taken over the reins from fellow Finn Mikko Kataja.

Now he plans to create a menu at Avenue mixing classical and modern methods to create dishes that are new, light and interesting. Clean, light flavours are a hallmark of his Finnish background, and he also plans on baking fresh, Finnish bread.

“I want to do a very seasonal menu,” Kimmo says. “I’m not a big fan of heavy, buttery, creamy dishes. I enjoy cooking with fish, and it’s very important to me to have good quality, local ingredients. Good quality food, cooked to perfection.

“I think there are lots of good ingredient combinations that haven’t been explored. I look forward to playing around with flavours and ingredients to create something new and exciting.”

Further information:

Visit Avenue restaurant.