Mathias Dahlgren

Mathias Dahlgren was born in the North of Sweden and spent his childhood in the peace and quiet of snow-covered woods. Mathias remembers his Italian neighbours, whose culinary feats were imprinted in the memory of his palate forever. Mathias is one of the founders of the new generation of chef’s in Stockholm: in the 1980’s he and his two partners opened F12, named after its address, Fredsgatan 12, which was later to become "the road of Peace", seeing it as a programmatic intention: cooking is preparatory for peace.

Having embarked upon a personal journey, Mathias opened Bon Lloc. In the ten years spent there, Dahlgren overturned his culinary Weltanschauung. «I used to think that technique was everything» he says, «now I think that the ingredient is everything». On this idea he built the most interesting of his 4 menus, called occasion, in Spanish, in which he served the excellence of a seasonal product. After spending 18 months travelling the world, in 2007 this big man returned to his hometown: the restaurant that now bears his name is in the newest wing of the Grand Hôtel in Stockholm, home to luxury beyond compare in the Scandinavia that links the North Cape to Copenhagen. The concept is dual: there’s the informal food-bar Matbaren and the adjacent Matsalen, elegant fine dining restaurant awarded two Michelin stars in 2009 (the only restaurant in Sweden’s history, along with the now closed Edsbacka Krog, to achieve this result).

This is an experience to tell your grandchildren about: the DNA of Sweden’s most authentic and far from banal identity is served, elaborated with daring technique and ingredients selection with scientific discernment. For Dahlgren, the future of haute cuisine lies in all things "natural": the logical evolution of organic food, according to a chef who knows how to talk about his ideas, accompanying them with a clear vision of social changes and their effects on gastronomic trends.