“When people think of Nordic cuisine, they’re often talking about things like pickled herring, but there is a lot more than that,” says, laughing. The chef is heading the kitchen at newly opened , a Melbourne restaurant championing the “New Nordic” approach.
Developed in Scandinavian countries, rather than specific dishes. It promotes the use of hyper-local and seasonal ingredients and the use of traditional techniques like fermentation and smoking.
“When you look at the weather there, it's not a choice to be so seasonal. Winter is pretty long and so damn cold. Whatever the best ingredients that you get during spring and summer, you have to preserve them so that you have something during the winter. That's why the curing, fermenting, smoking and all these techniques are really well-developed in this region,” explains Bang, who hails from South Korea and was previously at the helm of .
When Bang landed in Melbourne in April, one of the first things he did was to connect with local producers like and . Each week, he chats with them and adjusts his menu depending on what they have on offer, from radish shoots to quandong.
So don’t expect Freyja to offer the same food you’d find in a Scandinavian restaurant. But you'll definitely see nods to that part of the world through dishes like the trout roe waffles.
Bang takes the thin, heart-shaped waffles popular in Norway and Sweden and serves them with local sour cream that has been smoked, Yarra Valley trout roe and mixed herbs. “We make them in a really traditional way with cast iron over the open fire. It tastes totally different from the ones that are made in electronic waffle machines because of the heat and the burning wood,” he explains.
A key Scandinavian ingredient, potato, is given a fresh twist by being fermented for a week in salt brine, and then deep-fried. “I think we serve one of the best potato dishes in town,” Bang says.
If you’re after a more traditional Scandinavian experience, you’ll find it when Freyja opens for lunch with a selection of .
The restaurant’s creative director, , grew up eating them in his native Denmark. “My parents ate them and my grandparents did too; it's something that goes way back. It’s just so Danish and it’s something you enjoy with a group of people," says Trampedach, who is also CEO of (which is behind Freyja). "It's something you share with your family and friends, so it’s always a little bit special."
We make them in a really traditional way with cast iron over the open fire. It tastes totally different from the ones that are made in electronic waffle machines.
At Freyja, the classic shrimp and egg smørrebrød is reinvented with school prawns, smashed egg salad, mustard greens and brown butter emulsion. It’s one of Bang’s favourites.
There will also be four more smørrebrød, with beef tartare, grilled eggplant, duck confit and brassicas with seasonal mushroom sauce.
“It does so much to connect people and [help them] socialise,” says Bang of this sandwich tradition. He hopes that Melburnians will embrace the culture around smørrebrød.
On the upcoming lunch menu: a reimagined version of the classic prawn and egg smørrebrød. Source: Parker Blain
Not just about the food
While Bang has put a lot of thought into Freyja’s menu, it’s not necessarily what made him move across the globe to join the restaurant. Together with Trampedach, they share a common vision about sustainability and community.
“I'm not interested in food on its own. I'm interested in how we approach it. And Jae is the same,” says Trampedach.
By sustainability, they mean reducing wastage in the kitchen, but also being sustainable in the way they work. It means paying the staff properly, not expecting them to work over-the-top hours, and closing on weekends so that the team can have a life outside of work.
“The whole business model is built on a model that needs to be sustainable commercially and not rely on unpaid staff, for example, which most great restaurants have been doing for years, and it's not a model we want to copy or stand behind,” says Trampedach.
“We’re not saving babies here, but we’re trying to make an impact on how we treat our own people, and our stakeholders.”
477 Collins Street, Melbourne
Mon – Fri 5.30 – 11 pm (lunch hours to launch in the coming months)
