Niklas, a pioneer of Nordic gastronomy and open fire cooking, has been a prominent figure in raising the profile of Scandinavian food globally. After spending time at el Bulli, The Fat Duck and Chicago’s now closed Charlie Trotter, in 1999 he successfully opened his debut restaurant Niklas at the age of twenty-one, followed by Niklas i Viken in 2003. After his food show Mat aired on Swedish national television, he felt it was time to return to his roots.
Growing up in Järpen, a small village in Jämtland in the northern part of Sweden, Niklas spent long periods outdoors exploring the Stockholm archipelago where he found himself drawn to woods and expanse of birch trees. He started researching ancient cooking techniques and extensively read eighteenth-century cookbooks on Sweden’s pre-electrical cuisine. He decided to launch a restaurant that would pay homage to this period in history, but also to his childhood and heritage. His open fire restaurant, Ekstedt, launched in 2011 and showcases his bold, primal and radical return to ancient cooking. Ekstedt doesn’t use electricity nor gas and instead makes excellent use of a fire pit, a wood-fired oven and a wood stove. Gaining a Michelin star in 2013, the restaurant continues to be one of the top gastronomic destinations in Sweden.
Author of six cookbooks, Niklas has published three in the UK including Scandinavian Classics, Food from the Fire and Happy Food. He has made appearances on Saturday Kitchen, This Morning and Classic Mary Berry, and at festivals such as Meatopia, Wilderness and Taste of London. Most recently Niklas has organised Foodstock, a new festival celebrating the Nordic culinary arts.
A spearhead in the progression of Stockholm’s exploding food scene, Niklas' innovative recipes and techniques have had a profound impact on the culinary scene worldwide.
