Chef Bjoern Frantzen, right, along with his sous-chef, Charlie Benitez, work to create a lunch at a friend’s home outside of Stockholm, Sweden.

Hanging Out with Chef Bjoern Frantzen

After taking an overnight ferry from Helsinki to Stockholm my colleagues and I were met by Kristoffer Luczak who had invited us to stay in his home for a few days. Upon arriving at his home, which is located along the banks of the Stockholm Archipelago, we were greeted by  Chef Bjoern Frantzen who came over to cook us a welcome lunch. The former footballer turned master chef currently runs several restaurants in Stockholm which includes his Restaurant Frantzén which currently holds two Michelin Stars. He also has a restaurant located in Hong Kong called Frantzén’s Kitchen.

A BBQ grill loaded with langoustines, elk marrow and pork loins.

A warm early spring sun warmed us as we enjoyed the view of the archipelago and the smell of our lunch being cooked on a simple charcoal BBQ grill. After spending two weeks traveling above the Arctic Circle in Norway and then the frigid Finnish Lapland we were grateful to arrive at a comfortable home and thrilled to be treated by a master chef.

Charlie Benitez, sous-chef to Bjoern Frantzen, prepares items needed for a lunch the two of them are creating at a friend’s home outside of Stockholm, Sweden.

A batch of grilled langoustines.

Chef Bjoern Frantzen at in his friend’s Stockholm home kitchen.

Pork loin cooked to perfection by Chef Bjoern Frantzen.

Elk marrow

That night we met up again with Chef Frantzen at this gastropub called The Flying Elk. The plan was to have a light dinner but like all good plans such thoughts were thrown by the wayside when our table started hearing about all the great dishes we could try. Throughout the evening Chef Frantzen would stop by our table to make sure we were getting everything we needed.

Chef Frantzen in his gastropub called the Flying Elk located in downtown Stockholm.

He then revealed to us the dish that inspired him to become a chef which was something that lit up his palate when he was just 12-years-old. He told the story of a time he went to a French brasserie called Rendezvous which was owned by his best friend’s parents. On that particular day he was served steak tournedos with homemade bearnaise sauce, french fries and Coke loaded with ice and lemon. He loved the dish so much that he decided at that moment he wanted to become a chef so that he could cook and eat like that everyday. He now creates his own version of this dish in the Flying Elk.

Chef Frantzen plating up the dish that inspired him as a boy to become a chef – Tournedos of Beef.

Tournedos of Beef

Our second day with Chef Frantzen took us to his restaurant called Bobergs. While there we got to enjoy not only more examples of Chef Frantzen’s wonderful creations but also here about his cooking philosophy which he speaks of with great passion and conviction.

Chef Bjoern Frantzen discusses his cooking philosophy while sitting in one of his Stockholm restaurants, Bobergs.

The dishes created and seen below represent a more fine dining experience…

Gubbrora, a deconstructed traditional Swedish herring salad.

A trio of canapés (from left to right)Toast Skagen features prawns from the west coast mixed with some mayonnaise and topped with vendace roe.

Jansson’s Tempation – Poached skrei fish with a white wine sauce flavored with fermented anchovies and topped with three kinds of caviar.

Homemade Black Pudding – Flavored with cognac, marjoram, and port wine then topped with smoked bacon, preserved lingonberries, and roasted winter apples.

Portrait of Chef Bjoern Frantzen in downtown Stockholm, Sweden with a statue of King Charles VII in the background.

The complete story about Chef Frantzen, written by Mamie Chen, can be seen and read in Tasting Kitchen (TK) magazine by following this link – https://issuu.com/tastingkitchen/docs/tk29_nordic_odyssey__s_