FOOD & BEVERAGE | Swedish chef presents fusion cuisine at Wynn

Chef Frida Ronge

Wynn has introduced its second “Wynn Guest Chef Series” chef this year; a series that invites chefs and mixologists to collaborate with its in-house staff to present a different kind of culinary experience.

Wynn has invited Michelin-starred chefs and recent winners of 2018’s Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards.

At Wynn Macau’s Mizumi, chef Frida Ronge, founder and culinary leader of TAK restaurant in Stockholm, Sweden, presented a menu representative of modern Scandinavian food culture with a touch of Japan.

At a press conference, the visiting chef presented a 10-course menu that highlighted both Japanese and Swedish fusion cuisine.

The chef showcased her specialty dishes in Macau for the first time. “I was introduced to sushi in 2005. At the start, we just used frozen fish from Asia as ingredients but now we [are] using a lot more […] local products like fresh fish and shellfish and the quality is getting much better,” explained the chef.

“I was really interested in these kinds of food because I also prefer to eat Asian cuisine as there is more freshness compared to Europe,” she added.

Ronge presented a variety of dishes, including Gillardeau oysters, miso soup, sashimi, tofu salad and gunkan maki, along with her signature lobster tartare, fermented gem salad, chirashi sushi and sweet tofu, which were all paired with a series of sakes.

The 33-year-old chef has captured the essence of traditional Japanese cuisine without having lived or studied in Japan.

“I’ve worked together with half-Japanese chefs but all my techniques are self-learned. When I do sushi I have another way but [the] results are almost the same,” she said.

According to Ronge, she brought a series of ingredients from Sweden and used them in the restaurant so local guests could have an authentic Swedish condiment experience.

“It needed a lot of planning, as sometimes it’s hard to find some ingredients. It’s hard to plan everything when you’re in another country but I’m super glad that [everything] worked out,” she said.

“The way I’m cooking in Sweden [is] not traditionally Japanese at all. It’s more […] getting inspired to use some techniques and flavors. If you compare to other fusion restaurants, I still try to have an elegant balance in the dishes,” the chef added.

Ronge has been running her own restaurants for six years. Her TAK restaurant has four branches. She was awarded “Rising Star of the Year” by White Guide in 2013 for her dynamic and innovative approach to cooking.

As with Japanese cuisine, Ronge uses the freshest in-season ingredients and a variety of creative techniques to create her dishes.  Lynzy Valles, MDT