Summer Menu challenge 2025
Chef Mikael Svensson– Restaurant “Kontrast” 2* Michelin 1* Green Michelin – Oslo, Norway
Tucked into Oslo’s dynamic Vulkan district, Kontrast is a restaurant that lives up to its name—balancing old-world Nordic tradition with modern elegance and environmental clarity. Founded by Chef Mikael Svensson in 2013, Kontrast goes beyond the familiar tenets of New Nordic cuisine. It’s an evolving narrative of sustainability, flavor purity, and thoughtful experimentation.
Awarded Two Michelin Stars and the coveted Michelin Green Star, Kontrast is one of Scandinavia’s most lauded culinary institutions. Its philosophy is as refined as its plates: a dish is only as good as the product behind it. That means line-caught, non-red-listed seafood. Organic or wild meats. And vegetables from regenerative Norwegian farms. Even kitchen waste is fermented into garums or composted via their in-house fermentation lab, b.culture.
Inside, the space reflects its culinary voice—pared-back, natural, industrial. But on the plate, Kontrast sings in technicolour. This is modern Nordic cuisine with a conscience. A restaurant in tune with nature, but unafraid to push it forward.
About the Chef – Mikael Svensson
Born in rural Skåne, Sweden, Chef Mikael Svensson grew up surrounded by farmland and foraged tradition. From an early age, he understood the value of product, seasonality, and respect for nature’s timing. That ethos followed him through the kitchens of Quique Dacosta, Martín Berasateguí, and eventually into the creative crucible of Kontrast.
Since opening his restaurant in Oslo, Svensson has become one of the region’s most articulate voices in sustainable gastronomy. A technical perfectionist with a deep respect for local ecosystems, he champions transparency in sourcing and integrity in cooking.
He puts it simply:
“The end result is never better than the quality of the product you start with.”
This no-compromise philosophy has earned him both international accolades and grassroots admiration. Under his leadership, Kontrast doesn’t just deliver a fine dining experience—it delivers a message: that sustainability, creativity, and excellence can—and must—coexist.
The Summer Menu Challenge – A Seasonal Tale in Contrasts
For the All4Chefs Summer Menu Challenge 2025, Chef Mikael Svensson presents a menu that captures the Norwegian summer in both clarity and complexity. Each course is a conversation between land and sea, tenderness and depth—expressed with precise craftsmanship and emotional clarity.
There is a quiet elegance in every bite. But also something fierce—a call to reconnect with the landscapes and waters that feed us. This is storytelling through restraint. Memory through modernity. The Kontrast way.
Summer Menu 2025 – KONTRAST, Oslo
By Chef Mikael Svensson | All4Chefs Summer Menu Challenge
“A seasonal tasting journey from fjord to forest.”
Puffed bread filled with Hyra shrimps and seaweed
Tomato leather · Lovage · Beef garum
“Swedish Midsummer” with duck liver brûlée and mushrooms
Ikejime Kingfish from Fredrikstad
Cucumber · Red berry vinegar
Oysters from Ytre Hvaler National Park
Baked turnip · Smoked bacon
Scallops from Hitra
Green asparagus · Scallop roe
Wild Halibut
Smoked seaweed · Black trumpets · Beluga Amur caviar
Salted baked chicken from Hovelsrud Gård
Shio koji · Meadowsweet · Grilled butter
Beef Tongue
Ramson · Cabbage · Coffee shoyu sabayon
White asparagus from Skåne
Birch syrup · Polypody oil
Rhubarb and Elderflower
The Quiet Power of Kontrast
What Svensson achieves with this summer menu is a form of Nordic clarity that transcends the plate. Each dish feels like a dialogue between tradition and innovation, where sustainability is woven seamlessly into craft. It is dining stripped of excess, sharpened to its essence — and in that essence, Kontrast reveals the quiet power of its voice.
