I took 2 1/2 weeks off and went to Finland (SF)…seeking rest. We were in two regions in two different environments: Eveline has posted impressions in her food blog "Küchentanz" here, here, here and here.
We didn't much more than hiking, swimming, reading, wine and dine (we drove about 700 km and walked about 120 km)…in the rest it came to my mind that I could simplify The Innovation Mesh even more - emphasizing on wants and under which conditions they become needs (with the danger of dependence). More about this in future posts.
Our last evening in SF, we spent in Helsinki...having dinner at the Ravintola OlO…and, surprise, enjoyed the best meal we ever had…a memorable journey of twenty dishes. And we've had great meals at Le Calandre, Padua, Gordon Ramsay, Chelsea, Pierre Gagnaire, Paris, El Cellar de Can Roca, Girona and more Michelin 3 star eateries before.
OlO, IMO, meets what I understand as UnCooking…getting a bigger picture of cooking. Find the "right" route at the pleasure/nutrition map. Their cuisine doesn't need a kitchen lab, but cooking excellence and "taste precision". They extend "nose to tail" for meat to "fruit to stalk" vegetable cooking. They do not put much meat or fish at your plates and not so few ingredients stay raw, but they use constructors embedding them perfectly into cremes, light sauces…even wrappers.
The first reference of this type of Scandinavian cooking has been given by Rene Redzipi's Noma, Copenhagen, but this looked more theatrically directed, IMO.
OlO people (the team is professional, but relaxed in the best sense) seem to be thirsty enough. They don't need "badges". Thirsty enough to learn and do the work. It's amazing.
They've only received one Micheline star yet. Why? Firstly, Micheline represents the "tyranny" of a French style cuisine (leading to a provenance paradox) and secondly they hesitate to kill the idol of tradition…
OlO ist a metaphor for innovation, a reference of doing today, what we want tomorrow...instead of doing the things of yesterday better today. To do that you need enough thirst. It doesn't matter, whether you are a chef, a designer, a programmer…thirst is about learning, but you can't learn it. If your intent is to make things that matter for those who care…you're thirty enough.
Edit: in German we use the word Wissensdurst (thirst for knowledge)
And here some photos of the meal at OlO.
