Trio

Dinner, Wednesday September 16, 2009

It is clear that i had a wonderful foodie year 2009. A year made of fantastic meals in well known places i was lucky to visit several times, but also a year where i made wonderful meals in restaurants i’ve visited for the very first time. Amongst these discoveries, Trio is certainly one of the highlight of the year to me.

After a couple of tries during summer, i was lucky to get a table for September … Why lucky ? Simply because the location has a quite small capacity (20 seats more or less) and is only open for dinner from wednesday to saturday during summer.

The restaurant is located in a small street in the centre of Malmo (30min train from Copenhagen), i stayed at the Rica hotel (small tip : this hotel is a perfect location to stay as in between the restaurant and Malmo central station, around 250m distance for each).

Trio has been created in 2008 and it has been recommanded to me by Lau from Noma. Reason is simple, Erik Berne, restaurant manager and sommelier, was used to work at Noma in the past before opening Trio as is own restaurant together with 2 chefs who had significant experiences in the US and Sweden.

When i entered the place, i was warmly welcomed by Erik and took place at my table. I was immediately impressed by the beauty and modern design of the place. 5 tables, black and grey tones contrasting with light wood floor. At table, very pure and design furniture, the light was not too bad for shooting.

After a glass of champagne (Pascal Doquet, Blanc de Blancs), i ordered the tasting menu paired with wines. One thing must be said now : as in Denmark or Oaxen in Sweden, we have again here the perfect example of innovative and very well built wine list.

The meal starts with some snacks like this fried fish skin. Bread and butter is, as everywhere in the Nordics, outstanding, let’s say to die for (did i told you that a foodie life is so dangerous ?).

Next, we really entered in the meal with a first amuse : beetroot, raw shrimps from Sweden.

Scallop, meadowsweet, milk &apple

Anjou blanc, La Lune, Angeli, Ferme de la Sansonnière, 2007

Mackerel, rhubarb, oyster & algae

Sptatlese Trocken, Uhlen, Reinhard & Beate Knebel, Mosel, 2007

Cauliflower and Sea pea, ground elder & green peas

Brut Reserve, Bérèche & Fils, Craon des Ludes, France, NV

Cod fish, dill, cucumber & mussel

Mélodie de Carignan blanc, Sylvain Boutée, Vin du Pays du Gard, 2008

Söderasen’s organic farm, woodruff & potato

Cidre bouché fermier, organic, Famille Dupont, France, 2007

Dry aged beef, onion & ashes

Monsieur le Baron, Chateau de Montfaucon, Vin du Pays du Gard, 2007

Blända cheese, cow & sheep milk

Pierre Overnoy, Arbois Pupillin, Jura, 2006

 

Sea buck thorn, bronzed butter & wood sorrel

Ze Bulle, Chateau Tour Gris, Vin de Table, France, NV

Raspberries & yarrow

Auslese, Madonna, Rita & Rudolf Trossen, Mosel, 2007

The service was from the beginning to the end at the top. It’s really impressive how things are going smoothly and are looking so simple here. 2 waiters (including Erik) in the dining room, 2 chefs in the kitchen. And when you have a table of 4 guests, these 4 guys are serving the table together, making no distinction between the kitchen and the room. Unity and cohesion is key here.

Defining cuisine at Trio could be similar to what you can expect in the Nordics : regional cuisine, following seasons while food is coming from local and bio organic producers. What i’ll remember from this meal is the amazing quality of the products. And on top of that, they were all cooked at their best. Each dish was cleverly built, all components were matching together in the right way. By using modern cooking methods and clever combinations of natural flavours, they succeeded to really create something unique in the plate. Highlights of the meal were the mackerel (probably the best mackerel ever), the cauliflower, the egg and the beef. The desserts were amongst the best i got last year as well.

But this meal wouldn’t be so memorable if a fantastic wine pairing was not there. And this is really what impressed me the most at Trio : it is how both food and wine are closely linked and are working together so well thanks to an innovative selection of young but perfectly matching wines. You feel these guys are giving the same importance to the food and the wines and they succeed to transmit their passion during a meal where each dish is improved by the wine paired while the wine is pushed up front thanks to a perfect match with the dish. This pairing with organic cider was particularly amazing. Suggesting Carignan blanc was the major discovery. Serving Trossen was a proof of talent. Offering Overnoy with the cheese demonstrates deep knowledge. No need to say more. 

When i left Trio, i was quite shocked, let’s say extremely impressed. I couldn’t say if this meal was one of the best meal of the year to me, probably it was, what i knew was that i discovered something unique, in term of service, location, atmosphere, food and wines. In this same spirit that i’m enjoying so much at my favourite danish restaurants, but doing it here in a way you can feel their own identity, their own style, it is not a « copy – paste ». It is a swedish restaurant proudly representing Swedish and Nordic cuisine. And this is maybe the best compliment i could give to the Trio guys.

The day after, i promised myself to be back before end of 2009. I was wrong, i couldn’t manage to go back there. But this is under control now. My table is booked for Jan 28… and i can’t wait.

Stay tuned.

Laurent

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