Stockholm – After writing the Brutalist Kitchen Manifesto in 2018, visual artist Carsten Höller is opening a restaurant dedicated to the concept in Sweden. At Brutalisten, diners will be served dishes that adhere to the principles of one-ingredient cooking, where ingredients, not recipes, take centre stage.
Named after Brutalism, an architecture style famed for its severe minimalism and lack of ornamentation, the restaurant strives to adopt the same doctrine of simplicity. As such, the menu is divided into three sections, including Semi-Brutalist dishes, which refer to plates that can have a drizzle of olive oil and Orthodox-Brutalist dishes that can have no additional seasoning or ingredients. ‘The aim is to dig vertically into the taste of a given ingredient and clear it of the background noise,’ explains Carsten Höller, founder of Brutalisten.
Recently, similar extreme eating experiences have taken off in Saudi Arabia, where Bompas & Parr served food cooked on a molten stream of lava. The resurgence of such attractions points to a broader trend for hospitality spaces that bring adventurous eating to the fore.
Strategic opportunity
Restaurants should consider collaborating with visual artists or musicians to create limited-edition dishes that put forward innovative and experimental ideas