CHEF NILS FLATMARK
NILS FLATMARK
There’s a particular pleasure in sitting down with a chef before eating his food. You get a glimpse of the person behind the plate; the ambitions, the obsessions, and the occasional doubts that never make it onto a menu.
I met Nils Flatmark at the Savoy 1918 hotel in Oslo, where he’s the Executive Head Chef of the newly renovated hotel’s restaurant, Café WATT. What did we talk about? Norwegian produce, sustainability, competition cooking, and what he really wants diners to taste.
CHEF NILS FLATMARK AT WORK IN THE KITCHEN AT CAFE WATT, SAVOY 1918 HOTEL
SAVOY 1918 HOTEL, OSLO, NORWAY
CHEF NILS FLATMARK AT WORK IN THE CAFE WATT KITCHEN
SAVOY 1918 HOTEL, OSLO, NORWAY
At a time when food is increasingly driven by trends, it was fitting to sit down with a chef whose career has been shaped by intense competition, but whose philosophy remains firmly rooted in simplicity and respect for the source. “Without producers, there are no ingredients; without ingredients, there is no chef,” is how he puts it. Through his dishes, Flatmark honors the farmers, fishermen and producers whose work provides the raw materials that define Norwegian cuisine.
CHEF NILS FLATMARK IN THE CAFE WATT KITCHEN, SAVOY 1918 HOTEL
SAVOY 1918 HOTEL, OSLO, NORWAY
In 2024, Flatmark was Nordic Chef of the Year and Nordic Chef Overall Winner; indeed, he’s the only Nordic chef to have won four gold medals in the competition. He won gold at the Culinary Olympics, was Norwegian Champion in Culinary Arts, and has collected multiple Green Chef titles. Yet sitting across from him, the conversation quickly moves away from trophies and toward something much more fundamental: where ingredients come from, the people who produce them, and what and how much a chef should, or should not, do to them. His philosophy, he tells me, can be summed up in three words: “ekte, enkelt & naturlig” – authentic, simple and natural. His cooking, he explains, is based on seasonal, predominantly local ingredients and produce, and “a strong connection to tradition, place and history.” While that might sound pretty straightforward, it’s considerably harder to execute.
Learning The Norwegian Kitchen
FOR CHEF NILS FLATMARK, FRESH, LOCAL, NORWEGIAN PRODUCE IS A PRIORITY
BRITANIA HOTEL, TRONDHEIM, NORWAY
Flatmark’s professional education began as an apprentice under celebrated Norwegian chef Arne Brimi at Vianvang. After working in restaurants in Oslo, Trondheim and Copenhagen, he returned to Brimi’s culinary domain as head chef at Brimibue, where he was involved right from its opening in 2017. He subsequently joined Trondheim’s iconic Britannia Hotel as sous chef in 2021, taking responsibility for the main kitchen, private dining and culinary courses, before moving to Storfjord Hotel, a luxury retreat in western Norway, as Executive Head Chef & Creative Culinary Manager. The sum of all these experiences has given him a solid and broad technical foundation, along with an abiding passion for Norwegian produce.
CHEF NILS WINS THE NORWEGIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS IN CULINARY ARTS, 2022
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS IN CULINARY ARTS NORWAY
CHEF NILS FLATMARK SERVING THE JUDGES AT THE NORWEGIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS IN CULLINARY ARTS, AHEAD OF TAKING HOME THE GOLD
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS IN CULINARY ARTS NORWAY
It was when Flatmark won the Norwegian Championship in Culinary Arts in 2022, that his love for using Norwegian ingredients really came to the fore. His winning menu took inspiration from the vegetables, fruit and herbs grown at Braattan Gaard, a historic lakeside farm near Trondheim that dates back to 1813. He tells me, “I believe if you choose Norwegian, you choose a vibrant Norway.” That line explains a lot about his cooking.
For Flatmark, sustainability is not simply about putting a green dish on a menu. It is about creating a closer relationship between his restaurant, his food, and the people who grow, raise and harvest what ends up on the plate.
The Competition Chef
Flatmark is a much decorated chef, with a long list of achievements, impressive enough to belong to a much older person. He won gold with the Norwegian National Culinary Team at the 2020 Culinary Olympics, gold at the Norwegian Championships, and gold at the King’s Cup in 2022. He was awarded Nordic Green Chef of the Year in 2022 and 2023, won the North Europe San Pellegrino Social Responsibility Award in 2022, and the Cordon Bleu Badge of Honor in 2023. Then, in 2024, came gold, and title of Nordic Chef Overall Winner, at the Nordic Chefs Challenge, the premier culinary championship organized by the Nordic Chefs Association.
But what is interesting about Flatmark is that all this competition hasn’t made him obsessed with complexity. If anything, it seems to have pushed him in the opposite direction. He talks about presenting ingredients in their natural form, so that the diner understands and appreciates what they’re eating. He believes that any flavors added to a dish, should lift the principal ingredient, not conceal it. He favors traditional techniques, but gives them what he refers to as “a modern, more restaurant-focused twist,” and that’s precisely what I found, when my husband and I sat down to eat.
CAFE WATT, HOTEL SAVOY 1918, OSLO, NORWAY
SAVOY 1918 HOTEL, OSLO, NORWAYDinner At Café WATT
“The Pannestekt Kamskjell, (pan-fried scallop with apple and elderflower) is a good place to start”, Chef Nils suggests. “It’s restrained, deceptively so. The scallop remains the star, while the apple provides some freshness, and the elderflower gives it a delicate aromatic lift. I’d also recommend the Krabbekrokett (crab croquette).” Both dishes were, of course, delicious.
ON THE MENU AT CAFE WATT, HOTEL SAVOY 1918
SAVOY 1918 HOTEL, OSLO, NORWAY
ON THE MENU AT CAFE WATT, HOTEL SAVOY 1918
SAVOY 1918 HOTEL, OSLO, NORWAY
The Blåskjellsaus, grilled halibut with a mussel sauce, was similarly confident. The fish spoke for itself, while the mussel sauce added depth, without turning the dish into anything unnecessarily showy.
ON THE MENU AT CAFE WATT
SAVOY 1918 HOTEL, OSLO, NORWAY
Then came the Ørret, trout from Sirdal, a scenic mountain valley in south-western Norway, served with a warm sour cream sauce, a cucumber salad and stewed potatoes with dill. Sirdal trout (fjellørret) is a mountain trout, farmed in -21°F glacial waters. It’s slow growth, in icy, clean, freshwater gives the fish a uniquely firm texture, low fat content, and a delicate, rich flavour. This is perhaps the dish that most clearly displays Flatmark’s relationship with Norwegian food. While there is something familiar and comforting about it, the execution is unmistakably contemporary.
CHEF NILS FLATMARK WITH ASSISTANT HEAD CHEF ANETTE MYRHAGEN
SAVOY 1918 HOTEL, OSLO, NORWAY
There’s classical technique that runs through the menu, from the duck liver mousse with currant compote, and the veal brisket with celeriac purée and semi-dried tomatoes, to the range of carefully balanced sauces; but it never feels like technique just for the sake of it. That is ultimately is what I took away from my both my conversation with Flatmark, and the meal that followed. Here is a chef with enough medals to justify making his food complicated, yet his instinct is to make it simpler. He wants his diners to recognize the trout, the potato, the grain, the scallop. He wants to know who produced it. He wants to use the whole ingredient and waste as little as possible. He wants Norwegian produce to be something diners choose, not because it is fashionable, but because it is genuinely excellent.
CAFE WATT AT THE HOTEL SAVOY 1918, OSLO, NORWAY
SAVOY 1918 HOTEL, OSLO, NORWAY
THE SAVOY 1918 HOTEL, OSLO, NORWAY.
SAVOY 1918 HOTEL, OSLO, NORWAY
At Savoy 1918, Flatmark may have a new kitchen and a new platform, but his philosophy stays the same: authentic, simple, natural. For a chef who has spent years competing to be the best, it is telling that his greatest ambition now seems to be making the food speak for itself.
