NOBELHART UND SCHMUTZIG
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MILENA KLING
PUTTING FOOD BACK IN YOUR HANDS
Maaemo, Oslo’s ground-breaking three Michelin starred restaurant reopened its doors at the new location in 2020. Run and co-owned by Head Chef Esben Holmboe Bang, the Reataurant focusesses on a complete experience. In doing so, they aim to highlight the relationship between the raw produce, and the finished product.
When I was aked to send my Circle Glass up North to Maaemo, I felt like the waterglasses were coming home to their northern family. Thank you for having us!
Maaemo – an old Finnish word meaning “Mother Earth” – is focused on creating a narrative around the clean, bright flavours of Norway. The produce used at Maaemo is entirely organic, biodynamic, or wild. Maaemo builds around its local produce driven cuisine with a focus on reflecting the changing seasons and the raw nature of Norway.
Maaemo has won accolades from food critics around the world. In 2012, just 14 months after opening, Maaemo was awarded two Michelin stars in its first ever mention in the prestigious guide, becoming the first, and only, restaurant in the Nordics to do so. In 2016 Maaemo was awarded a third Michelin star, becoming the first Norwegian restaurant ever to hold Michelin’s highest accolade and the world’s most northerly three Michelin-starred restaurant.
Nobelhart & Schmutzig has been “vocally local” from the start. Since first opening their doors in February 2015, they have grown fearlessly into their current role as Germany’s most political restaurant. This involves a conscious decision to shift the focus squarely onto the people, all from the greater Berlin region, who produce their raw ingredients. This self-imposed renunciation of products from afar, including lemons, tuna and chocolate, is the foundation of their eatery’s distinctive signature.
There’s more at play here than just culinary aesthetics. Serving this philosophy also intrinsically means promoting environmental and economic sustainability for the people working with the bountiful nature in and around Berlin. It also involves pride in a sense of place and embracing the identity that comes with that. Eating is inherently a political act, even if too few understand it as such. And the ordinary shopping list very much serves as the stage for this modern brand of politics.
In addition to supporting raw ingredient producers from the Berlin region, Nobelhart & Schmutzig works closely with Die Gemeinschaft to establish a new and better eating culture for all. Good, healthy food should provide a future, perspectives and identity for the people who produce it and the companies that transform raw ingredients into fine products.
An evening at Nobelhart & Schmutzig is a step out of the ordinary. The experience is distinguished by more than just the products we select. No cameras are allowed inside. Their guests are encouraged to consciously uncouple from daily life and the concerns of the outside world. For the duration of the meal, the focus remains solely on a taste of the region.
Text by Nobelhart & Schmutzig
Images by Studio Milena Kling
