Ragnar Eiríksson

Ragnar Eiríksson (born 1978 or 1979 ) is an Icelandic head chef . Under his management, the DILL restaurant in Reykjavík was the first and so far only Icelandic restaurant to be awarded a star by the Michelin Guide in February 2017 .

Life

Ragnar says he was a very picky eater as a child. In addition, he consumed almost no industrially produced food, but mainly fish with potatoes.

He would have had an aha moment during the economic boom in 1997 when he worked in a hotel and the fish used was flown to from the Mediterranean. He thought that was downright stupid and resolved to change things.

Entrance to Henne Kirkeby Kro, 2016

In 2006 he finished his training as a chef in the Grillið restaurant at Hótel Sögi under head chef Karl Davíðsson. He worked there for the next two years. During his 2007 summer vacation, he initially spent three weeks as an intern under Paul Cunningham at the Michelin- starred restaurant The Paul in Copenhagen . In the spring of 2008 he moved to Copenhagen, did an internship at Noma and later worked at Den lille Fede and Prémisse . Cunningham then brought him back to The Paul for the next season . He later worked, still under Cunningham, for the Michelin-awarded hen Kirkeby Kro, meanwhile as a sous-chef. In 2014 he went back to Iceland for love. At first he worked again at Grillið.

Ragnar is married to Þóra Björk Ágústsdóttir.

DILL

Interior of the DILL, 2016

The DILL restaurant was founded in 2009 by head chef Gunnar Karl Gíslason and sommelier Ólafur Örn Ólafsson. It was initially in the Nordic House, then in 2012 it moved to Hverfisgata 12. When Gunnar Karl Gislason went to New York in 2017, Ragnar took over the restaurant. He had worked there for two and a half years. In February 2017, it was the first and so far only Icelandic restaurant to be awarded a star by the Michelin Guide . In autumn 2017 it was awarded 79 out of 100 possible points by the restaurant guide White Guide Nordic as the best restaurant in Iceland.

In 2017 Kári Þorsteinsson became head chef at DILL. The restaurant was able to keep the Michelin star under his management.

GET

The family-run Hótel Holt and KEX Hostel opened a restaurant called HOLT in February 2018, with Ragnar as the head chef.

Cooking style

In an interview with Flood, he said that he was inspired by the New Nordic Cuisine Manifesto, but also by using other ingredients, such as tomatoes grown in geothermal greenhouses in Iceland. But he often uses domestic and locally grown vegetables, even in winter. For him, absolute freshness is what counts, he wants to serve vegetables that have been harvested on the same day, as this is noticeable in the taste. He also tries to limit himself to either three ingredients or three tastes. He uses European techniques and strives for authentic Icelandic flavors such as lamb smoked over lamb droppings, seaweed freshly collected after the flood, or fermented shark meat. The latter takes some getting used to.

According to Vice's reviewer , Lars Roest-Madsen, Cunningham's "forkærlighed for simple anretninger med stor smag er tydeligvis smittet af på islændingens tallerkner" (the Icelander's preference for simple, tasteful dishes). He gives the following dish as an example. Beets , with Beef Jerky -like dried puffin be sprinkled -Meat and served with rehydrated cherries and cream cheese. The rasps of the dried puffin meat give "umami og dybde og forstærker rødbedens jordede smag" ( umami , depth and enhances the earthy taste of the beetroot).

Ragnar wants to develop and experiment his style. In a 2017 interview, however, he said he wouldn't change the menu every other week.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Smári Valtýr Sæbjörnsson, Íslenskur kokkur starfar á Michelin veitingastaðnum The Paul , August 7, 2009, on veitingageirinn.is.
2. ↑ ^{a b c} FLOOD Magazine, You Are Here: Reykjavík  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.   , May 9, 2017, on youtube.com.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Lars Roest-Madsen, Jeg tog til Nørrebro for at spise lorterøget ørred and tørret søpapegøje , August 16, 2016, on munchies.vice.com.
4. ↑ ^{a b c} Trausti Hafliðason, Dill skarar framúr , January 3, 2017, on vb.is.
5. ↑ FLOOD Staff, Eiriksson Brings the Icelandic Heartland to Reykjavik in “You Are Here” , May 9, 2017, on floodmagazine.com.
6. ↑ NN, Dill heldur stjörnunni , February 19, 2018, on vinotek.is.
7. ↑ NN, New restaurant opening at the Hotel Holt , December 21, 2017, on icelandictimes.com.

Note: Icelanders are referred to by their first name or first and last name, but not just their surname. Further information can be found under Icelandic personal name .