The passion in
the kitchen
Hrefna Rósa Sætran and Guðlaugur P. Frímannsson manage the kitchen of Grillmarkaður. They combine emphasis on creative food-making, fresh Icelandic ingredients.
Hrefna Rósa SætranHrefna Rósa Sætran is known for using raw materials directly from farmers. Her cuisine is sometimes described as traditional Icelandic cuisine with an unexpected and modern twist.
Guðlaugur P. Frímannson Studied in Sjávarkjallaran and was chosen cooking student of the year by Matís 2007. Guðlaugur worked at Fiskmarkaður and then at Texture in London and Kiin Kiin in Copenhagen. Both of these places have a Michelin star.
What is the basic idea of Grillmarkaður? We set out to make an Icelandic place. Icelandic in design and Icelandic in food. The raw material we used to make the place inside is Icelandic. Warm red that has been turned into leather, boulders, cranberries and moss, all Icelandic. With the food, the idea was to have all the basic ingredients in Icelandic, but if we want to use a side dish that is not Icelandic but we feel really good, then it escapes us. But basically, all the main ingredients are Icelandic.
Why is it important for you to cooperate with Icelandic farmers? By buying as much as we can from people we know, we know what products we have on hand. We know that there is a difference between the products we buy and there is a clear difference. Much better ingredients running. Personal business is also fun. It is certainly more expensive to buy these products, but we want to support the farmers of the country as much as we can.
What makes your collaboration unique? We have worked together for a long time and work well together. We finish sentences next to each other and that's how it is when we cook together. We hardly need to discuss in chapters, but it just works with us like in history. Magical like. We are very good friends and respect each other which is important.
How do you get ideas for new and exciting recipes? The ideas come from everywhere. Both from everyday life every day when you are cooking at home, eating at mum's or relatives' or eating out at some great restaurant abroad. So when you get your hands on a great ingredient, many ideas often come to mind, but such ideas come with experience and all the years we have spent cooking and predicting and speculating in food.
If not chefs - what then?
Gulli: I always wanted to be a pilot. I find it a very fascinating and exciting job. Travel and see new things. Then I'm very interested in salmon fishing and could very well have thought of working on it.
Hrefna: Product designer. I like different things and designs that make people smile. I actually have a basic design course so who knows if one will ever take product design and connect it to the cuisine in some way?
Is there such a thing as a typical restaurant day? No, no two days are alike. You often think that this will be a quiet day, but it often changes very quickly. We have 150 people at work and it is by far the biggest job to keep track of it. Owning a restaurant is working around the clock. You never stamp yourself out and it is a stimulus at all hours of the day.
Would you say that passion for ingredients is as important as passion for cooking? If you have a passion for cooking then you must have a passion for ingredients so yes, it is inseparable. It is difficult to cook good food from bad ingredients. The ingredient is number 1 and then comes the cuisine. Ideas often come to mind when handling good ingredients, but those ideas do not pop up when you see bad ingredients.
Why this house was chosen for the Grillmarkaður? We had the concept down and we were just waiting to find the right house. In fact, we were not quite wondering about such a big place when we started. When this housing came into consideration, we saw the place right in front of us there and fought for the housing we got and we are very happy with it.
The passion in
the kitchen
Hrefna Rósa Sætran and Guðlaugur P. Frímannsson manage the kitchen of Grillmarkaður. They combine emphasis on creative food-making, fresh Icelandic ingredients.
Hrefna Rósa SætranHrefna Rósa Sætran is known for using raw materials directly from farmers. Her cuisine is sometimes described as traditional Icelandic cuisine with an unexpected and modern twist.
Guðlaugur P. Frímannson Studied in Sjávarkjallaran and was chosen cooking student of the year by Matís 2007. Guðlaugur worked at Fiskmarkaður and then at Texture in London and Kiin Kiin in Copenhagen. Both of these places have a Michelin star.
What is the basic idea of Grillmarkaður? We set out to make an Icelandic place. Icelandic in design and Icelandic in food. The raw material we used to make the place inside is Icelandic. Warm red that has been turned into leather, boulders, cranberries and moss, all Icelandic. With the food, the idea was to have all the basic ingredients in Icelandic, but if we want to use a side dish that is not Icelandic but we feel really good, then it escapes us. But basically, all the main ingredients are Icelandic.
Why is it important for you to cooperate with Icelandic farmers? By buying as much as we can from people we know, we know what products we have on hand. We know that there is a difference between the products we buy and there is a clear difference. Much better ingredients running. Personal business is also fun. It is certainly more expensive to buy these products, but we want to support the farmers of the country as much as we can.
What makes your collaboration unique? We have worked together for a long time and work well together. We finish sentences next to each other and that's how it is when we cook together. We hardly need to discuss in chapters, but it just works with us like in history. Magical like. We are very good friends and respect each other which is important.
How do you get ideas for new and exciting recipes? The ideas come from everywhere. Both from everyday life every day when you are cooking at home, eating at mum's or relatives' or eating out at some great restaurant abroad. So when you get your hands on a great ingredient, many ideas often come to mind, but such ideas come with experience and all the years we have spent cooking and predicting and speculating in food.
If not chefs - what then?
Gulli: I always wanted to be a pilot. I find it a very fascinating and exciting job. Travel and see new things. Then I'm very interested in salmon fishing and could very well have thought of working on it.
Hrefna: Product designer. I like different things and designs that make people smile. I actually have a basic design course so who knows if one will ever take product design and connect it to the cuisine in some way?
Is there such a thing as a typical restaurant day? No, no two days are alike. You often think that this will be a quiet day, but it often changes very quickly. We have 150 people at work and it is by far the biggest job to keep track of it. Owning a restaurant is working around the clock. You never stamp yourself out and it is a stimulus at all hours of the day.
Would you say that passion for ingredients is as important as passion for cooking? If you have a passion for cooking then you must have a passion for ingredients so yes, it is inseparable. It is difficult to cook good food from bad ingredients. The ingredient is number 1 and then comes the cuisine. Ideas often come to mind when handling good ingredients, but those ideas do not pop up when you see bad ingredients.
Why this house was chosen for the Grillmarkaður? We had the concept down and we were just waiting to find the right house. In fact, we were not quite wondering about such a big place when we started. When this housing came into consideration, we saw the place right in front of us there and fought for the housing we got and we are very happy with it.
The passion in
the kitchen
Hrefna Rósa Sætran and Guðlaugur P. Frímannsson manage the kitchen of Grillmarkaður. They combine emphasis on creative food-making, fresh Icelandic ingredients.
Hrefna Rósa SætranHrefna Rósa Sætran is known for using raw materials directly from farmers. Her cuisine is sometimes described as traditional Icelandic cuisine with an unexpected and modern twist.
Guðlaugur P. Frímannson Studied in Sjávarkjallaran and was chosen cooking student of the year by Matís 2007. Guðlaugur worked at Fiskmarkaður and then at Texture in London and Kiin Kiin in Copenhagen. Both of these places have a Michelin star.
What is the basic idea of the Grillmarket? We set out to make an Icelandic place. Icelandic in design and Icelandic in food. The raw material we used to make the place inside is Icelandic. Warm red that has been turned into leather, boulders, cranberries and moss, all Icelandic. With the food, the idea was to have all the basic ingredients in Icelandic, but if we want to use a side dish that is not Icelandic but we feel really good, then it escapes us. But basically, all the main ingredients are Icelandic.
Why is it important for you to cooperate with Icelandic farmers? By buying as much as we can from people we know, we know what products we have on hand. We know that there is a difference between the products we buy and there is a clear difference. Much better ingredients running. Personal business is also fun. It is certainly more expensive to buy these products, but we want to support the farmers of the country as much as we can.
What makes your collaboration unique? We have worked together for a long time and work well together. We finish sentences next to each other and that's how it is when we cook together. We hardly need to discuss in chapters, but it just works with us like in history. Magical like. We are very good friends and respect each other which is important.
How do you get ideas for new and exciting recipes?
The ideas come from everywhere. Both from everyday life every day when you are cooking at home, eating at mum's or relatives' or eating out at some great restaurant abroad. So when you get your hands on a great ingredient, many ideas often come to mind, but such ideas come with experience and all the years we have spent cooking and predicting and speculating in food.
If not chefs - what then?
Gulli: I always wanted to be a pilot. I find it a very fascinating and exciting job. Travel and see new things. Then I'm very interested in salmon fishing and could very well have thought of working on it.
Hrefna: Product designer. I like different things and designs that make people smile. I actually have a basic design course so who knows if one will ever take product design and connect it to the cuisine in some way?
Is there such a thing as a typical restaurant day? No, no two days are alike. You often think that this will be a quiet day, but it often changes very quickly. We have 150 people at work and it is by far the biggest job to keep track of it. Owning a restaurant is working around the clock. You never stamp yourself out and it is a stimulus at all hours of the day.
Would you say that passion for ingredients is as important as passion for cooking? If you have a passion for cooking then you must have a passion for ingredients so yes, it is inseparable. It is difficult to cook good food from bad ingredients. The ingredient is number 1 and then comes the cuisine. Ideas often come to mind when handling good ingredients, but those ideas do not pop up when you see bad ingredients.
Why this house was chosen for the Grillmarkaður? We had the concept down and we were just waiting to find the right house. In fact, we were not quite wondering about such a big place when we started. When this housing came into consideration, we saw the place right in front of us there and fought for the housing we got and we are very happy with it.
| The Grillmarket | Lækjargata 2A | (map) | 101 Reykjavík | Phone 571-7777 | [email protected] | Equal pay policy |
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Naturally delicious
The kitchen is open from 18:00 - 21:30 Sunday - Thursday & from 18:00 - 22:00 Friday & Saturday