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Stockholm ‘pop-up’ diner shuts as secret divulged

Stockholm's first "pop-up" restaurant, Dill, served its last supper on Thursday, after a dirty little secret was revealed earlier this week. The Local's Katie Dodd tasted the Michelin-inspired fare before the gig was up.

Published: 4 October 2013 15:52 CEST

Stockholm 'pop-up' diner shuts as secret divulged

Sprigs of dill adorn each of 15 tables; two wine glasses flank two sets of silverware at each place; a cello and violin serenade welcomes guests to a view overlooking Stockholm’s harbour.

Just over a month ago, the space was empty, all but forgotten. But it had been transformed into pop-up restaurant Dill, which opened its doors on September 13th only to serve up its last plates this brisk Thursday evening.

“You usually have six months to build a restaurant,” Anna Högkil, Dill’s project manager, tells The Local. “We had three weeks.”

In recent months, Högkil has worked day and night to find the space and create a fine-dining experience on par with the best eateries in the Swedish capital.

IN PICTURES: Dining at Stockholm’s first ‘pop-up’ restaurant

The cavernous room along Katarinavägen is just minutes from Slussen on the island of Södermalm. It looks like a proper restaurant, if a bit rough around the edges.

According to Högkil, the biggest challenge has been the Saltsjöbanan train, which runs just outside Dill’s arching bay windows.

“It was almost impossible to do,” Högkil explains. “But if we knew it was impossible, we wouldn’t have done it.”

I learned about Dill through a colleague and was immediately intrigued – nine courses from 2-Michelin star, London-based chef Michael Wignall for only 495 kronor ($78)? It sounded too good to be true, especially in Stockholm where dining out at a run-of-the-mill bistro can set you back at least that much.

Turns out, it was.

On Sunday, it was revealed that Dill was actually a PR stunt concocted by low-price Germany-based discount grocery chain Lidl.

“We simply wanted to demonstrate the quality of our goods,” Lidl spokeswoman Caroline Forshéll told Aftonbladet, the newspaper that unmasked the bluff.

“We think we’ve shown that good food doesn’t need to cost more than it does in our stores.”

The news angered some diners who argued they should have been paid for being unwitting pawns in a marketing stunt for Lidl. Others, however, were simply happy to have tasted a Michelin-class meal for a bargain price.

“People didn’t get what the con was because it was so cheap,” says one of Dill’s chef managers Michael Carter. “We weren’t allowed to tell the big secret.”

Somehow, I had been one of the lucky few to book a table at Dill. That was two weeks ago, however, well before the “pop-up” restaurant was revealed to be a publicity stunt for Lidl.

Maybe we should have been more suspicious. Switch a couple of letters around: Dill = Lidl. Who knew?

As it turns out, only a handful of people within Lidl itself knew of the connection before it came out in the press.

“It’s been a bit different since the exposé,” says Carter. “More people are coming up and talking to us, asking us questions.”

I arrived at Dill with an open mind, willing to give Lidl’s punch line – “Good food doesn’t have to cost more” – a chance. And after nine unique courses, I have to admit I have a somewhat more positive view of Lidl’s food than I had previously.

SEE ALSO: Top ten googled food in Sweden

“[Chef Wignall] visited Lidl here and saw what produce they had,” says Carter. “He made a menu around products they sold that were high enough quality.”

Wignall was in Stockholm supervising Dill’s first two weeks of operation, but had to return to London last week due to a broken knee.

But what a menu he has left behind! Cow’s curd, salmon chips, liquid olives, beetroot emulsion, a parsley sponge. The last course was even topped with smoking apple pie nitrogen rocks.

We were seated with two friendly gentlemen from the company that supplied the liquid nitrogen, one of four ingredients served throughout the evening that didn’t come from Lidl. In my enthusiasm, I think a may have eaten one of these gentlemen’s desserts – so my night ended up including a “perfect ten” courses.

Eating at Dill was not the most impressive culinary experience in taste, but at the end of the day, I’m glad I had the chance to eat there, even if it was all something of a hoax.

The novelty more than made up for the less-memorable dishes; that, and the heavenly, rich chuao chocolate dessert. I don’t know what chuao is, but I may be visiting Lidl shortly to find out.

DON’T MISS: Ten soul-satisfying Swedish comfort foods

Katie Dodd

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How to grow your own fruits and vegetables in Sweden

Know your growing zone

Sweden is split into eight different growing zones, known as växtzoner in Swedish, with one being the mildest zone in the far south of the country and eight being the harshest, in the far north.

The easiest way to figure out which zone you live in is to search your address on a digital growing zone chart like this one from the Swedish Garden Association.

There are two “bonus” zones too, which you’re unlikely to see on plant labels: zone zero, which refers to extra mild conditions in zone one, like a sheltered south-facing garden or the climate inside an unheated greenhouse, and the fjällzon or zone nine, which is found in mountain regions.

Lots of fruit trees can handle snow, for example, but not all of them will survive the winters in harsher, colder zones.

“Apple trees or fruit trees will survive snow,” British gardener and cider maker John Taylor, known for presenting Swedish gardening show Trädgårdstider (Garden Times), told The Local.

“You can grow all kinds of apples, pears, plums, cherries, we can grow edible quince in southern Sweden, so there’s a bunch of fruit trees which will survive, but it depends what rootstock they’re on – that’s called grundstam in Swedish,” he explained.

“There’s one rootstock called B9 that survives down to minus 40, because it’s from Russia, then there’s another called M106, and that probably doesn’t want to live in the depths of Norrland.”

Buy plants local to you

An easy way to make sure the plant you’re planning on buying is going to survive in your zone is by sourcing it from a local plant nursery or garden centre, as they won’t sell plants that can’t handle the local climate.

“There’s a nursery in the north of Sweden and Finland called Blomkvists, they sell lots of fruit varieties which will survive up there,” Taylor said. “You can grow pretty much anything you want up there, just as we can [in Skåne, southern Sweden], but it will be different varieties that taste different and will survive the frost.”

You won’t be able to grow Mediterranean fruits like lemons or oranges in Sweden unless you bring them inside during the winter, although you should be able to grow peaches or nectarines in most of the country.

“The further up in the country you go, the further north you are or the further away from the coast, the harsher the climate becomes, so you might need to have them on a south-facing wall or in a greenhouse,” Taylor said.

Think outside the box

Although the growing season in Sweden may be shorter than it is further south, there are still a number of crops from warmer climates that do surprisingly well.

“People don’t really grow cucumbers outside here, I don’t think they realise that you can actually grow them outside,” Taylor said. “Tomatoes, too. You don’t need a greenhouse, you just stick them in the ground, they’re basically a weed – you’ll get so many you won’t know what to do with them.”

Sweetcorn, for example, performs well in a Swedish climate, Taylor said, although Swedes more often grow it as a feed crop for pigs.

You can also test things by trying to build a microclimate so you can grow things that are one or even two growing zones away from yours. Usually this is done by providing shelter from the wind and the weather using fences, hedges or by planting near buildings, as well as providing protection during the winter.

And if you’re pushed for space, look into companion planting, where you can grow multiple plants which complement each other in the same space.

One example of this is the “three sisters”: corn, climbing beans (or peas), and squash. The corn provides a support for the beans or peas, which anchor the corn in high winds while fixing nitrogen in the soil, while the squash’s large leaves provide shade for the soil, preventing it from drying out.

Don’t be put off just because you don’t have any outside space

Thinking outside the box applies to balconies too.

“If you’re in a built-up area, you will get reflected light from other buildings, so even if you’re on an east-facing balcony, you should be able to grow a lot of stuff. North is a bit more tricky, but east and west are probably better than south as you’re not getting hammered by the sun all day,” Taylor said.

You should be able to grow things like tomatoes, cucumbers and flowers, but it’s important to get hold of good soil and replenish it each year, so your plants have enough nutrients.

“Anybody with a balcony can grow pretty much the same that you can in a garden, you just have to get the soil up there and you always have to fertilise, the soil becomes nutrient deficient after one season.”

“But if you’re prepared to get the soil up on your balcony you can grow anything, even fruit trees. They will be smaller and stunted, and won’t give as much fruit – I’ve done it myself – so don’t see it as an obstacle, see it as a possibility.”

Kale and tomatoes growing on a balcony. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT

Take inspiration from Swedish growers

Thinking outside the box doesn’t mean that you should completely ignore what all your Swedish neighbours are doing. If you’re not sure what to plant in your garden or what fruit and veg you should try to grow, take a look at what other people who live near you are growing.

You might also come across some crops you’ve never tried before which work well in a Swedish climate, like Alpine strawberries (smultron), honeyberries (blåbärstry), wild garlic (ramslök) or sea buckthorn (havtorn).

This doesn’t just apply to varieties, but also where you plant them in your garden. Some crops need full sun, some work best in shade, and others, like asparagus, can grow tall and cast a shadow over your garden.

“You want a south-facing location for all fruit, and berries – check out what your neighbours are doing,” Taylor said.

If you don’t want tall plants to cast a shadow over other crops, see if you can plant them at the northernmost edge of your garden, while making sure that sun and soil conditions are still optimal. Blueberries, for example, need acidic soil to thrive, meaning you will probably need to amend your soil if planting in the ground, or even plant them in containers.

Think about what you want to do with your harvest

This may seem obvious, but it’s important to plant what you like to eat, too. If you hate the aniseedy, licorice-y taste of fennel, why bother growing it?

You should also choose the variety of crop based on what you’re going to use it for. Do you want to make pickles with your cucumbers, or are you going to eat them on salads? Do you want cherry tomatoes for snacking on, or big beef tomatoes for making sauces?

“Think ‘what am I going to do with my harvest’,” Taylor said. “Am I going to juice it? Am I going to preserve it? Am I going to make cider with it, for example?”

Apples, for example, can range from sweet eating apples to tart cooking apples, so make sure you do your research before you commit to buying an apple tree. Most varieties exist in English-speaking countries, so you should be able to search the name of the variety online and find some information in a language you understand, if you don’t speak Swedish.

“Patience is a virtue,” he added. “A lot of fruit trees are going to take two or three years, or even more, to give a harvest. So you have to have patience.”

Learn to deal with the Swedish weather

Many areas of Sweden along the coast or in the south of the country can get windy, which you’ll have to learn to deal with.

“How to deal with the wind? You can’t,” Taylor said. “We cannot affect this, we are powerless.”

“What you have to do is plant them in areas where there’s less wind, usually behind large buildings.”

Some plants simply won’t survive the wind, so either you plant them close to buildings, protect them, or accept that you’re restricted in what you can grow.

Make sure to provide supports for crops which will grow tall, like sunflowers, peas, beans and sweetcorn, and tie these down well or bury them deep in the ground, so summer storms can’t blow them away.

Listen to the full interview with John Taylor in The Local’s Sweden in Focus Extra podcast for Membership+ subscribers. Out on Wednesday, May 8th.

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