Acclaimed Swedish chef, former footballer, and avid golf enthusiast, Björn Frantzén, finally makes his way to the Middle East with two new restaurants opening in the iconic Atlantis The Palm. His first restaurant, Studio Frantzén, a casual a la carte style eatery opens October 31st, 2024, while his fine-dining concept, FZN by Björn Frantzén focuses on a more intimate and immersive experience launches on November 8th.
His two new Dubai restaurants mark his first expansion into the Middle East, with FZN by Björn Frantzén acting as a sister to his three MICHELIN starred restaurants Stockholm and Singapore, Frantzén and Zén, welcoming 27 covers.
Ahead of the opening, we had the chance to sit down with the chef, where he details the concept of his restaurants, his decision to open in Dubai, and what he hopes to achieve within Dubai’s dynamic culinary scene.
Tell us about the restaurants?
Well, if we start with the more casual one, Studio Frantzén, it's like a dining concept, so it’s a la carte format. Our menu comes with some obviously Nordic influences and it's all about fun as well. The space is big in an iconic place in Dubai, so I feel very humbled and proud to take over that space. For many years, I've been asked by different operators to do a restaurant here in Dubai, but I felt like I was waiting for that pinch in your arm opportunity. And this is the one. This is why it felt right.I always said, I can do one more fine dining restaurant – one more only – and we were discussing it with the owners and the management from Atlantis, because it's a collaboration when it comes to this fine-dining restaurant if you're really going to perform on the highest level, and I felt they totally got it. That's when we decided, ‘OK. Let's do the fine dining also.’ So, we're doing a sister to Frantzén and Zén in Singapore called – I mean, we're running out of options here about the surname Frantzén – so we just removed some letters and called it FZN. This place has full on tasting menu and with a really, really spectacular venue.
How do you feel about your latest launches?
Super excited. Both restaurants look so nice. For the first time in many years, I'm actually kind of nervous for the food, which is a great sign because that means that the space and the interior is kick a**.
Can you give us more insight into the tasting menu?
You start in the living room with four, five canapes, and then nine to 10 served in the main dining room, and then we head back up to living room with, like petit fours and the whole shebang, but I would say it's a 19-course tasting menu, depending on how you count.Image credit: FZN by Björn Frantzén
Can we expect any local influences in the menu?
The first three menus are ready and they are similar to what we’ve done at Zén and Frantzén, but menu number four will have more local accents from a flavour and product perspective.How are you splitting the ingredients? Are you getting a lot locally? Are you getting some flying in? Is it a mix of both?
In terms of products, it’s a combination. You can now find a lot of more local grown stuff like when it comes to vegetables flowers, herbs, etcetera. And also, what we felt is the vibe of the local producers is on a different level now. There's a lot of pride and they really want to support and be part of it, which I think is really cool.RELEVANT: Dubai’s Best Hotel Bars
Is there a beverage pairing?
Yes! I am super excited about coming to the Middle East because of this. There's a lot of people that don't drink alcohol and we have spent 10 years developing our non-alcoholic pairing. It feels like we have kind of prepared for this and the thing is, with non-alcoholic options, they sometimes tend to be too sweet, but I think that, along with our mixed pairing where it's half non-alcoholic and half alcoholic, which I honestly think is a better match with food than with just alcohol. We can develop them after how the food is created.Because when it comes to wine pairing you are relatively limited. With both, you get the best of both worlds. We also worked a lot with Aaron Jacobson, who's the GM over at Zén, and he's really good at it, and obviously with the Stockholm team as well, so it's going to be super nice to be able to offer to the locals.
How's your team looking?
We have a lot of guys coming from Stockholm to Singapore, which really amazing. And on top of that, similar to when we're open in Singapore, we brought the head chef who was a talent that never worked with us before - Tristan Farmer. And now we have Torsten Vildgaard, who used to work at three MICHLEIN star Noma for 12 years in Copenhagen. The reason for that is because a lot of the guys have been with us for such a long time, we don't get the chance to learn so much anymore. We think it’s nice to bring someone else in that maybe can give us some new eyes to what's happening.Finally, why did you decide to open in Dubai?
Everything's happening here now in the Middle East region. So, it was only natural in that way that Frantzén as a group is also present here, not only in pop ups and stuff. When you do pop ups, food wise, you get are at 85% and you never get to 100. I wanted my own setting and get to do it 100%. Also, I felt like, over the years, when we had done pop ups, it's been very appreciated by the locals. There was a great interest. It just felt like the Middle East region where it's happening now.MORE ON DUBAI'S CHEFS: Chef Yamamoto Brings His Signature Ramen to Dubai
