Scandinavian in New York

Summary

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How do you translate Danish food to suit Americans? It doesn't have to be translated. It's Mama's kind of cooking. Heavy food with a lot of gravy. A little bit like the South here. You don't have to do much with old-fashioned Danish food. It's meat and potatoes.

How do you translate Norwegian food to suit Americans? It can't be used entirely the way it is. We certainly make certain compromises and concessions at our restaurant. Several restaurants have tried putting smorgasbords together, for example, and failed because they didn't understand the concept. When we serve Jansson's Frestelse (Jansson's Temptation), we use a slightly milder combination of herring anchovies so it doesn't have such a fishy flavor. You have to be a bit more subtle. You don't want people to wonder, "Has this fish gone bad?" So what we do is we don't stress the ingredients in this dish; we call it a gratin and serve it as a side. With the result that it is very popular.

Would you recommend your first-born become a chef? I'm of the opinion that my child should do whatever he likes. But I can say one thing: being a chef is brutal 90 percent of the time. It's hard work with not necessarily good pay, the hours are unpleasant, and you lose a lot of days. It's less glamorous then you'd think. And I don't want that for my child.

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Scandinavian in New York

Ari Nieminen

Executive Chef, Water's Edge

Age: 42

Comes from: Northern part of Helsinki, close to Tampere.

How long have you been in NY? First as an exchange student 1979-1980, then came over to study in 1984 and stayed.

Why did you come here? To study to become a chef

Name a typical Finnish spice: cardamom

Describe Finnish food with one word: Natural

How do you translate Finnish food to suit Americans? You have to change things. This I learned as a chef at a Russian restaurant here in New York. And Finnish food, although it has Western influences, mainly from Sweden, also has influences from the Russian and...

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