Originally from Tarquinia, twenty-nine-year-old Andrea has gained experience in some of the most emblazoned kitchens, becoming Norway's first Italian starred chef after only seven months of opening Savage.
Photos of dishes by Lorenzo Noccioli
The chef and the restaurant
In Oslo, on a clear evening as the sun sets, it is easy to come across a sunset where the sky is ablaze with the same fiery hues that Edvard Munch captured in his Scream, as if to imply that art and nature blend better here than in others. Although it has maintained a deep connection with nature, which continues to be an integral part of city life even in the frigid Nordic winters, the Norwegian capital has undergone an extraordinary transformation architecturally. In recent years, the city has become one of the most interesting cultural destinations in Northern Europe.
And as we drive through the new Bjorvika district, accompanied by chef Andrea Selvaggini of Savage restaurant , we understand why. The aesthetics of the new museums are bewitching; the Munch, relocated in 2021 to its new home, as well as one of four versions of the Scream offers a spectacular view. Across the street is the stunning hyper futuristic public library, which on Sundays throngs with families with children for whom fun and educational activities are organized. Walks are made on the roof of the futuristic Opera House, which perfectly embodies the principle of accessibility and interaction with the opera, designed precisely to walk on it. Under the extraordinary roof are unique stage sets, the tailors visible from the huge windows on the street.
“I have been living here for seven years,” Chef Selvaggini tells us, “before with my wife we worked together, now she is in charge of a large champagne maison...a little over a year ago our daughter arrived, the cost of living in Oslo is undoubtedly high, but the salaries are commensurate and the quality of life is remarkable, I believe however that sooner or later we will return to Italy. A native of Tarquinia, twenty-nine years old, Andrea has a snappy, knowledge-rich eloquence, has gained experience in some of the most emblazoned kitchens, and after several trips to Luxembourg, Spain at Quique Dacosta's Denia, and Mexico, he returned to Lazio for a period at Pascucci's al Porticciolo and then flew to Norway. Where he began his journey at the three-starred Maaemo and later at Kontrast, then in 2022 he arrived at the Revier Hotel, where he acquired a small share in the Savage restaurant , owned by an Oslo real estate developer, and in June 2023, after only seven months, came the Michelin star.
“What I love about European capitals,” says the chef, "is that the mixing of different gastronomic cultures is always successful, and the various restaurants with different international offerings, of whatever level, are always good, while the same can hardly be said of Italy. The mixing of cultures has also greatly influenced my type of cuisine." In short, Andrea is a true global citizen, with a truly cosmopolitan mindset. He brings us to Mathallen, the covered market, where he partly stocks up, which at lunchtime draws natives and tourists to the small restaurants of various nationalities. “Now I take you to Annis, one of my favorite places ,” Andrea tells us, ”from a distance, from the design it looks like a luxurious jewelry store, then from the windows you will understand what it is.
It actually looks sort of like Tiffany's, then as you get closer you see that the display case is the bovine quarters maturation cell of a splendid butcher shop, in the city's living room. A place of worship for passionate foodies, it is filled with gourmet specialties from all over the world, including Italy, with prices that are objectively closer to the world of gemology than to the world of meat. Heading to the Rivier, the hotel that houses the Savage, we skirt the fjord, with its public saunas, between relaxation, culture, and musical events to alternate with Nordic bathing. The hotel is within walking distance of the National Museum-Architecture and the Akershus Fortress, with its park with stunning views of the harbor. The atmosphere expresses that essential elegance that only Scandinavian style does so well, the use of natural materials, the greenery of the many plants, on the walls the pop canvases of Constance Tenvik, also on display at the Munch Museum.
“We thought of a dynamic dinner situation,” Chef Selvaggini illustrates, ” so we serve the aperitif at a large single table in our Green Lounge, which was originally intended to be a florist's shop attached to the restaurant, but we couldn't find anyone who wanted to sell flowers in the evening, during opening hours. So we filled it with plants anyway, but to surround our guests with greenery while they sip a glass of Louis Roederer Collection 244 champagne."
The dishes
The only flower that comes to the table is edible, the Sunflower, a crispy tuile of potatoes in the shape of petals that make up a sunflower, a champagne gel, an emulsion of oysters and Oscietra caviar to simulate the central disc. Recoding the Catalan, the tartlet of lobster, celery, carrots and aioli sauce, precedes an excellent reindeer tartare sandwiched between two discs of squid ink sweet potatoes and garlic capers. The fourth tasting closes the first part of the menu with a wrångebäck cheese donut, made of cow's milk, typical Swedish cheese, with black garlic, truffle mayonnaise and truffle shavings that arrives weekly from Umbria.
Very smoothly, one is ushered into the dining room, where one can choose, as an alternative to the table, to sit at the counter for the short meu and a higher rate of informality, although the entire room exudes conviviality and ease in service, the chef and part of the brigade often coming out of the kitchen to present dishes. A menu of twenty-one runs, divided into four sections, which in fact encapsulate a resounding marriage of flavor and aesthetics in one bite. A tale of four ecosystems that starts from the depths of the ocean and makes its way to the city by way of the coast to inland and turns into a tribute to the wilderness. The squid comes from Skagerrak, halfway between Norway and Denmark , served on a sheet of white kombu, accompanied by a refreshing salad of cucumber, salted lemon, and Thai basil, all resting on top of a shortbread of the squid's blackness and with salted lemon.
One of the five tuna that pass through the Norwegian Sea each year, as per statistics, ended up in the fabulous tartlet containing its otoro, then belly, seasoned in classic Japanese style with aged soy sauce, fresh wasabi, myoga and Oscietra caviar. Selvaggini's signature dish, a claw-shaped shrimp sandwich stuffed with a claw salad, served with a three-layer sauce. At the base, a preserved fir gel, at the center Rømme a typical sour cream topped with fresh herbs and a porcini mushroom emulsion. “What we ask of you,” the chef tells us, ” is to think like a langoustine, take the claw with your hands and dig into the sand, which is the sauce here, and eat the crab chips.
The amberjack is caught in Fredrikstad, an hour and a half drive from Oslo, and processed using the Ikejime technique. Lightly salted, after aging for four days it is served with a Hokkaido rice, with a soft, slightly sweet texture, to which is added nori seaweed and homemade smoked chili crunch. The fish is topped with finger limes, unripe gooseberries, mussel dashi, and the oil from the chili crunch. Representing the coast is the scallop, specifically from Steigen on the northwest coast. Served raw, cut in the shape of a star, because it is a shellfish that starfish are fond of. Seasoned with smoked reindeer heart from Lapland, unripe blackcurrants, brown butter with seaweed curry, and Löjrom, vendace eggs found only in Kalix, Sweden. Usually served at Nobel Prize ceremony banquets.
Fenalår, is a traditional Norwegian leg of lamb that is processed like a ham, sometimes it is also smoked, Selvaggini makes a ragu from it, to which he adds bear garlic, pumpkin and truffle, with which he tops pumpkin gnocchi, which moreover comes from the same farm as the sheep. A home-made pumpkin mustard and a broth of fenelår bones and caramelized onion add intensity of flavor to the ethereal texture of the pasta.
Representing the Norwegian capital in a dish is not the easiest feat, but the chef pulls it off with wit by reinterpreting the Skagen, traditionally a slice of bread supporting a shrimp salad. At Savage it becomes an apple meringue, slightly hollowed out that holds king crab lappet, sour cream with herbs and caviar. Smoked eel from Lake Mjøsa, fri the largest in Norway, rests on a brandade that reinvigorates its umami, juxtaposed with kohlrabi, from a biodynamic farm, marinated in koji oil and ajo blanco that curbs its fatty coté.
Hurum Mølle is the mill that supplies Savage with all the flours it produces, wheat, rye, spelt, and as is fitting outside Italy, bread is offered, along with butter, as a course. The turn inland is made by the superlative tagliolini di grano arso, whipped with roasted chicken fat and topped with chanterelles and trombette dei morti, to which raw chestnuts and Alba truffles are added.
The venison matures for two weeks, “the first week ,” Selvaggini says, “ in the cell in Annis, the butcher shop where I brought you this morning, and the second week here at the restaurant. We clean the meat, with the bones we make the sauce, and the fat we use for brushing in cooking. It is smoked with juniper picked by us and then finished on the grill. With five or six intervals between grilling and resting so that there is no gray edge in the meat.” And indeed it is incredibly melt-in-your-mouth, served with sour cherries, a mashed potato with bread and rye miso, Jerusalem artichoke and elderflower velouté, and its jus with different kinds of pepper.
Provident is the sea buckthorn sorbet that combines an Earl Grey custard, tea gelée, matcha powder, yogurt parfait, and honey sourced from beekeepers just outside the city of Oslo at its base. Caramelized almonds and a fermented honey sauce complete.
Then Danish cookie stuffed with a namelaca of woodruff and black currants, black currant branch toffee, black currant preserves. Risolatte made with chamomile, a rare fruit also known as arctic raspberry. Sandwich of sugar kelp, a sweet, caramelized seaweed, filled with roasted kombu ganache, dulse seaweed toffee. Truffle and pecan ice cream sandwich. Yuzu leaves, sudachi, bergamot, sake miso ganache, three-citrus cream.
The pairing intersperses the wines with pleasant fruit infusions in tea with the addition of various spices, such as organic gooseberry infused with turmeric and a bay leaf infusion, or white currant juice infused with fermented chamomile.
Contact
Savage
Nedre Slottsgate 2, 0153 Oslo, Norway
Phone: +47 90 48 84 40
