Swedish cuisine, with subtle Asian influences

WHEN leading Swedish chef Bjorn Frantzen comes to town next week, it won't just be a few twee Nordic lingonberries he'll be sprinkling on a plate. He's bringing his entire larder - or at least as much as he can squeeze into his hand luggage.

The plan is to make sure that diners at his one-night-only gig at Les Amis feel as if they're eating in his eponymous restaurant in Stockholm, says the two Michelin-starred chef. Highlights of his menu will include tartare of reindeer and beef with deep fried moss topped with Swedish caviar and a dusting of - grated reindeer penis.

Though Denmark has traditionally been forging the path for the new Nordic food movement, Sweden has been fiercely keeping pace. But Chef Frantzen, whose restaurant climbed up eight spots to 12th position on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list last year, has largely differentiated himself from the pack by working in subtle Asian influences into his Scandinavian cooking.