4 Michelin-starred chefs to cook at pop-up restaurant

Pop-up restaurant 4XFour is back with four Michelin- starred chefs for the series of brunches and dinners

4XFour will feature chefs Hiroki Yoshitake of Sola in Paris, Rolf Fliegauf of Ristorante Ecco in Switzerland, Nathan Outlaw of Restaurant Nathan Outlaw in Cornwall and Mads Refslund (above), co-founder of Noma in Denmark. -- PHOTO: SAVOUR EVENTS
4XFour will feature chefs Hiroki Yoshitake of Sola in Paris, Rolf Fliegauf of Ristorante Ecco in Switzerland, Nathan Outlaw of Restaurant Nathan Outlaw in Cornwall and Mads Refslund (above), co-founder of Noma in Denmark. -- PHOTO: SAVOUR EVENTS
4XFour will feature chefs Hiroki Yoshitake of Sola in Paris, Rolf Fliegauf of Ristorante Ecco in Switzerland, Nathan Outlaw (above) of Restaurant Nathan Outlaw in Cornwall and Mads Refslund, co-founder of Noma in Denmark. -- PHOTO: SAVOUR EVENTS
4XFour will feature chefs Hiroki Yoshitake of Sola in Paris, Rolf Fliegauf (above) of Ristorante Ecco in Switzerland, Nathan Outlaw of Restaurant Nathan Outlaw in Cornwall and Mads Refslund, co-founder of Noma in Denmark. -- PHOTO: SAVOUR EVENTS
4XFour will feature chefs Hiroki Yoshitake (above) of Sola in Paris, Rolf Fliegauf of Ristorante Ecco in Switzerland, Nathan Outlaw of Restaurant Nathan Outlaw in Cornwall and Mads Refslund, co-founder of Noma in Denmark. -- PHOTO: SAVOUR EVENTS

Nordic cuisine has been one of the hottest dining trends in the world and one of its proponents, Danish chef Mads Refslund, will be here to cook.

He is one of four chefs featured in the second edition of pop-up restaurant 4XFour, which runs from Nov 13 to Dec 7.

Refslund, co-founder of Noma in Copenhagen which is currently at the top of the World's 50 Best Restaurants list, is consulting executive chef for Acme restaurant in New York.

He says: "Nordic cuisine is about terroir and letting the sea combine with the land to create dishes. Mother Nature did the hard work by creating perfect flavours. It's my job as a chef to nurture and meld them together.

"I hope guests leave feeling satiated both in their stomachs and minds."

He co-founded Noma with chef Rene Redzepi in 2003, but left six months after its opening.

Refslund, 37, still regards chef Redzepi as a "dear friend" and adds that his former roommate has done "incredible work" with Noma.

Three other Michelin-starred chefs - Rolf Fliegauf of Ristorante Ecco in Switzerland, Nathan Outlaw of Restaurant Nathan Outlaw in Cornwall and Hiroki Yoshitake of Sola in Paris - will also be in town for the series of brunches and dinners at The Temasek Suite in the F1 Pit Building.

Chef Yoshitake replaces chef-owner Henrik Yde of one-Michelin-starred Kiin Kiin, a modern Thai restaurant in Copenhagen, who dropped out of the original line-up for personal reasons, the organisers say.

4XFour, a sold-out affair last year, is organised by Savour Events, which is behind the popular annual outdoor food festival Savour.

Chef Refslund will cook from Nov 13 to 16, and seats for his brunches and dinners are already sold out.

His menu includes dishes such as scallop with cucumber, mushroom broth with egg yolk and sea bream with fermented pear, meant to "capture umami and earthiness flavours".

Paris-based Japanese chef Yoshitake will also be showcasing seasonal ingredients.

Some diners may find him familiar. The 33-year-old chef lived in Singapore for a year, when he ran the now-defunct Hiroki88@Infusion in Dempsey Road in 2010.

His meals will feature dishes such as sea bream and turnip, seasoned with wasabi; chawanmushi of foie gras; and yuzu pie.

Like chef Refslund, chefs Outlaw and Fliegauf will be in Singapore for the first time.

English chef Outlaw, 36, who runs restaurants in Britain including Outlaw's, The Mariner's Public House and Outlaw's Fish Kitchen, specialises in seafood. He will serve dishes from his Outlaw's Fish Kitchen menu.

He says: "I will present small plates of simply cooked fish and seafood. I don't believe in heavy, masking sauces."

German chef Fliegauf, 32, who owns two Ecco restaurants in Switzerland and has a third opening in Zurich next year, hopes to surprise diners with his cuisine.

He says: "Our kitchen focuses on taste and establishing a range of complex flavours. We want to surprise guests and tickle the palate. It's a game of different textures."

Menu highlights include veal fillet, beetroot and slightly smoked goose liver; wild salmon on a sour and grilled cucumber with almonds; and a dessert of Granny Smith apple, yogurt and sorrel.

These top chefs say some of the biggest dining trends this year have included Nordic cuisine and casual dining.

Chef Outlaw says: "I would like to see a resurgence in fine dining at a more affordable level that isn't only experienced by the elite. Fine dining should mean the highest standards of cooking with the very best ingredients.

"It is not necessarily food with the highest price tag."

euniceq@sph.com.sg

4XFour 2014 will be held at The Temasek Suite, F1 Pit Building, 1 Republic Boulevard from Nov 13 to Dec 7 at 7.30pm (Tuesday to Friday dinner), 11am (weekend brunch), 7pm (weekend dinner). Prices are from $168++ a person (four-course brunch with free flow champagne) and from $248++ a person (eight-course dinner). Go to www.4xfour.sg or e-mail info@4xfour.sg

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