SAS pop-up restaurant transforms SXSW food waste into 9-course gourmet dining

Festival guests at SXSW can look forward to an unforgettable night at pop-up sustainable-gourmet restaurant “Lokal” featuring Scandinavian techniques and flavors added to Texan dishes and local ingredients by the Swedish chef Paul Svensson, Kamilla Seidler from Denmark, and Norwegian-Icelandic Atli Màr Yngvason.

“Lokal”, a sustainable pop-up gourmet restaurant, is bringing the best of Scandinavian cuisine and flavors to the table at the American festival South by Southwest 2019 (SXSW), the world’s largest gathering of creative professionals.

Festival guests can expect flavorful feasting combining local Austin products and Nordic techniques and ingredients with innovative sustainable plates at restaurant “Lokal” which is a part of House of Scandinavia, a global pop-up lounge hosted by SAS – Scandinavian Airlines.

Three top chefs from Sweden, Denmark and Norway are pushing the limits of creativity over six nights: 

• Swedish Paul Svensson from Fotografiska Museet, a pioneer in sustainable haute cuisine, will combine local Austin produce, repurpose local Austin waste and bring a bag of local Swedish flavours to delight in a series of plant-based plates.
  
  
• Danish Kamilla Seidler, named Latin America’s best female chef, brings her global mindset and the fresh essence of Denmark to the table with colour, skill and fun. As one of the leading female chefs Kamilla blends her adopted home country’s flavours with local products of a world filled with vastly different cultures and cuisines. 
  
  
• Norwegian-Icelandic Atli Màr yngvarson, famous head chef at Katla restaurant and restaurant Pjoltergeist in Oslo, is one of the people really moving the Norwegian food scene forward these days. Expect traditional Icelandic and Norwegian ingredients combined with Asian flavors and style of presentation in a lovely fusion.

Together, they will transform local food waste from SXSW and Austin to a nine-course gourmet dinner, consisting mostly of plant-based dishes. 

The name “Lokal”, meaning local in Scandinavian, highlights the idea behind the concept of the restaurant: to support local businesses and to source local sustainable ingredients.

Reducing food waste in the travel industry
The concept of restaurant “Lokal” is in line with the ambition of SAS to pioneer the travel industry by taking steps to reduce food waste by enhancing the pre-order service. 

The ability for travelers to pre-order their favorite menus, including the New Nordic by SAS concept based on locally and seasonally sourced ingredients, is a part of SAS’s sustainability program.

Pre-order is an evident tool to reduce food waste, as it ensures the right amount and type of meals are loaded on board to match customer demands on each flight.

Recently, SAS doubled the number of flights with pre-order options and pre-order options are now offered at a total number of approximately 80.000 SAS flights world wide a year.

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Booking link and more information on restaurant “Lokal” at SXSW 2019 can be find here. 

You will find more information on the chefs here.

Pictures are free to use by crediting:  

*SAS_Lokal1.jpg
*SAS_Lokal2.jpg
*SAS_Lokal3.jpg
Credit: Tigerspring / Christopher Butler

*SAS_Paul Svensson1.jpg
Credit: Field image - Håkan Gustafsson.

*SAS_Paul Svensson2.jpg
Credit: https://www.tovegustafsson.com

*SAS_Kamilla Seidler1.jpg
Credit: GUSTU

*SAS_ Atli Màr yngvarson1.jpg
Credit: Atli Màr yngvarson / Anna Vauler

During SXSW 2019, Restaurant “Lokal” at House of Scandinavia is open March 8 – March 13, 2019, from 07PM. Location:

Fareground at One Eleven
111 Congress Avenue, Austin, 
TX 78701 

House of Scandinavia 
House of Scandinavia, a global pop-up lounge hosted by SAS, is an ever mobile and dynamic physical manifestation of Scandinavian philosophy, culture and business. Designed to feature the best of Scandinavian at any given time or event. 

House of Scandinavia serves as an official display window of Sweden, Norway and Denmark for over 280.000 international guests and journalists at SXSW 2019. The lounge, hosted in collaboration with Cousins and Fareground, will be the setting for inspiring talks and activities all based on uniquely Scandinavian approaches to better solutions and Societal, Economical & Environmental improvements.

See the full program and list of partners at House of Scandinavia during SXSW here.