Freyja launches innovative new menu and dining style
Melbourne’s Freyja has launched a new dining concept that provides a curated alternative to typical set or a la carte menus.
The new option will allow guests to share their preferences with the culinary team, who will in turn create a bespoke Chef’s Selection for the table.
The idea reflects the innovative nature of Freyja, both in culinary aspects and team culture.
Behind the menu is Executive Chef Jae Bang. Bang has an impressive resume, featuring the likes of San Sebastian’s Arzak, New York’s Daniel, and Norway’s only two-star Michelin restaurant Re-naa.
Bang has been a long-time champion of preservation techniques like fermentation, pickling, and curing for their ability to both create unique, unpredictable flavours, and for using seasonal ingredients to their full extent.
The restaurant’s focus on Nordic cuisine, with hyper-local, seasonal produce. New dishes include cauliflower with hazelnut and cauliflour paste, comte, rase l hanout spice mix, sourdough miso, and kaffir lime oil (which takes six months to prepare). The market fish with unripe blueberry capers, brown butter, and mushroom garum, sees Bang use green Tasmanian blueberries that he salts and acidifies like capers to bring out a unique floral flavour.
“Sustainability isn’t a trend for us, it’s woven into the very DNA of Freyja. It’s a fundamental principle guiding every aspect of our operation, from sourcing to kitchen practices. Beyond finding the best seasonal produce that Victoria has to offer, we stay deeply connected to the ingredients that shape the dishes on the menu, honouring every part of it,” says Bang.
The kitchen prides itself on its progressive team culture, with a four-day workweek and staff getting hands-on experience in wild foraging, winery harvests, and farming.
The restaurant opened in Melbourne’s 19th century heritage Olderfleet Building in mid 2022. Danish-born Soren Trampedach is responsible for the restaurant’s creative direction, while Aaron Caccia is head chef.
The new dining option is available for dinner Monday to Saturday.
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