Vyn

Dinner at Vyn, by Daniel Berlin My love for Daniel Berlin began at the first bite, about eight years ago. Two years later, he broke my heart by closing his restaurant. So when Daniel, whom I consider one of the greatest cooks in the world, returned with Vyn in 2023, my heart filled with joy. His restaurant in Skåne Tranås had earned two Michelin stars. Vyn marked his return after three years away and went straight into the guide with two stars in 2024. Vyn means “the view”. The restaurant occupies a former farm on a hill in Österlen, with its land descending towards the Baltic Sea. Through the dining room windows, the surrounding countryside is always part of the evening. Daniel’s cooking begins with Skåne: its fields, forests, waters and changing seasons. His garden complements the produce he sources from local growers. Preserving, cooking over fire and giving every part of an animal the attention it deserves are part of how he works. Our friendship has grown deeper with every visit. For the opening dinner of Una Gran Fiesta II, I asked him to leave his extraordinary tasting menu aside and cook the kind of family-style meal he would make for his closest friends and family. I had him at hello.

Photography Sinan Hamamsarilar

Crayfish, Västerbotten and crown dill Whole crayfish arrived in a bowl for the table, with Västerbotten cheese and crown dill named on the menu. The combination recalls a Swedish kräftskiva, the late summer crayfish gathering. Crown dill means the flowering heads. It was a fitting start to the family dinner I had asked Daniel for.

Sourdough bread and butter Swedish bread traditions stretch from crispbread to soft loaves, but our menu simply said sourdough bread and butter. In a meal built for sharing, that is enough of an introduction. Bread belongs within reach while the dishes come and go, a steady companion to the changing flavours of the table.

Seasonal greens, herbs and flowers from the garden Seasonal greens, herbs and flowers from Vyn’s garden came piled together beneath a pale, creamy dressing. Leaves and blossoms had their own place at the table, alongside the richer dishes that followed. The garden supplements produce from local growers, keeping the menu connected to what is ready to harvest nearby.

Smoked Brantevik eel and scrambled eggs Smoked Brantevik eel was served with scrambled eggs, a classic Scanian pairing associated with ålagille, the region’s eel feasts. The eggs came soft and golden, scattered with chopped chives. With the fish served separately, both parts remained easy to share: local food brought to the table in a familiar way.

Celeriac and plums Darkly browned pieces of celeriac sat among sliced plums, green leaves and a glossy sauce. The root’s earthy, nutty character has a natural partner in the fruit’s sweetness and acidity. September brings both into the same season, and Daniel gave them a course of their own before the game arrived.

Mallard, honeyberries and truffles Mallard, the wild duck, came sliced and pink beneath browned skin, with honeyberries, truffles and a dark sauce. Game and fruit are familiar partners in northern cooking. Here, the berries’ sweetness and acidity belong alongside the duck’s richer flavour, served on a platter for everyone at our table to share.

Local wild mushrooms and aged cheese Local wild mushrooms and aged cheese brought the forest into dinner. The platter held mushrooms of different shapes and sizes, their browned surfaces partly covered by a pale foam. Mushroom gathering is part of Swedish autumn life, and this course gave the harvest its own place among the meat dishes.

Veal entrecôte, tongue and liver Veal entrecôte arrived sliced on the bone, pink at its centre and finished with salt. Tongue and liver were served on a second, large platter. Giving these cuts equal attention made the whole-animal approach very clear: the familiar centrepiece shared its course with parts that deserve just as much care.

Skånsk apple cake Skånsk äppelkaka is Scanian apple cake, traditionally made by layering apples with sweetened, buttery breadcrumbs, often from dark rye bread. Daniel’s version arrived in a baking dish with a dark, craggy surface. A regional family dessert, served in the same generous spirit as the savoury dishes that came before it.

Elderflower and smultron tart Smultron are Sweden’s small wild strawberries, intensely aromatic and closely associated with summer. Elderflower is another familiar seasonal flavour, often captured in cordial. Daniel paired them in a tart. After the Scanian apple cake, this brought another part of the Swedish sweet pantry to our dinner: flowers and wild berries.

Brown butter and roasted teal fat caramel The final sweet combined brown butter with roasted teal fat caramel, served in rectangular pieces with glossy, browned tops. Teal is a small wild duck. Using its fat in dessert brought the game back at the end, continuing the same resourceful approach we had seen in the tongue and liver.

Keller · Hubacker Riesling · 2016

Hubacker comes from distinctive limestone-rich ground in Rheinhessen, a site closely associated with Keller’s dry Riesling. Our 2016 stood a decade beyond its vintage, bringing a different stage of development to the table from the younger whites. The attraction here is the combination of concentration, acidity and time, without heaviness.

Domaine Pierre Vincent · Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru Les Chaumées · 2023

A Chardonnay from a parcel of less than a fifth of a hectare. Pierre Vincent gives Les Chaumées twelve months in barrel, followed by six in tank. Beside the older whites on our table, its 2023 vintage offered another perspective on Burgundy: a wine near the beginning of its life.

Kalin Cellars · Sonoma County Chardonnay · 1995

Thirty-one years separated this vintage from our dinner. Kalin’s Terry and Frances Leighton were known for releasing wines only after long ageing, often a decade or more after harvest. This Sonoma Chardonnay brought that patient philosophy to our table, with the bottle’s considerable age making it a different proposition altogether.

Les Horées · Beaune Les Prévolles

Catharina Sadde trained as a chef before turning to wine, eventually founding Les Horées in 2019. Les Prévolles is her Beaune Pinot Noir. Alongside the more established names we drank, this bottle represented a newer generation of Burgundy growers, with its own voice and a very personal route into winemaking.

Domaine Dujac · Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru · 2022

Bonnes-Mares is a Pinot Noir grand cru shared by Chambolle-Musigny and Morey-Saint-Denis. Our Dujac 2022 was still young. The appellation is known for depth and structure, with the capacity to age. Here it represented the younger end of our selection, a contrast with the Sonoma Chardonnay we drank from 1995.