In an organically shaped building with a floor-to-ceiling glass facade, chef and creator Tom Jallow has established the casual fine dining restaurant Nikki Bar. Many guests speak warmly of the food, wine, and drinks. It’s all top-class, as is customary when Tom is involved. But they talk just as much about the entire experience, orchestrated with the utmost attention to the smallest details. The design-conscious may have noticed the carefully chosen music, the hand-turned plates, and the refined cutlery, where the knife rests perfectly in the hand. Others are simply happy to enjoy a pleasant evening with delicious food. Both reactions are equally good, says Tom, “I am satisfied as long as you leave the restaurant with a positive impression.”
That unmistakable sense of stylish simplicity is often challenging to achieve. Much thought, passion, and precision are required to reach the point where perfection looks easy. However, you also need an intuitive mind and the courage to follow it. Tom possesses that. Over the years, he has developed about ten renowned restaurant concepts, all with their own unique feel, “In a smaller city like Jönköping, you always have to take a chance – will it work? But luckily, most of what I’ve created has been well received. What drives me is the creative side of the work, more than being a businessman. I see cooking and creating concepts as a personal expression of an artistic mindset.”
In his youth, Tom studied design with the ambition of becoming a clothing designer. When he ended up in the restaurant world, it was natural for him to maintain an aesthetic view of his food and every detail of the overall dining experience. Unlike most other chefs and restaurant owners, the menu is the last thing he finalizes in a new concept, “In the Nikki Bar project, the menu was created only three days before we opened. I couldn’t decide on the food until I knew exactly what the restaurant would look like and my first impression when entering the room. There must be a consistent theme in the look and sense of the place, along with what is served.”
Tom instructed the architect and decorator that the mood should be soft and feminine, with its aesthetics inspired by the movie, “The Talented Mr. Ripley.” All details were carefully considered, right down to how the spoon feels in the mouth. So instead of selecting the standard cutlery from the wholesaler – as done in most restaurants – he opted for Stockholm Two, the new cutlery from Design House Stockholm. They are visually appealing and, at the same time, capable of withstanding the demanding restaurant environment. The series is designed by the award-winning designer Jesper Ståhl, who has been a friend of Tom’s for several years. Their story began when Jesper became a regular lunch guest at Tom’s former restaurant. It soon deepened when they discovered their mutual interest in design and shared belief in the importance of the smallest of details.
“For me, everything starts with the details,” Tom says, demonstrating how the knife has a curvature that makes it sit exceptionally well in the hand. Jesper agrees that cutlery is more significant for the dining experience than many people think. It is even very intimate, as Jesper explains, “Cutlery is one of the few items that you actually taste. When they sit perfectly in both the hand and the mouth, they should hardly be noticed, only enhancing the experience.” In the design process of Stockholm Two, Jesper based his work on convex and softly rounded shapes, making the reflections and smooth form transitions enhance the three-dimensionality. The result is visually strong yet emotionally tactile, “For me, it’s about trusting your intuition and finding the exact point where function and form become inseparable. That is where the poetry of design is to be found,” he explains.
Here, the two creators meet – in the attention and passion for aesthetic harmony, always containing a splash of anarchy. Something you can only achieve when you dare to follow your intuition.
Text: Karin Marks
Photo: Björn Ceder
Chef: Tom Jallow
Design: Jesper Ståhl
