Eken Kök & Bar – a Moveat restaurant

Hi Darren, it's great to have you on board at Moveat! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Sure – Darren John, a passionate chef from the UK with over 20 years of experience in the culinary arts. Based in Stockholm, I specialize in modern European, Nordic, and Asian fusion cuisine, dedicated to creating innovative and exquisite dining experiences. Today, I am the head chef at Eken Stockholm, which means I have full financial and culinary responsibility for all food created on site, from breakfast, conferences, room service, à la carte, and everything in between.

My culinary journey began in London, where I spent over 10 years at several Michelin-starred restaurants. I had the opportunity to climb the ranks and eventually became head chef. My career in the UK also included opening two restaurants of my own, where I had the opportunity to showcase my skills and creativity. In search of new adventures and inspired by my Swedish wife's roots, we decided to move to Stockholm. Here, I had the honor of being part of Tak, a new Nordic-Japanese restaurant, and led the team as head chef for seven years. This experience allowed me to blend Nordic and Japanese culinary traditions and create unique and memorable dining experiences.

How did you end up at Eken?

After finishing my position at Tak, I took a few months off from the kitchen and helped a company with concept design and restaurant openings. During this period, the position at Hilton became available. I had always had my eye on Hilton since moving to Sweden because my wife had worked for Hilton before and I am a big fan of the company and its hotels. I applied and am now looking forward to creating a fantastic restaurant in the heart of the hotel.

The Hilton Hotel is a prominent part of the view of Slussen and Södermalm, but not everyone may be familiar with the restaurant's history. Can you tell us about it?

According to legend, the townspeople once hid their treasures in an oak log and shot it out into Lake Mälaren. They decided to build their new town where the log landed. The oak floated ashore on the west side of what is now Riddarholmen. To honor this, the city was nicknamed “Eken” (the oak). Over time, Eken became Stockholm, a name believed to combine ‘Stock’ (log) and “Holm” (island). This refers to the logs used at the strait leading into Lake Mälaren to navigate the strong currents and the nearby island. With our restaurant overlooking the birthplace of Stockholm, we have named it Eken. Eken has undergone several changes over the years from a culinary perspective, but we are looking forward, not backward. The restaurant's new focus is to create a Nordic bistro that uses as many of Sweden's beautiful products as possible, combined with European cooking techniques.

What's happening at Eken right now?

We have been working on new menus and look forward to opening our terrace with an all-day menu from June 6. When you come here, you can expect to be welcomed with warmth and enjoy fantastic food and drinks with spectacular views of the water, Gamla Stan, and, of course, the new Södermalm Square.

Read more and follow Eken on Instagram at ekenbarstockholm.