Sweden: Business restaurant of the year uses Heliospectra's intelligent lighting system
- We are still feeling our way forward, but the herbs that we are growing up here taste and look better. Our guests also enjoy inspecting our small gardens while sipping an aperitif, says Head Chef, Måns Backlund.
Last week, Upper House won the coveted Business Restaurant of the Year 2014 award, which is presented annually by Sweden's leading business journal, Dagens Industri. The high-elevation restaurant has quickly become renowned as one of Sweden's premier fine dining restaurants and has set itself ambitious goals for innovation.
- We have extremely high aspirations. By growing certain herbs and vegetables ourselves, we are giving our guests something extra and it is greatly appreciated and popular too, says Måns Backlund, who has held positions at several prestigious restaurants, including Thörnströms Kök in Gothenburg, Jaan in Singapore and Jonas in Stockholm.
Heliospectra has helped the restaurant to build a greenhouse at the top of the tower using the new LX60 system to provide light and nutrients. Chervil, fennel, anise, cumin and beetroot are just some of the plants being cultivated here.
- We are not self-sufficient nor are we aiming to become so. But it's a very exciting project and the produce we grow adds an extra dimension to our business. It's fantastic being able to pick something straight from the earth, taste it and consider which dish it will complement, says Måns Backlund.
According to Wexthuset.com, which is the largest outlet in Sweden for sales of functional gardening and cultivation products and has about 55,000 visitors each month, sales of grow lights have risen by approximately 70 per cent in the past few years. Heliospectra can also confirm this increase in the sales:
- We are noting an increasingly strong interest in locally-grown produce among restaurants and private individuals, particularly abroad, and our new LX60 is the perfect answer to this demand. The Upper House cultivation project is very exciting and we are thrilled that they have chosen our products, says Staffan Hillberg, CEO of Heliospectra.
Gothenburg 16 December 2014
For more information
Heliospectra
Staffan Hillberg, CEO Heliospectra,
T: +46 (0) 708 36 59 44,
Email: [email protected]
Lars Sjögrell, Press Officer, Heliospectra,
T: +46 (0) 702 69 53 00,
Email: [email protected]
G&W are the company's certified advisors - www.gwkapital.se