Reykjavík Grapevine - Mar 2021, Page 29

29The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 03— 2021
There's a growing waiting list at Eldstæ#i#... also hot chocolate
Food
Enter
Eldstæ#i#
Reykjavík’s latest food tech incubator is built
around community
Words: Shruthi Basappa Photos: Art Bicnick
Eva Michelsen is showing me
around Eldstæ!i!—Reykjavík’s
latest commercial kitchen for food
entrepreneurs and small producers.
The kitchen is a modern all-white
and stainless steel affair, with only
the synchronised movements of
people tempering chocolate, shap-
ing patties and packing kormas
belying the industrious air of what
really goes on in its quiet, sanitised
spaces.
I first met Eva Michelsen, a
spirited food tech entrepreneur,
when she was organising the Nor-
dic Kitchen Workshop in 2018. Over
the next two days, amongst a room
full of food start-ups, participants
shared the trials and hurdles of get-
ting their product to market.
Between now and then, she has
gone on to start Eldstæ!i!, a com-
mercial kitchen impressive not
only for its ambition, but also for
bringing six food vendors to store
shelves in just six months of op-
erations! So if you recognise names
like Arctic Pie, Bao Bao Buns, Anna
Marta pesto, Keto Eldhúsi!’s ready
to eat meals, Ella Stína’s vegan pat-
ties, Svava Sinnep and The Grumpy
Whale Hot Chocolate, they are all
working out of Eldstæ!i!.
A new solution for an
old problem
As many learnt during the pandem-
ic, especially around Christmas,
one simply does not whip up Sarah
Bernhardts in their kitchen to sell
online. “Packaged food products are
a whole other thing,” Eva smiles
knowingly. With a confectionery
business of her own, Michelsen
Konfekt, she knows first hand the
many challenges with being a small
producer.
But when there is MATIS, the
government-run kitchen, why
Eldstæ!i!? “They’re a test kitchen
and they only allow one producer at
a time,” Eva clarifies “There is lim-
ited storage space. Eldstæ!i!, on
the other hand, is a fully equipped
commercial kitchen where up to
three producers can work along-
side one another at a time. We have
shared infrastructure and offer a
community and network of shared
experiences,” she shares.
Why should someone choose
Eldstæ!i! and
not go it on their
ow n instead?
“Do you have
15-16 m i l l ion
k rónur? ” Eva
quips, bluntly. “I
did the numbers
and if I had to
take on a loan, I
simply wouldn’t have done it,'' she
confesses. “The hurdle for a lot of
people is knowing where to start,''
she explains. “What are the rules,
what is packaging, what is a quality
handbook? It can all get overwhelm-
ing. Because I am responsible for a
lot of the things at Eldstæ!i!—fire
safety, insurance, pest control—the
undertakings of the producers are a
lot easier,'' she explains.
“If I was a governmental agency,
I couldn't say no to anyone, but be-
ing privately run like this, I can
stipulate my own conditions—for
instance, we don’t allow deep fry-
ing, we are flexible with our open-
ing times. We can do what we want
to, when we want to,'' she laughs
jokingly.
Culinary community
As we walk around the facilities,
Eva excitedly shares that they are
looking forward to new blast chill-
ers, as the swanky coolers are al-
ready proving insufficient due to
the rising demand for a spot at
Eldstæ!i!. “There is a growing
waiting list,'' she beams proudly.
There is a tangible barrier to
entry for novice home cooks look-
ing to scale their operations. When
legalese and licenses can stifle that
entrepreneurial spirit, Eldstæ!i! is
a “one-stop shop,” as Eva succinctly
describes. With their Icelandic and
English policy in place, it has natu-
rally proven popular with New Ice-
landers wanting to share their taste
of home as well.
Besides the kitchen area, there
is an event space, conference and
meeting rooms. “Each month we
get a food entrepreneur to tell their
story. We’ve had Óskar from Om-
nom, we’re expecting BitaViking
next,'' Eva shares. “I know first hand
how paralysing it can be to take that
leap of faith. So this is about creat-
ing this network, to create these
shared experiences.''
"What we offer is a community,"
she concludes.
Eva Michelsen, Reykjavík's most caring food
tech entrepreneur Some of the wonderful things on o)er
Ó!INSTORG | 101 | REYKJAVÍK | ÍSLAND
SNAPSBISTRO.IS | +354 5116677
FRENCH ONION SOUP
Icelandic Ísbúi cheese, croûtons
2.490 kr.
MOULES MARINIÈRES
steamed mussels from Brei"afjör"ur
2.600 kr.
FISH OF THE DAY
chef´s special
3.990 kr.
Lunch offer from 11:30 - 14:00 1.990 kr.
EST. 2012REYKJAVIK