Solar Kitchen Restaurant Takes Advantage of Sunny Days

The Lapin Kulta Solar Kitchen Restaurant is a traveling European eatery that exclusively uses a solar kitchen. On sunny days, the restaurant's chefs can offer a solar barbecue; on days that quickly become overcast or cloudy, the menu will instead include salads and meals that require lower cooking temperatures.

The creatives behind the project are restaurateur Antto Melasniemi, Lapin Kulta beer and designer Marti Guixe, who assert that solar heat imparts a novel taste unlike that from traditional cooking methods. "Solar heat affects the taste and texture of the dish in a surprising and positive way, producing a completely different taste experience," they wrote on the Lapin Kulta Solar Kitchen Restaurant website.

The solar kitchen restaurant opened in April at Milan Design Week 2011; it will travel through Helsinki, Stockholm and Milan over the next few months. The video below follows the chefs' first day in Milan.

Photos by: Lapin Kulta Solar Kitchen Restaurant