Salmon Eye’s Michelin restaurant loses chef after closure.
The former head chef of the Michelin-starred restaurant Iris has confirmed she has stepped down from the role following the venue’s closure earlier this year.
Anika Madsen said in a social media post that she and restaurant manager Nico resigned from their positions at the start of 2026 and have since moved back to Copenhagen.
The pair had led the restaurant for around three years.
“Being part of one of the most talked-about restaurant openings in recent years has been amazing, and we’re proud of the global recognition and accolades we achieved,” Madsen wrote, thanking the Eide family for their support during the project.
Iris, located at the Salmon Eye visitor centre in Hardangerfjord, received its first Michelin star in 2024 and gained international attention as part of the floating aquaculture experience centre developed by Eide Fjordbruk.
However, the restaurant paused operations in January after the owners decided to develop a new concept for the venue. At the time, 13 staff were notified of layoffs while the project was reassessed.
Salmon Eye chairman Sondre Eide said the move reflected the owners’ ambition to expand the centre’s focus on sustainable seafood.
“For the Eide family, it is not ‘enough’ with Michelin. Our ambition is to ensure real global change so that the world’s population eats more sustainable food from the sea,” Eide wrote in an email to Norwegian business daily E24.
The Salmon Eye experience centre remains open in line with its licence conditions while work continues on a revised restaurant concept.
