Tomasz Babiński’s culinary philosophy has been shaped by a journey across continents, cultures and deeply personal turning points.
Born and raised in Poland, he grew up with flavours built around acidity, fermentation, warmth and clear contrasts. Years later, he would rediscover that same intensity in the vibrant food traditions of Latin America.
After losing both of his parents at a young age, travel became a way for him to understand life and himself, again. He decided to experience the world they had never had the opportunity to see. Since then, he has travelled through more than fifty countries across every continent, including almost all of Latin America, from Central America southwards.
What he found there went far beyond new ingredients and techniques. He encountered extraordinary generosity, warmth and a fearless approach to flavour. Citrus, chilli, smoke, fermentation, colour and bold contrasts were used with an instinctive confidence that felt immediately familiar to him. It reflected the way Tomasz himself wanted to cook: expressive, layered, personal and emotional.
Norway became his home for very different, more personal reasons.
He came in search of calm, stability and a place where he could rebuild his life. Here he discovered a landscape defined by purity, stillness and a profound respect for the rhythm of nature. He also found some of the world’s most distinctive ingredients: fish and shellfish from cold, clear waters, game from forests and mountains, resilient vegetables, wild herbs and flavours shaped by long winters and short, intense seasons.
Over time, the Nordic pantry became more than his surroundings. It became the foundation of his cuisine.
Today, Tomasz begins with Norwegian ingredients and allows them to meet the flavours, techniques and energy he carries with him from Latin America. Chilli, acidity, smoke, freshness and fermentation give the food its identity, but the ingredient always determines the direction.
He applies Peruvian and Mexican techniques to Norwegian and Arctic fish, brings Brazilian flavours together with Norwegian root vegetables, and combines Andean acidity with Nordic fermentation. Cold-water fish, shellfish, game, local vegetables and herbs are given new expressions without losing their origin.
Nothing is copied directly. Traditions are studied, respected and interpreted through his own experiences.
It may be tempting to describe this cuisine as “fusion”, but for Tomasz, that word is too simple. Qué Pasa is not trying to recreate Latin America in Norway, nor to combine two finished culinary traditions. It is a personal culinary language that has developed over an entire lifetime.
It is not a constructed meeting of two worlds. It is his cuisine.
The dishes are modern and precise, driven by contrast, emotion and curiosity. Presentation is considered and refined, but never separated from flavour. Respect for the ingredient remains at the centre, while the kitchen retains the freedom and playfulness needed to challenge expectations.
Qué Pasa is therefore neither a recreation of Latin America nor a Nordic restaurant dressed in Latin American references. It is Tomasz’s personal interpretation of the places that have shaped him: Poland, where he first learned the power of acidity, fermentation and warmth; Latin America, where he discovered colour, identity and a sense of belonging through food; and Norway, where he found calm, purpose and exceptional ingredients.
At Qué Pasa, these influences come together as one coherent culinary journey. Travel becomes technique, memories become flavour, and local ingredients become part of a larger story.
The ambition is to honour the regions that have inspired Tomasz, celebrate the ingredients that surround him and create a dining experience that feels personal, contemporary and impossible to place within a single traditional category.
It can only be described as his own.
