Monthly Archive for May, 2009

Team FC Foodies Needs a Sponsor

Like last year, noma is arranging a five-a-side db invitational football tournament for gourmet restaurants. Forreign restaurants are joining as well and it’s the goal to raise money for Action Against Hunger.

Food Ball

Following restaurants are participating in the 2009 tournament:

1. Mielcke og Hurtigkarl
2. Kong Hans
3. noma
4. The Fat Duck (UK)
5. FC Foodies
6. Chez Dominique (Finland)
7. Bloom (Sweden)
8. Nimb
9. Geranium
10. The Paul
11. Søllerød Kro
12. Cofoco
13. Munkebo Kro

As you can see FC Foodies is the only non-restaurant team invited to this tournament and our team consists of Food bloggers and friends from Denmark, UK and France. Our team finished 6 out of 8 teams at last year’s event.

We need a sponsor for our team jerseys and for some food and beverages during the day and to keep us going. If you are interested in sponsering our tema, then please contact me at verygoodfood at gmail com.

Thanks!

PS. If you are a food blogger and would like to join our team, contact me as well!

Tips at Danish Restaurants?

To tip or not to tip – that’s the question. Well, it’s a question I often get here on the blog and something I also wonder about myself. I know I’m supposed to tip in the US, and friends and foodies tell me that it’s customary to tip 15-18% or more in the US and 10% in Europe, but we don’t have such unwritten rules in Denmark. Or do we? That’s what I would like to find out.

Money money money

My problem with tips is that I’m always afraid of not leaving enough money on the table. I always feel uncertain about what I am signalling. If I tip a certain amount and then the waiter thinks “Oh, she was that unhappy with the service” I would feel really bad. Unless the service really were bad, of course.

Another thing: Why is it only the service you rate this way? What about the chefs in the kitchen, why wouldn’t I want to let them know I much I enjoyed the food? Are their wages different?

Sometimes I tip, sometimes I don’t. How much I tip also varies a lot. But when I do, it’s usually because I have felt that the service or the experience as a whole was extraordinarily good.

But that’s just me, what about you, do you tip?

I’m also curious to know what you guys in the business think about tips – what’s a reasonably amount? What do you feel when the guest doesn’t leave anything?

Please, enlighten me on this subject!

MASH – Carnivore’s Choice

Despite the tough times for the Danish dining arena a brand new restaurant has just opened. The name is MASH - Modern American Steak House and it’s located in Galerie Asbæk’s former premises in Bredgade 20.

T-bone

MASH is owned and run by the Sommelier/Umami gang Erik Gemal, Jesper Boelskifte, Francis Cardeneau (who got two Michelin stars at Kommandanten before joining Le Sommelier) and Rasmus Oubæk, who is also owner of Restaurant Oubæk.

Meat

Passing the narrow bar and all the mouth-watering steaks on display, you enter the big dining room with red leather seat cubicals – American retro in a cool way.

I visited on Friday 1st of May along with 7 good friends. We enjoyed some great cocktails while ordering our steaks. About the cocktails – I absolutely recommend those blue-cheese stuffed olives with the All American Martini although it really sounds like the weirdest combination. The cheese is not too dominating and the acidity of the olive eliminates the ammonia flavour of the cheese.

Wine

Steak Knive

MASH isn’t all about meat. It’s also about good wines. The huge wine list offers anything almost anyone could ever be a fan of and from all over the world’s wine countries.

Magnum Bottles

You’ll probably notice that it wasn’t me selecting these wines, but I did quite like them. Thick, fruity, almost black “Zapata” and vey full and rich Californian Cabernet Sauvignons with a more rigorous expression than the first one. I laughed a bit to myself when I got to taste the Amarone and found that it was the most acidic one of these four wines. We drank:

2005 Catena “Zapata”, Malbec “Argentino”
2002 Vine Cliff, “Oakville Estate”, Napa MAGNUM
2003 Allegrini Amarone, MAGNUM
2005 Spottswoode, Napa MAGNUM

Vine Cliff

There was some confusion about our orders, when we got our steaks. The cuttings and the cooking were all wrong compared to our orders and it seemed like the kitchen had mixed our table with someone else’s. Some of my carnivore friends had chosen a Danish Long Bone Ribeye. Each. I can understand why the waiter marvelled at our unusual orders. The Long bone Ribeye weighs in at 1.2 kg and is estimated for 2-3 people. The staff acknowledged their fault and we got all new and right steaks after 45 minutes. That was okay. Unfortunately, though, two steaks were cooked medium, almost well done, even though we ordered rare or medium rare. Hm.

Rib eye

Rare Steak

Medium Steak

Nevertheless, the quality of the meat was outstanding, no question about that. The steak was tender and tasty, and just the look of it on these photos makes me drool. Of course MASH knows how to master the perfect sauce béarnaise with the perfect texture and the right amount of acidity and verbena taste. The pepper sauce was very good too.

Side orders of fries, mushrooms and green salad were just right indeed. And the service from Erik Gemal and Jesper Boelskifte’s highly knowledgeable advice on the wine was great.

I know, I have to get back soon to try and see how a nice Gevrey Chambertin matches up a rare-cooked Danish ribeye or an Australian Wagy rump steak. Yummy!

Guys, thanks for a great evening!