Tag Archive for 'Geranium'

The month of February offered me a lot of lovely food experiences and this Geranium lunch was absolutely one that stood out as one of the best. For a very long time I have had the wish of sharing a meal at Geranium with a very dear friend of mine, who is not in town that often. So I was happy when she agreed to visit this place on 20 February.

Actually, when I booked the table I figured that we would play it low and just enjoy a few nice dishes and then dash out again to explore the city and do some shopping. But restaurant manager, Anne, gave us an an offer we could not refuse. Rasmus Kofoed and Søren Ledet were in Germany, attending a conference for organic food and so we did not get to meet them. Too bad for my friend as I would really have liked her to meet these guys. Anyway, the three of them had prepared a nine courses meal for us with matching wines. Anne’s question was:  Would we have room for all that?

So, there we were in the beautiful dining room lit up by the reflections of  the King’s Garden prettily covered in white snow and, basically, spending the whole day at Geranium. Eating and drinking.

A geranium plant

Geranium has existed for only a year and 10 months, and I’m amazed how fast Søren and Rasmus have developed their very own way of style and expression. My first visit dates back to September 2007 and my second in March 2008. Read my reviews for a more detailed description of the room, the surroundings, and the warm and kind service which is still so present there.

As to the food, there is such a delighteness about their creations, such beauty and such refinement. Take a look at the post from my first visit and compare the dishes with the these. Rasmus and Søren do really have an eye for combining colours, which is something that absolutely woos me.

While nipping the snacks we enoyed a nice Rosé de Saignée Fleury, Champagne. Then followed:

Apple & Geranium
(Image courtesy of Laurent/GoT)

If there were ever a cleanser to reset the palate in order to prepare it for the meal, then this Geranium chiffon(?) with the fresh, sweet and sour aromas surely is it.

Smoked scallop, apple flower, horseradish & hazel nuts
(Image courtesy of Laurent/GoT)

King Crab, roots and yellow berries
2006 Pierre Frick, Pinot Noir, Blanc de Noir, Alsace
(Image courtesy of Laurent/GoT)

Cod jaws
Five types of cabbage, lumpfish roes & smoked cheese
De Sousa Brut Réserve, Blanc de Blanc, Champagne

This  dish is so gorgeous with the dominating colour of green and the pink roes sprinkled about. A vigorous smell flourishes from it and the taste was fantastic. The grey-ish and green leaf almost in the centre tastes like an oyster, and here it was a little hint of what was coming. The last moutful comprised  a lovely hidden surprise of a tasty and delectable oyster.

Signiture dish: Smoke, embers & ashes
Jerusaleme artichokes, monkfish(?)
2007 Trossen, Kerstenbush, Riesling Spätlese, Mosel

Fried Bread
Burnt onions & pickled green elderberries
2006 Pierre Overnoy, Arbois Pupillin, Jura

Again a marvellous scent hit my nose and the flavours were refined and delicate but at the same time creamy and very rich.

Mushrooms
Air of mushrooms
Mint soda Ørbæk Brewery, Funen Island

My goodness what an incredibly powerful scent of black truffles. It seemed like a warning for my palate, because the combination of the various mushrooms had such a full and mind-blowing intensity. I loved this dish. I didn’t quite get the choice of mint soda drink with the mushrooms, though. The flavours were contradictory to me. But it was the only drink-food marriage that didn’t work for me that day.

The King’s Herb Garden
Piedra Luenga Fino, Montilla-Moriles, Andalusia

Young Ox
Beetroots, mushrooms, truffles & potato skin
2006 Domaine Prieuré Roch, Nuit “1″, Côte de Nuits, Burgundy

It wasn’t just the food, which had a powerful smell. It was also characteristic for this lovely Pinot Noir wine. Such pure cow shed, decay and soil notes in the nose and full-bodied palate that offered a lasting finish as well. What more could I wish for?

Ice-cream of Ørbæk beer
Malt rumble & liquorice
Geranium’s beer-soda

I really liked the bitter-sweet taste and the caramelish-nutty flavours that had a touch of anis or liquorice. The home made drink of half beer and half lemonade was a great and perfect match for this nice novelty.

White Snow
Yoghurt, pear, scent and flavour of pine
2006 Peter Mentges, Riesling BA. Kronenberg, Mosel
(Image courtesy of Laurent/GoT)

While René Redzepi’s and noma’s obviously unique and curious style sometimes can have a slight roughness or rawness to it, Geranium is evidently elegance and pure pleasure.

Furthermore, with this meal each dish had its own mission, sort of; it had a story to tell and a message to convey and did it in a subtle way.  Very slowly and dish by dish delightness overpowered me and made it impossible for me not to yield. When food can evoke such emotions, it is proof that fine dining on this high level is a work of art. I love Geranium.

Coffee and Brosholm apple brandy

Rasmus and Søren have the gifts of being able to play with your senses. First the stunning and colourful look, then the powerful scent and finally the wonderful and intense taste. It is pure epicurean seduction! Geranium is a fairy tale and I cannot wait to go back for my next adventure.

All the dishes were flawless. They were sharp. The meal was completely delighting and it is – in my book – certainly worth a rising second star!

Bravo, and thank you all for such a lovely experience!

My recent Geranium experience on 12 March was wonderful. What stroke me this time was the combination of the extreme kindness from the staff in a very down to earth way and, of course, the quality and creativity of the food. It’s my second time at Geranium and this time was even better, than my first back in September last year.

I didn’t take notes this evening but believe it was a N.V. 2005 Roses de Jeanne, Celles-Sur-Ource, a pure Blanc de Noirs from Cédric Bouchard.

Snack of Löjrom as far as I recall

Very thin and very delicious potato crisps

Apple jelly with Geranium appetizer

Scallops and beet roots appetizer

Now writing this review, I remember the repeated question from one of my companions: “Is this the starter?” and this completely made sense, as there were an uncountable numbers of little amusements prior to the first dish of the menu. There were even more than I have shown here.

Lightly smoked lump fish roe
raw Jerusalem artichoke & powdered hazel nut oil

We had a 2005 Nerthus, Bligny-Les-Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet, which I LOVED. Amazing thing. The scent was so seducing and very complex with turpentine notes and minerals. The Meursault I originally asked for was out and Lasse, the sommelier, suggested this Puligny-Montrachet instead. Thank you, Lasse, I don’t think the Meursault would have pleased me as much.

The 2005 Domaine Thibault Liger-Belair, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Burgundy was very delicate and balanced in both fruit and acidity and, too, the expressions of the nose and palate. What the smell promised was rewarded in the taste and I liked that very much.

King crab roast on bread
carrots, sea buckhorn and lemon cress

The portions were nicely small but fulfilling, flawless and deliciously tasty above all. The food elements are beautifully arranged with colours that match each other and that’s very important to me.

Geranium’s dishes are remarkably well compound, and each dish is expressive and distinct with the highest quality products. This is art. It’s clear that Rasmus and Søren know what they’re doing and what they want, and this is admirable. Personality from a restaurant is always more attractive to me.

Scent of rosemary
monk fish, puffed spelt, celeriac
burned leek & herbs from the garden

Now, this dish was an entertaining feature. It arrived with a glass cover, and removing it the scents of rosemary and other herbs surprisingly breezed up and danced into my nostrils, sending me back to my late teens and the (very) few experiences with pot parties.

Foamy potato
cheese from Kristiansminde, rye bread & oxtail

Lasse, has a few times posted a comment on my blog, but we never met in real life before. It was so much fun to put a name to a face. Lasse is a kind and warm person, even more than I had expected. I of course congratulated the team with the new one Michelin star and in turn we got a lovely glass of white wine for a blind taste, which I failed in guessing, unfortunately: A delightful glass of 2006 La Ferme de la Sansonniére, Vielles Vignes Des Blanderies, Chinan Blanc grape and from the Angeli field.

Happy veal
buds & sprouts of wild garlic, salsifies, mushrooms & apple vinegar

Milk

A word on the service. The staff was so easy and relaxed but still very professional, and I so liked that. They were very generous on the champagne, which was wonderful with mineral and a full flavour and vivid sparkles. The thing is, being known to the restaurant doesn’t mean that I get a better treatment than other people do, at least I don’t believe so. It means, however, that the staff possibly know me a little better, they know my preferences and thereby know better how to please me. This is what an excellent service is all about. Not to treat every customer in the same utmost manor, but to make every customer feel special. People have different needs and thus must be served independently.

Pre-dessert of hazelnut ice cream (I think)

Pumpkin seeds
cloud berry juice & white chocolate

Petit Fours

Geranium is warm and lovable. I sensed this my first time there when I talked to Søren, but now this warm feeling is more outspoken. The food, the drink and the atmosphere tickle all my senses. I cannot ask for more.

Congratulations! And thank you all for a wonderful evening!