In April 2007 Geranium opened its doors. I visited in September that year, when Geranium was just a small place in The King’s Garden, and already then it clearly was a special place. Geranium in The King’s Garden closed in 2009 and reopened in 2010 at the new premises. In 2012 the restaurant took back its one star, and in 2013 it was awarded its second star.
Restaurant KOKS – Føroyar on a Plate
Above all, to me KOKS’ cuisine is pure and totally honest. It’s about presenting the amazing quality of what the Faroese nature produces, and at the same time it’s such a contrast to the rough conditions of the beautiful atlantic islands. Like glimpsing into the soft, delicate soul of a rough, almost brutal creature.
KOKS has managed to sieve and condense the nature and culture of the Faroe Islands into an evening of wonderful flavours, freshness and purity. It’s The Faroe Islands on a plate, but it isn’t dogmatic, it isn’t weird or conceptually local for the sake of local – it’s just honest and wonderful on its own terms.
In a globalised world, you sometimes need to change to preserve. That is to me the essence of what KOKS founder and former chef Leif Sørensen said in that speech at MAD2 back in 2012, and that heritage is more than proudly carried on by Paul Andrias Ziska and his amazing staff at KOKS.
Discovering The Faroe Islands – Skerpi
I first got acquainted with Leif Sørensen when I attended the MAD2 Symposium in 2012. He gave a humble but touching speech called From Nothing Till Something. The speech was about his restaurant and his ambition to change the Faroes’ gastronomic culture, despite of the scepticism among the locals. I just loved this tale of one man having grown up with a cuisine where everything just went into one pot and turning into a highly skilled chef on a mission to change food culture, almost all by himself. Changing the food culture to preserve it, that is – not wiping it out to introduce something from abroad. I was intrigued and knew that day, that I has to visit this restaurant of his.
AOC Revisited – Full-blown Deliciousness
Søren Selin joined AOC in early 2013 and I experienced his cuisine for the first time during early summer that year. I was immediately impressed by his colourful and creative New Nordic style creations.
On Saturday April 11 I returned for dinner with friends. We chose the grand menu composed of a series of appetizers, six savoury courses and three desserts. Every single dish was exciting, beautiful, delicious and perfectly executed. Flawless. Creative and exciting.
Birthday Dinner at Mielcke & Hurtigkarl
What I like about Mielcke & Hurtigkarl is that it’s refreshingly free of the new Nordic dogma. It’s inspired by Jakob Mielcke and Jan Hurtigkarl’s travels around the world. Dishes are surprising, exciting, special and delicious. José Santos paires the wine masterly. You always bring back something new from a visit to Mielcke & Hurtigkarl. It’s a very special place.
Knuthenlund – The Native Cooking Award 2014
Spending two days at Knuthenlund was kind of a revelation to me. The owners’ ambition is not only to produce milk, meat and grain, but also to control the refinement and thus the end quality. I was impressed by the event, by the place itself, and by the amount of hard work put into this estate by its owners. And above all: I was impressed by their relentless quest to show that business and quality are not mutually exclusive.
L’Air du Temps Revisited
Passing through Belgium was a chance to revisit the detailed cuisine of Chef Sang-Hoon Degeimbre. And this meal was perfect in almost all aspects. The pace was just right. The amount of food was just right. The complexity and control of the flavours were just right and all dishes had this airy elegance and lightness that I like so much. Add to that a flawless execution and I really wish I lived closer to this place so that I could return again and again.
La Vie Revisited
It’s always hard to return to a place that has an almost mythical status ind your mind – it’s bound not to be on par with expectations. But La Vie didn’t let me down one bit.
No. 2 – Above and Beyond
Of course I had expectations to AOC’s smaller brother, No.2. Christian Aarø is a phenomenal sommelier and restaurateur, and I have always been a fan of AOC – but still, No. 2 is a bistro with about half the price point of the Michelin starred AOC, so in the cab across Copenhagen I tried to control my expectations.… Continue reading No. 2 – Above and Beyond
Nordic Chefs’ Summit 2014
What better occasion to get back to blogging than spending an evening with five of the absolute super stars of the Nordic kitchen. I was so incredibly lucky as to be invited to attend the Nordic Chefs’ Summit 2014 at Maaemo in Oslo. A get-together of the top Nordic chefs on the Pellegrino 50 Best Restaurant list. That’s nine Michelin Stars in one room.
Bromance
Restaurant Bror is a new and quite wonderful place created by “brothers” Wågman and Nutter – two exceptionally skilled former Noma sous chefs. I went twice, here is a write-up of my first visit on the opening night.
Back To Frantzén
Only two days after restaurant Frantzén/Lindeberg won 12th best restaurant by The World’s 50 Best it was announced that Björn Frantzén and Daniel Lindeberg had split up. Frantzén continues as chef at the Stockholm restaurant in Lilla Nygatan 21, now under the more simple name of Frantzén. Daniel Lindeberg will instead focus on finding a small bakery in… Continue reading Back To Frantzén
Dining With The Frogs at Auberge de la Grenouillère
Alexandre Gauthier’s terroir-driven cuisine appealed to me with its simple look and not too many different ingredients and things going on on the plate. The pure taste of the ingredients is in focus and it is honest food. I also I really liked the playful-ness to both the dishes and to the interior with its intense frog’s theme going on everywhere. Very charming.
2 New Stars for Copenhagen in Michelin Main Cities of Europe 2013!
It’s official! The red Michelin Guide for the Main Cities of Europe 2013 is out and sends 2 new stars to Copenhagen restaurants in this year’s guide. Geranium has finally got their well-deserved 2nd star and the upcoming Kadeau restaurant featuring produce from Bornholm island has got their 1 star. WOW, this is great news… Continue reading 2 New Stars for Copenhagen in Michelin Main Cities of Europe 2013!
Fabulous Frantzén/Lindeberg
Sitting there at the counter, watching the show unfold right before my eyes was one of the most exclusive dining experiences I’ve ever had. Björn Frantzén (and later in the evening as the savory dishes were replaced by the desserts, Daniel Lindeberg) talked us through all the dishes, explaining about the produce, the preparing and how they constantly aim for even more focus, more taste and more purity in their cooking. In fact, Frantzén/Lindeberg’s was one of the most coherent meals I’ve ever had and full of all the luxury products I love.
My Stylish and Strict Birthday Dinner at Geranium
On Thursday 2nd of August I celebrated my birthday at restaurant Geranium. The light that night was just incredible. Having a glass of champagne in the lounge area, we witnessed the beginning of what would become the most stunning sunset that month. As dusk fell over Copenhagen, we were seated at our table. To one… Continue reading My Stylish and Strict Birthday Dinner at Geranium
Chef’s Table at Frantzén/Lindeberg
Book ‘Kitchen’ at Frantzén/Lindeberg! Besides the lovely food it was an amazing experience to have Björn Frantzén and Daniel Lindeberg (and their team) exclusively to our self this evening and I highly recommend it!
Lunch at Librije’s Zusje
The first time I heard about Restaurant De Librije was when I watched Jonnie Boer’s exciting presentation during the Chef-Sache in Cologne in September 2011. He was show-cooking his signature dish of Foie Gras, North Sea crab and fermented red cabbage juice. I had the pleasure of meeting both Jonnie Boer and his sweet wife Thérèse at… Continue reading Lunch at Librije’s Zusje
Japan – The Trip of a Lifetime
こんにちは – Konichiwa – Hello, I’m just back from a wonderful visit to Japan, my first ever. The purpose of the trip was of course to experience some amazing food and restaurants, there are 14 *** 3-stars, 54 ** 2-stars and 198 * 1-star restaurants alone in the Tokyo, Yokohama and Kamakura Michelin Guide. However,… Continue reading Japan – The Trip of a Lifetime
Noma rules once more
For the third time my beloved Noma has been declared the world’s number one restaurant at Restaurant Magazine’s and San Pellegrino’s The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Congratulations René and team, and thank you for making Copenhagen stand out. It is fantastic! The top 10 for 2012 is Noma – Copenhagen, Denmark (Yay!) El Celler De… Continue reading Noma rules once more