Wednesday, 23 November 2011

The spices of the North

Smørrebrød was yesterday. The Danish cuisine is outstanding. The magic
Copenhagen chefs convinced the Michelin inspectors. There were nine
stars

Smørrebrød. The word is here with the intention of mentioning it to no
longer live, because it has to do with the Danish lively restaurant
culture as much as the Bavarian white sausage with: it's culinary
past. The new Danish cuisine is very different, facing forward,
cosmopolitan, but trusting in their own culinary roots. A remarkable
group of young, well-traveled chef has made Copenhagen a few years to
present the most interesting culinary city in Europe, if it's not
about the sheer number of top restaurants, but to new ideas and new
styles. The city currently has nine Michelin stars and three more in
view - to offer that is more than Berlin or Hamburg, Brussels and
Strasbourg have.

The Danish top chefs have moved very early on the consequences of
widespread weariness with the world's ever-changing styles. They had
the French classical music behind them, they were Italian,
Mediterranean and fusion-style cooking and no longer knew. 2004
outlined a "Manifesto of the Nordic Cuisine" by top chefs from all
Scandinavian countries the way: You want to develop a new regional
cuisine from authentic products of the North, want with arctic shrimp,
musk oxen, Dill and Beer Cook, falling back but without the Bräsig the
traditional kitchen . Cream instead of olive oil - just
re-interpreted.

One of their champions, Rene Redzepi from Copenhagen's "Noma", is
currently considered the best chef of the entire North. Two-star
Michelin acknowledge his uncompromising, unpretentious style, the
third may be only a matter of time. On the wooden tables of the
remarkably simple style restaurants in the old store at the port of
Greenland is nothing that is not at least earned the title
"extraordinary." Redzepi has learned from two giants of the kitchen,
take over at Ferran Adria and Thomas Keller in Catalonia in
California, but he is so smart to do most of these opposing leaders
directly. This means specifically that he hardly makes loans at
Adriatic avant-garde deconstruction of the kitchen, but is based on
the best artisan own way.

If he goat cheese combined as iced snow with a consommé of beets and
cubes of smoked beef marrow, then the experienced host knows
immediately that he is dealing with one of the great. Wild herbs
accompanied by an intense oyster tasting jelly, plus there are globs
of mayonnaise, parsley and crispy rye bread chips. Samsø potatoes "in
textures," adds Redzepi with king crab meat and wood-sorrel and piling
on top of a cereal made of roasted potatoes. And the venison in the
hay with green pea puree and dried berries of the service fits with
tender green peas in a brown butter actually another dimension to.

On the jump for the second star are Jochumsen Rune Møller and
Christian from the austere and elegant "formula B" in the Copenhagen
City. They work serving on the basis of the manifesto, for example,
raw scallops with hazelnut, herring caviar and sour clover or mashed
potatoes with oysters, oyster foam and watercress, to which they -
remarkably - offer a dry Mosel Riesling, a rarity in Denmark. Also in
the "MR", the climbers of the past year, a sommelier is working with
German experience, chef Mads Refslund plays no less sovereign than its
already further ascended colleagues with the Scandinavian basic
motifs: Delicate white asparagus from Denmark are in a light caramel
sauce on Kondensmilchbasis, this there is elderflower, grapefruit and
traces of black ash that comes from the asparagus dishes.

How fast the development, involuntarily proves the great inspirer of
the young generation of chefs in Copenhagen: Paul Cunningham, the head
of "The Paul" in the midst of the throng Tivoli. Almost all young
high-flyer have ever worked with him, but his kitchen is in comparison
a little uninspired, tired, random. But this may be an intermediate
depth, because the spirit of optimism in the country drives especially
the kitchen heroes of the nineties to new efforts. They come from
outside, are oriented in the new capital, even though open in the
province in Aarhus or Odense, always new and exciting restaurants.

Is probably the most important of them Bo Bech, who cooks in the
"Paustian," the restaurant of the same furniture store north of the
city, built by world famous architect Joern Utzon. This is a place
where he could not be Danish, flooded with light, wooden cantilever
and with lots of light. Bech reflects this with a varied cuisine, the
stylish commutes between purism and Diversity: avocado with olive oil
and caviar, shrimp with Tagetesblüten, beetroot leaves, artichokes and
Parmesan cheese.

Another well-known chef in Denmark, from which we will hear much
more, is Rasmus Kofoed, who has recently inherited a tradition address
on Kongens Have, the royal garden in the inner city. "Geranium" is the
large conservatory, a historicist building in the countryside, just a
stone's throw away from Rosenborg Castle. Kofoed, who is already the
"Bocuse d'Or", currently the most important international chefs prize
won, entirely on organic and biodynamic foods and also shines
mitvegetarischen menus.

If the impression be created, it will only be cooked in Copenhagen
neodänisch, this is incorrect. The "Era Ora," for example, is one of
the best Italian restaurants north of Milan. The Thai lifted "Kiin
Kiin" is the threshold for star candidates skipped a year after
opening, the "coriander" you care with finesse and precision to the
Indian cuisine, curry far away from the clichés. And even with
seemingly defunct tradition addresses can be expected again: It shows
the resurgence of the legendary "Søllerød Kro". The old 300 years
guest house between the millionaire mansions of the elite suburb is
not only one of the finest Danish restaurants, but builds in the
kitchen directing the young Jakob de Neergaard back to the times
around 1990, where there was the best food in Denmark.

Copenhagen is expensive. A simple shopping in the supermarket is one
of the financial adventures of our time. It may therefore be
interesting to see that this is not mentioned for the restaurants.
They are not cheaper or more expensive on average than comparable
companies in Germany - and by plane from Tegel as quickly accessible
as a German city.

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