This weekend a handful of American, English, Swiss and Swedish chefs with some of the World’s best restaurants on their resumes met with Danish colleagues in Copenhagen where they gave their tasty interpretations of the Nordic cuisine and Danish food culture.
The host was NaCl, a group of young chefs who have all worked at top restaurants abroad, such as Martin Berasetegui, El Cellar de Can Rocca, Mugaritz, Arzak, La Terazza del Casino, ABaC , Coi etc.
After returning to Denmark they gather with frequent intervals around show cooking events where they can cook all the stuff their respective bosses don’t let them do at their everyday jobs at some of Denmark’s best restaurants.
At the event that took place this Sunday, August 29th, the NaCl crew had invited some of the friends they met at the restaurants abroad to come to Copenhagen and take part in what they describe as “a playground for chefs and a forum for unlimited gastronomic creativity.”
The dishes were prepared and served before an audience – in this case of international food journalists and other guests invited by the Danish Ministry of Trade and Economics.
Less wild than usually
I was there as well, and I have participated in a few of the previous show cooking events, but none of them with as many guests as this one – 80 in total. Maybe the large number of guests was the reason why the dishes were not as “wild” as they have sometimes been – among the one’s I’m thinking of is “Electric eal” where smoked eal was served with an “electric” shezuan bottomflower, “Gold fish“, where the dish was served on top of a fish bowl with a real, living fish underneath, and more conceptual dishes such as “Foam bath” which looked almost exactly like a little rubber duck in a foam bath.
But it is alwasys a great experience to get behind the scenes, see how the chefs work, be introduced to interesting cooking techniques and get a glimpse of how ideas and thoughts develop into dishes. All the courses we had were creative, beautiful, tasty – but first of all very very different. It was very interesting to hear the chefs explain their ideas behind the dishes, see their personality and individual styles shine through on the plates, elaborate on the explanations, taste… And last but not least make our own interpretations – like we would if we had been looking at a piece of art.
I’m sure similar show cooking events take place in other countries, and I would be so happy if anybody has good tips on where, how and when to find the best ones, because I’m hooked.
See video from the event (mainly in Danish).
This is what went on:
The guests were welcomed with 5 snacks each representing a region of Denmark - cheese aged in chalk mines from Northern Jutland, sausage with blackcurant from Southern Jutland, vegetables from Zealand, smoked herring from Bornholm and "æbleflæsk" (apples and bacon) from Funen.
The snacks were made by NaCl "supporters" Mette and Line, apprentices at Søllerød Kro and The Paul in Denmark
Then the guests went to the kitchens to have a chat with the chefs and see what went on there. Here it is Lars Lundø and Bo Lindegaard from Geranium2/I'm a Combo peeling hazelnuts
The guests were seated and each of the chefs presented their dish, finished it off before the audience. First man up: Freddy Pethick-Money from The Dorchester, London
...with his dish "Danish rockpool" - tartar of Norwegian lobster with beetroot "rocks", samphire and dried shellfish
Next dish was by American chef Matt Lightner from Castagna in Portland, Oregon. Within the last year, Matt has been named one of the ”Best New Chefs in America” by Food and Wine Magazine, and he has been nominated for a 2010 Rising Star chef award by the James Beard Foundation and chosen as one of “10 to Watch in 2010” by Restaurant Hospitality Magazine.
He called his dish "carrots from Lammefjorden with an observation of soil and land" - baby carrots with oyster/buttermilk marenque and sea buckthorn sauce
Viktor Angmo from Dala-Husby Hotell in Dalarna, Sweden was working with Martin Bjørn from Dragsholm Slot in Denmark. The two chefs had only been communicating via e-mail before they met Sunday morning and prepared the dish together. The result was the dish "Ocean Floor" with oysters, beetroot tapioka, horse radish "snow", burned hay and browned butter
Next chefs on stage were Rasmus Leck Fischer (Dragsholm Slot in Denmark)...
...and Aaron Martinez (until recently sous chef at In de Wulf, Belgium - now back in San Diego). Rasmus and Aaron met each other while they were both working at Martin Berasetegui in Spain
The called their dish "Chicken, corn and crayfish" - chicken, crayfish, baby corn, fennel and herbs from Lammefjorden with a bouillon of chicken and crayfish and corn puré
The next dish was presented by Mie Bostlund (right) from the Paul, Copenhagen
Her dish was her interpretation of the very classic Danish dish "Stegt flæsk med persillesovs" - fried pork with parsley sauce. Pork neck with new Danish "æggeblomme/egg yolk" potatoes, parsley sifon, blackcurrant puré and lightly pickled Danish apples
Time for cheese. Lars Lundø from European Bocuse d'Or winner Rasmus Kofoeds restaurant Garanium2 (opening very soon in Copenhagen) explains his course to two Canadian journalists
"Gnalling", a Danish cow's milk cheese from Arla Unika served with jerusalem artichokes, raw and puréed, and raw hazelnuts, each with a number engraved in them so each guest get his/her own "personal" cheese serving
The next dish was the result of a kitchen romance, as it was created by Swiss Gabi Bär (picture) and Danish Jakob Thykjær. The two met at Oriol Balaguer in Barcelona last year and have been a couple since then, even though she works at Restaurant Adelboden in Schwitzerland and he works at Alberto K in Denmark
Quite appropriately they had called their chocolate dessert "Dark Love" - lemon verbena panna cotta with malt crumble, fresh blackberries and a rye bread ice cream
Photos: Mads Eneqvist
See more of Mads’ photos from the night and previous show cooking events
Eva Helbæk works as a journalist at the Danish restaurant guide Spiseliv.dk and writes freelance about food and restaurants for various magazines
Tags: Aaron Martinez, copenhagen, Freddy Pethick-Money, Matt Lightner, NaCl, Show cooking
I guess this is the ultimate enjoyment for someone like me who loves food as a journey throughout the flavors of the world. It’s amazing to see all those Chefs from all parts of Europe (Mediterranean, Nordic, etc). All those dishes sound absolutely exquisite, and the tartar of Norwegian lobster with beetroot is one I hope I’ll get to try one day.
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