Last full day in Denmark

Freshly baked rugbrød

Yesterday was my last full day in Denmark and we spent it visiting with food historian, bread expert, and head of the gastronomical society, Bi Skaarup. I'm sure she's got even more titles than that but it gives you an idea of her impressive credentials. She lives on a farm on the island of Falster which is south of the main island, about an hour and a half drive from Copenhagen.

Trying to find room in my suitcase for him...

For lunch she served us white asparagus which has just come into season here, a meat dish called groffenbrad which was like a cold pot-roast spread with a side of pickled quinces, two different kinds of delicious bread, a rhubarb with ice cream and meringue dessert, and a quartet of small cakes with the coffee at the end. It was quite the meal! We talked a lot about the history of Danish food and some common misconceptions about the origin of some ingredients. A few years ago she was charged with researching what was actually quite literally Danish food (as in, ingredients that originated in Denmark, with proof) for the European Union. She mentioned that France had 6,000 while Denmark's list is 130.


Two of the small cakes that she served were from recipes dating back to 1765 and we had two different kinds of apple juice made locally by a friend of hers who supplies the juice to noma. So while we didn't end up eating there, we can say that we peered into the windows and drank their apple juice.

Ceiling pantings in an old church

Bi had two dogs that were keeping us company during the meal that we enjoyed in her garden, one of which was a ten-week old chocolate lab who was very excited to have visitors.


On our way home we stopped at the island of Møn to look into a large old church. Churches in Denmark all have amazing paintings on the ceilings, many of which have been white washed during various periods in history. This particular church had all of the paintings restored and they were really amazing to see.


Finally it was time for my last dinner in Denmark, prepared by our close family friends that we've been staying with. They've done such a good job of feeding us that if we didn't have photos of every dish that we've eaten the meals here and the meals prepared by professional chefs would blend together! We had several dishes that we had discussed throughout the trip but not gotten a chance to eat: Norwegian lobster (a small, orange-colored variety), smoked herring with a summer salad (made from radishes and the smoked cheese that comes from Fyn called rygeost), and stegt flæsk med persillesauce (friend pieces of pork with new potatoes and a parsley sauce).

Stegt flaesk med persillesauce

This morning we've got one final appointment at La Glace, a Danish bakery that has been in business for 150 years. After that I head to the airport and my mom continues to spiser without me for a few more days before flying home herself.It's been a great trip full of much eating and exploring. Stay tuned to this blog for updates on the writing of our book, Eat Smart in Denmark, as well as my culinary adventures as I test each of the 24 recipes that will be included in the book. Farvel for now!

Back to Copenhagen

Me and the Little Mermaid

Yesterday was mainly a travel day, hence the lack of blog post. We took the ferry back to the main island from Århus. We had a little bit of time to kill so paid a visit to the Little Mermaid, ate some pølser (Danish hotdogs), and then attended a party with some of Scandinavia's top chefs in the "Sky Bar" at Bella Sky, a new hotel just outside of downtown Copenhagen.

Bella Sky Hotel

Today we were back at it, with a chef appointment at Els, a fancy restaurant in the main section of Copenhagen. The building that houses the restaurant was build in 1853 and the confectionery that was located there was often visited by HC Andersen.

The dishes prepared at Els included a roasted venison main course as well as a baked cod dish. After taking several pictures we tasted both dishes; it is not often that one has eaten venison by 11:00 in the morning! Both were delicious and will be an interesting challenge to recreate given some of the flavorings and preparation.

Pølser!

Yesterday's pølser just wasn't enough for us (and being the "french" variety it was not overly picturesque) so not long after the venison we also enjoyed round two of pølser, this time the red variety that "snaps" when you eat it. From not eating much meat to eating two hotdogs in two days might just be some sort of record!

After the hotdog stand we headed to Copenhagen's new market, featuring many produce stands, cheese shops, butchers, fish sellers, bakers, etc. There was even a Paleo fast food stand which is the first restaurant I've seen based on that concept. Apparently the Paleo Diet and Crossfit are big in Europe and the owners of the stand hope to expand outside of Denmark soon. An interesting feature of the produce stands, similar to the grocery stores here, is that they note on the price card what country each item comes from. It's helpful if you're wondering what is in season locally or what has been flown in from far-off places (the corn on the cob, for example, was from the US).

Radishes, grown locally ("Danske" means Danish)

In the evening it was finally our time to take a turn in the kitchen. I had almost forgotten what it was like to be the person preparing the food, rather than the person sitting, talking about food, and eating it! We've had such delicious food prepared for us both in restaurants and at our friends' house that I was worried about matching their quality, but it turns out that when you use fresh local ingredients, food tastes good without too much effort. Thus sums up the theory behind new nordic cuisine, but more on that later (and in the book). We made cod poached in white wine topped with leeks and a side of asparagus and new potatoes. If you're wondering where the butter or cream was featured in that meal, never fear! We went for ice cream afterward.

Århus, on Jylland

A full week in Denmark comes to close sitting in the hotel room in Århus with the door to the balcony open and the sound of the waves crashing on shore below us. We arrived in Jylland (which is Jutland in English) this morning and will sail away tomorrow, making for a very quick visit.

Both of today's appointments were with chefs at very fine restaurants, both of which were closed so we were able to meet and chat for quite some time but there was no eating involved. Don't worry, we still ate! The morning appointment was at Norseminde Kro, a restaurant and inn that has been in a little seaside area South of Århus since 1693. The chef/owner gave us a tour of the place which includes an extremely extensive wine cellar with thousands of bottles of wine from Europe of different vintages.

Much of the afternoon was spent at an open-air museum which features buildings from different decades, called Den Gammel By. In a similar fashion to Plymouth Plantation, there are people working there who represent the time period. My mom got a kick out of the buildings recreated from the 1970s since the last time she visited this museum was right around that time period (1969) and now it is being preserved as part of history!

We had a lovely chat with one of the owners of Malling og Schmidt later in the day. He won the best chef in Denmark title a few years ago and is part of the nordic movement, along with the chef at noma, to encourage people to cook with what is produced locally. He had just gotten back from a diving trip this morning to get clams and other creatures and plants of the sea for the restaurant.

Tomorrow we're headed back to Copenhagen for a reception thrown by the author of a book about the 66 best restaurants in Denmark, several of which we've visited in the past week. It will be fun to see if we get to meet any of our chefs for the second time!

Odense, on the island of Fyn

This morning we headed out to the island of Fyn. We had to scoot out of the city before the roads became closed for the running of the Copenhagen Marathon. We saw lots of runners on bikes riding to the start line but luckily did not run into any traffic issues. We approached the bridge that connects Sjaelland (the island that Copenhagen is on) and Fyn and paid the pricey toll, then headed across one of the world's longest bridges.
We made a quick stop at a scenic overlook with fjords on both sides, then it was off to the restaurant Sortebro Kro in Odense for lunch. The chef there explained to us that on Fyn they are very proud to know the providence of each item on the plate and the fact that everything comes from someone on the island. Since it is only about 100 kilometers across, that is quite impressive! They've got a big farming community, and we passed many signs on our way into town for "nye kartoffler" which means new potatoes. We've been served new potatoes several times on this trip and they are extremely delicious. You might not think that there is a difference in types of potatoes, but the Danes will prove you wrong. It will be hard to go back to plain "old" potatoes after this trip!

Aeggekage, aka a whole lotta pork

For lunch I had a tasty vegetarian dish that included white asparagus, slightly charred, green beans, poached tomatoes, a parsley puree, and a sauce that might not have been much more than melted butter. My mom had the Fynsk Salat, or salad from the Fyn island. It was made with the type of cheese that they're known for here, rygeost, which is a smoked spreadable cheese.

After lunch we split up and I attempted to burn off some calories by running along the canal in Odense. They have a lot of green space and when running along the canal you can watch families paddle boat to the zoo! Odense is the birthplace of HC Andersen, so there are many things to see here having to do with his life and stories. 

For dinner we went to Restaurant Carlslund which is known for it's aeggekage, which means egg cake. While this might sound like a quiche or frittata, it is in actuality a baked egg base piled high with fried pork slabs and fried pork rind. Obviously it was delicious and Henning Engstrøm, the chef, like all chefs we have met with thus far, was extremely friendly.

The Danes love their ice cream!

After dinner we decided that we really needed to have some "is" (ice cream) featured in the book so we bought some with all of the trimmings (what they call "guf" which is in essence "fluff", sprinkles, a chocolate marshmallow cookie, wafer cookies, and jam on top). So yes, we ate bacon and ice cream for dinner. As Henning said, people who go there to eat the aeggekage will eat healthy the next day. As long as they don't eat it every day they'll be fine... and I might add they're better off if they don't take up the all-you-can-eat aspect on offer as well!

A day off - but not quite!

Søstrene Olsen

When you're writing a book about eating in a country, you're never really "off duty" since you of course are eating the entire time that you're in that country! So while we had no appointments today, we came out of it with a delicious recipe from a restaurant called Søstrene Olsen in the town of Hornbaek which is on the Northern coast of Denmark. A husband and wife team run the restaurant, which recently celebrated it's 30th anniversary. The building has a thatched roof, views of the dunes, and apparently nice sunsets (we were there for lunch so we'll have to take their word for it!).

The delicious æblekagen for the book

Yesterday during our marathon day of speaking with chefs we learned that chef training in Denmark comprises of 4 years of schooling; for about 10 weeks you're in the class room, and the remaining 3 1/2 years or so you're working in a restaurant. Based on the size of a restaurant they are able to take on a certain number of students, who get paid about half the rate of a non-student chef. When you graduate you pick a list of about 15 dishes that you could have to prepare and then you're told which of those you must prepare. Some of the classic Danish dishes that we've been discussing a lot are featured on the exam card, which is how we learned about it. Thorleif, the chef at Søstrene Olsen, has been cooking since the age of 14. At 65 he has started to think about retiring.

Tomorrow we head to the island of Fyn to explore what culinary delights they have in store for us in Odense, and then on Monday we'll be in Århus which is located in Jutland. Depending on the availability of the internet, a new post might wait until Tuesday evening.

A Very Tivoli Birthday

Candy making in Copenhagen

Yesterday was our busiest yet and was incredibly lucrative for the book. I had a lovely birthday breakfast, complete with flags (the Danes use flags for celebrations here in a way that would never be done in the states). Then my mom and I headed into the city for a quite stop at a little candy store that I had visited when we were here last summer. You can watch as they pull the candy into strips, then break it up into the little pieces that are then sold. We even got to sample some fresh pieces of rhubarb-flavored candy, which was still warm and pliable when we put it into our mouths but hardened as it adjusted to the cooler temperature. Delicious!

The Pantomime Theatre at Tivoli

Tivoli Gardens started as a leisure park in 1843 and was, at that time, just outside of Copenhagen. When the city was expanded they found themselves in the middle of the action and now the central train station is just across the street. I have very warm memories of going on rides at Tivoli as a child and was happy to spend my birthday there. Our first appointment was with Ellen, the press officer who specializes in Tivoli history. She told us some fascinating stories about how it has changed throughout the years. For example, the buildings used to be made in a way that was very temporary, on purpose. When they went to renovate one several years ago they stuck a screw driver into the wall and found that it was plater over chicken wire stuffed with hay! These days Tivoli is a bustling attraction featuring dozens of restaurants, rides, games, shopping, concerts, and of course, the pantomime theatre. 

Me talking to the "bald chef"

Next we got to go "backstage" at the kitchens of Den Skaldede Cok which translates to The Bald Chef. The chef goes by "Olsen" and was so friendly and accommodating. He has quite the history, having recently lost 71 kilograms (about 156 lbs). He is covered in tattoos, including "good luck" written on his knuckles and a very cool skull on his ear. After much photographing we indulged in the smoked salmon dish which is served cold with a very mild soft cheese spread.

At the next restaurant, Grøftens, which is the oldest restaurant at Tivoli, we were on exclusively photography duty. One of the dishes features tiny shrimp on toast and cost around 600 KR, or about $100! They are hand-peeled and are apparently more expensive than caviar these days.

After Grøftens we rushed out of the city in order to visit with Anita Klemensen, the first female chef in Denmark to earn a Michelin star. Anita was so sweet and down-to-earth. Her two restaurants, the red cottage and the green cottage, are located just down the street from each other. She seemed very flattered by the fame of receiving the star, but was clearly not letting it go to her head. I would've enjoyed relaxing at the little cottage by the water for some time, but we had another appointment to keep!

The Red Cottage

So it was back to Tivoli, for our final restaurant appointment at Brdr. Price (Brothers Price). The Price family is well-known in Denmark for being artistic; one brother is a composer, another a writer for television, and their parents were an actor and dancer. The decor of the restaurant reflects this history. We met with the head chef who gave us a recipe for a braised chicken dish served with potatoes, pickled cucumbers, and rhubarb compote. Then we were joined there by our friends for a lengthy birthday dinner where we were able to take off our author hats, stop taking notes and pictures, and enjoy the meal!

Kristihimmelfartsdag

It's 10pm and the sun is just now setting on  Kristihimmelfartsdag, which is the name of the national holiday today. This is the first resurrection and takes place ten days prior to Pentecost. Danes had the day off of work; but not this mother and daughter author team! We were hard at work on our book, though eating and talking to chefs can hardly be called work.

A field of rapeseed with the Danish flag flying

We began the day by visiting with both daughters of our family friends, including their little ones (3 years and 2 months old respectively). Then we headed for the small island of Orø. On the drive we were treated to many views of stunning bright yellow fields of rapeseed, which in America is known as canola. The island is home to around 500 people and you have to take a short ferry ride to get there.

At the Hotel Orø Kro we had an enormous lunch which was well-photographed (again, patience!) before being devoured. I started with a salad and then had the stjerneskud m/stegt og dampet fisk which is (from bottom up): a piece of toasted white bread, lettuce, steamed plaice (fish), fried fish, red dressing, shrimps, 2 different kinds of caviar, a garnish of tomato, lemon, and asparagus, and a sprig of dill. The chef, Kasper Kallerup Hansen, was very kind and allowed us to photograph him preparing several of the dishes as well as holding them afterwards. 

Food styling and photography session

Among other dishes ordered, we also had dyrlaegens natmad, which means the veterinarian's night-time snack. This is a smørrebrød (open-faced sandwich) topped with pate, aspic, ham, bacon, beets, and onion. 

Stjerneskud m/stegt og dampet fisk

At dinnertime we were not very hungry, which has been a common theme, but had a very lovely meal (I believe it was the very first on the trip not to have been photographed though it was delicious) at the home of the mormor (grandmother) of our family friends.

Tomorrow, which also happens to be my birthday, we've got a full day of appointments with four different restaurants, all of very high caliber. Three of them are at Tivoli Gardens, which is where we'll end up the evening with a birthday dinner, and one is with Denmark's first female chef to earn a Michelin star, Anita Klemensen! Stay tuned for the full report...

We went to noma!

noma!

Well, we went to the building that noma, rated the best restaurant in the world several years in a row, is housed in and we took some pictures and peered into the windows. But at least we can say that we went there. As my mom said, we join the ranks of no-mads, those who are upset about not being able to go there. According to our guide from the museum yesterday, they open up reservations exactly three months in advance and they normally fill up immediately that morning. It is definitely worth checking out the menu which is considered Nordic cuisine (noma is the abbreviation of nordic mad which means nordic food). Notice the price, 1500 kr which is around $260.


For lunch we ate at Aamanns, an upscale smørrebrød restaurant (literally this means buttered bread but is the word that represents traditional Danish open-faced sandwiches). I had the daily smørrebrød which was a trio of fishcake, chicken salad with asparagus, and pork with rhubarb. Delicious! We all had to be patient when the food arrived so that I could photograph the dishes - which will be a trend throughout the trip.

My trio of smørrebrød

After lunch we had our very first "official" restaurant visit for the book, at Marv og Ben which translates to bone and marrow. It was a brief stop where we met the chef, Frederik, and chatted about a recipe that we might be able to include in the book (there will be around 24 recipes total). They're having some publicity photos taken this week so we're off the hook for taking those ourselves.

Next we walked to the main shopping area of Copenhagen to go to the Royal Cafe which is the cafe associated with Royal Copenhagen, a high-end porcelain company. They specialize in "smushi" which are small sushi-shaped smørrebrød (hence the name). We didn't try any since we were full from lunch but did have a very pretty latte and some tasty treats.

Latte at the Royal Cafe

We've got some very exciting days coming up - I won't give anything away now but here's a hint: a Michelin star-rated chef is involved so I would suggest staying tuned!

Our first full day in Denmark

We're drawing to a close on the first full day of our trip to Denmark. Yesterday we both arrived safely and had a delicious home-cooked dinner of chicken stuffed with parsley, boiled new potatoes with gravy, pickled cucumber salad, and rød grød med fløde (red soup with milk) for dessert made from rhubarb and strawberries. This is a traditional spring dinner and it was a delicious welcome to our spring visit to Denmark.


This morning we woke up having both slept many hours in order to battle jetlag and took the train into Copenhagen, after a traditional light breakfast of rugbrød (rye bread) with oste (cheese). We met up with Lykke, a wonderful employee of the National Museum, or Nationalmuseet (and apparently often shortened to nat mus which means black mouse in Danish). She took us to lunch at the employee's dining area where we had buffet options of pork and potatoes with gravy, crepes with jam, many cold salads, bread and cheese, and of course herring! I had curried herring which is the only way of preparation that I personally eat herring - until today when I also tried a new type which is fried, then put into brine and served cold. Very tasty! After talking extensively with Lykke about Danish cuisine and various trends, we walked around an exhibit with her that focused on Denmark from 1600-2000. We saw some interesting historical cooking tools such as a wooden beer ladle shaped like a duck from the 1700s.


After our full day at the museum we took the train back home and had another traditional home-cooked dinner, this time of frikadeller, a meatball made from pork, onion, salt, pepper, and thyme, served with pointy cabbage in a cream sauce and boiled new potatoes. For dessert we had a butter milk concoction poured in bowl over small crunchy cookies (called kaernemaelkskoldskål).


After dinner we took a walk in the woods with the dogs (three very well-trained black labs) and came across a very sad sight on the path, a deceased baby deer. It did not appear to have been injured so we're not sure how it died. At the end of the walk one of the dogs was not with us (they're off leash in that area of the woods). Since they've very well trained, this was odd. Our friend went back to see if perhaps it had gone back to the deer and as it turns out it had; but while we were expecting to see a bloody mouth upon return, it turns out the dog had been sitting there, keeping watch over the little guy.


So as not to close this out on a low note, here are some photos from the trip so far, taken only with my phone - the good ones from the fancy cameras will be reserved for the book!

A fruit drink in the 7-11 with a pretty good marketing slogan!

The many different kinds of pølser (hot dogs) that you can get at a pølservogn (hot dog cart)