Dinner at Kokkeriet, Copenhagen

This evening, I visited Kokkeriet for my first spot of fine dining in Copenhagen. This restaurant, located on a side street running along the extensive grounds of the Rosenborg Palace (itself a must-see attraction!), is one of the few Michelin-starred establishments in the city and currently holds the top spot on Tripadvisor amongst restaurants in Copenhagen. Helmed by David Johansen, the kitchen prides itself on its ‘rendition of Danish classics’ using whatever is available 'in the backyard, in the forest and in the surrounding waters' (quotes from the website).

Upon arrival I was received warmly by the front-of-house staff and seated promptly by the window with a good view of the space. The atmosphere was warm, elegant and cosy. I had been one of the first customers of the evening and the restaurant filled up soon after I arrived – not bad at all for a Monday.

I was surprised to be served with a flurry of canapés before being shown the menu, which, according to the servers who brought them, are supposed to set the tone of the evening and create a sense of excitement about the upcoming feast.

The first came very impressively in a gourd-shaped wooden container filled with pine  needles (what could be more representative of the Scandinavian landscape?). This was a trio of (from left to right) malt biscuit with pine salt and pine oil sour cream, fried buckwheat bread with squid ink and truffled mayonnaise, and Jerusalem artichoke cracker with cep cream and grated almonds.

All three morsels were delicious and had a delightfully crispy texture. The biscuit was a successful balance of sweet, sour and salty flavours, refreshed with each bite by the delicate fragrance of pine. The fried buckwheat, my favourite of the trio, had a deep nutty flavour, with rich earthy aromas from the truffled cream to match. The artichoke cracker with cep and almond toppings was similarly tasty though somewhat lighter in flavour and mouthfeel, with a pleasant sweetness and slight roasted edge.

Next up was a tapioca and cod fish cracker with squid ink, seasoned with beetroot, horseradish, mustard and smoked fish powders.

This creative take on a traditional Danish starter of cured fish served with various condiments was very successful indeed – well seasoned and tasty, with a mild spicy edge. Its concentrated and characteristic fishy flavor reminded me very much of cuttlefish crackers, which are a popular snack in Southeast Asia.

Next was a salmon sandwich with cured salmon, salmon roe, baby spinach, dried lime zest and a touch of vanilla.

This was the most interesting canapé to me. Smoked salmon sandwiches and salmon roe are by no means rare, but this version refreshed by lime zest – which gives it a slight bitter edge over the citrus flavor of the more common lemon juice seasoning – both balanced and enhanced the fresh and rich taste of the salmon components more effectively, while the overall tart flavours of this canapé were rounded out very unusually but successfully with a touch of vanilla, which contributed a subtle and comforting sweetness.

Last of the pre-dinner bites was a sophisticated adaptation of a traditional Danish midnight snack Dyrlægens natmad. Just for context, this 'veterinarian's midnight snack' is actually a Danish open-faced rye sandwich (the ubiquitous smørrebrød) spread with pork liver paté (leverpostej), a slice of corned beef (salt kød) and meat aspic (sky), and garnished with raw onion rings and cress. The version before me had foie gras parfait (very similar in composition and texture to leverpostej) coated with rye breadcrumbs, topped with deep fried cured veal strips (an upgrade on corned beef) and a cress garnish, and sat on a bed of black aspic gel.

This was pure luxury; it would be difficult to imagine a more decadent combination in a tiny canapé than a thick, creamy and musky foie gras mousse with deep-fried cured veal strips (think crispy bacon with an infinitely fuller-bodied taste and a more delicate saltiness). The touch of aspic gel (gelatin from meat stock or consommé) provided further savoury depth with its concentrated flavour. The breadcrumb coating added an pleasant crunchiness in the texture, while the mildly spicy cress garnish was a good balance for the generally rich flavours of this morsel.

Having completed this rather elaborate prelude to the meal, the actual tasting menu was now presented, with a choice of either 4 or 6 courses. Juice/wine pairings, cheese, and an additional serving of special sturgeon caviar, are also available at an extra cost. I decided to do the full 6 courses with juice pairings, as the latter seems to be a unique feature of fine Danish/Scandinavian restaurants, and gives the kitchen greater freedom to create highly individualised concoctions to match each course.

For both the amuse bouche and the first course I was presented with a cucumber and celery juice; this was very refreshing and clean-tasting, with strong vegetal notes and a delicate sweetness. All these characteristics complemented the crisp flavours of the amuse bouche perfectly, and worked as an effective contrast to the intensity of the first course.

Amuse bouche: salted fresh tuna on a bed of horseradish cream mixed with canned tuna, fresh cucumber slices, cucumber snow, mint oil, fresh goat’s cream cheese sauce, garnish of cress and dill.

Coming after the extravagant series of canapés, this was most effective as a palate cleanser. The general tone was one of lightness and purity, with delicate seasoning and just the right degree of spiciness for a crisp, piquant taste. The diverse components of this starter worked very harmoniously together to set up both the tastebuds and stomach for the feast ahead.

Bread and spreads were next. Two types of bread were served: brown bread with molasses (a by-product of refining sugarcane or sugar beet into sugar), and spelt bread with sea salt. The two accompanying spreads were: a blend of fresh and brown butter topped with hazelnut crumble, and cream cheese mixed with lime, chives and herb salt.

The breads were still warm when served, and had a firm and substantial texture. The brown bread in particular had an interestingly robust sweetness. The spreads were just as excellent: the luxurious butter blend topped with hazelnuts was fresh and intense in flavour with a slightly sweet edge, while the cream cheese was amazingly light, aromatic and velvety, with a delicate bitterness and acidity from the lime which enhanced its refreshing nature.

Course 1: foamy onion soup, chive oil, bakskuld (a Danish dish of salted, dried and smoked flatfish), other variations on onion – marinated red peel, fried pearl onions, milk poached onions, onion purée, onion powder.

This was a powerfully aromatic dish which showcased the full potential of this bulbous vegetable and highlighted the surprising inherent diversity of its flavours through different cooking techniques. This classic Danish onion soup was made even more tasty by bits of smoked fish nestled within the pickled onion shells, while the chive oil, with its strong onion-like scent and very generously used, was a totally apt enhancement for the dish. On the whole, this was a very warm and comforting start, which despite its apparent formality and sophistication upheld a feeling of immediacy and authenticity.

For the next course, I was offered a sea buckthorn (orange-yellow coastal berries) and grapefruit juice with a touch of salt. My server told me that this was a rather controversial pairing amongst customers, and a sip confirmed my hunch about its taste. Both rather acidic components resulted in an extremely astringent juice that had a strangely spicy edge (perhaps, as I was later told, due to the salt). On its own this juice would have been too tart to drink, but taken with the food it was actually quite an effective balance for the rich flavours stemming from a combination of crustaceans and seaweed.

Course 2: seared scallop with fried sea snails (periwinkles), seaweed purée, pickled sea buckthorn, glasswort (marsh samphire), mussel foam.

Served impressively amongst an assortment of seashells, twigs, samphire, pebbles and coarse rock salt grains to evoke a typical shoreline, this dish was as tasty as it was attractive. The scallop was tender, juicy and sweet with a subtle and pleasant charred edge. The small lumps of sea snails had a fresh flavour and nice chewy texture, while the seaweed purée contributed a most gratifying umami to each bite of the crustaceans. The glasswort with its crisp and salty flavour was another apt enhancement, while the smattering of sea buckthorn provided a refreshing balance with its characteristic tartness. To top it all off, a velvety and full-bodied cover of mussel foam served as the perfect foil for this range of flavours from the sea.

For the next course, I was given a juice of green grapes and cabbage, with a touch of horseradish. Coming after the previous juice this seemed comfortingly sweet, with a spicy and vegetal edge to keep the tastebuds fresh and stimulated. It was a very good fit indeed for the somewhat lighter fish course that was to follow.

Course 3: zander (pike perch) fillet with cauliflower and hazelnuts (both fresh and puréed), egg yolk, lemon zest, lemon verbena and kohlrabi strips, drizzled over by a sauce of fish stock, sour cream, yolk and butter.

My favourite dish of the evening, the fillet was moist and tender, though it could have been slightly larger in proportion to its accompaniments. Its fresh and delicate flavour was very well complemented by mildly sweet cauliflower and kohlrabi (a type of cabbage), and given a crisp edge by the citrusy flavour and aroma of lemon zest and verbena. The rich and tasty sauce, and unusually thick and creamy yolk (beautifully separated from the egg white and delicately boiled to the perfect texture) imparted a luxurious mouthfeel to every bite, and enhanced the taste of the fish with a delightful savoury depth. The hazelnuts were the final icing on the proverbial cake, with their deep characteristic flavour and crunchy texture adding an apt body to this already excellent dish.

For the next dish, orange juice with green tea and dill seeds was presented. This was by far the most memorable and successful pairing, a seemingly bizzare combination that worked surprisingly well - very light, clean-tasting and aromatic with only a mild tanginess, it was a perfect match for the full-bodied scents and flavours of the following course.

Course 4: minced smoked lamb tongue and smoked lamb sweetbreads topped with dill gel, fresh dill, raw chestnuts, grilled cos lettuce, and surrounded by shrimp bouillon with lashings of dill oil.

Like the onion course, the powerful aromas of this dish left a strong initial impression even before I had taken the first mouthful. The fragrant smoked bits of lamb under the layer of dill gel were delightful – the sweetbreads had a velvety and succulent texture, and a particularly deep flavour with a sweetish edge, while the minced tongue had a tender and gelatinous texture that was most pleasing to the bite. The extensive use of dill, with its strong aroma and sweet taste with a fresh bitter edge (similar to caraway), both enhanced and balanced the rich taste of the smoked lamb, while the rather concentrated shrimp bouillon, a most unexpected pairing for lamb, yielded brilliant results, with its full-bodied taste and aroma converging in remarkable harmony with the lush offal components. To finish, a touch of refreshment was imparted by crisp slices of raw chestnuts and grilled lettuce. On the whole, this was a vivid and intense dish with a combination of ingredients that had strong individual characters, yet worked astonishingly well on the same plate.

Moving on to the most substantial course of the evening, I was offered a juice of blue grapes and licorice. This robust drink with an intensely sweet and spiced taste, enhanced by a slight bitter edge, was a fitting equal for the sheer sumptuousness of the next dish.

Course 5: venison shank slow cooked for 12 to 16 hours, scorzonera (black salsify root) done two ways: 1) pickled; 2) fried and rolled in ash, mushroom and licorice purée, marinated mushroom slices, sauce of venison stock, Gammel Dansk (a traditional Danish schnapps made from 52 different spices) and licorice, white chocolate crumble.

The first thing that impressed me was how head chef David managed to come round to every table this evening to carve and plate the meat for all his customers. Needless to say, such personal attention is extraordinary even by Michelin standards. Although the restaurant is quite small, which might make this warm gesture logistically possible on a daily basis, one still cannot take such things for granted. In fact, I should mention that up to this point David had served and introduced most of my dishes (and similarly for other customers), which is very impressive indeed.

But back to the food – David informed me that it was customary in Danish cuisine to serve meat with a variety of sweet and sour accompaniments, as demonstrated in this dish. The venison was pure luxury, full-bodied in taste with an incredibly tender and velvety melt-in-the-mouth texture. This intense meat was well matched by its accompanying sauce and the mushroom and licorice purée, both with powerful notes of spices and an equally deep flavor with an earthy edge, while a sprinkling of white chocolate below the meat imparted an extra touch of indulgence with its characteristic sweetness and density. For balance and refreshment, pickled salsify strips and mushroom slices were an apt addition with their delicate acidity and crunchy texture, while the fried salsify rolled in ash imparted a pleasant and stimulating bitterness.

Imagine my surprise when David said that I could have a second helping if I would like to have more! Despite my stomach already filling up by this point, this was an offer I couldn’t refuse, and a short while later a second plate of venison was served along with a juice top-up. True to David’s philosophy (taken from Kokkeriet's website) that his food should be so good that customers would rather have another helping than move on to the next dish, I had the opportunity to savour this superb dish to its fullest, though I must mention that I was so stuffed by the end of this course that I had to request for a longer break before continuing with dessert. Can you think of another Michelin-starred restaurant on this planet that offers an all-you-can-eat main course within its tasting menu?! It might have been too heavy on the palate and stomach, but when the food is this good, there is very little reason to complain.

Second helping... almost too good to be true!

After about 20 minutes I was ready to finish the meal. Before the actual dessert, I was given a little something to counter the heaviness of the previous courses, and to help alleviate a pretty bloated tummy. This was a celery sorbet with celery powder, chopped walnuts and green grape compote. The main celery components, with a very crisp and clean taste, were a most welcome relief to the palate. The grape compote enhanced the delicate flavour of celery with a pleasant sweetness, while the chopped walnuts contributed a greater depth of flavour, with a characteristically bitter edge that went hand-in-hand with the refreshing vegetal notes of this interlude.

For the final juice pairing I was given a concoction of apple, tarragon and sparkling water. The mild fizziness of this drink was both refreshing and stimulating (and I might add, somewhat unexpected), while the tarragon infusion added an interesting dimension with its distinctive aniseed flavour - very sweet and aromatic, it both complemented and enhanced the core taste of apple remarkably well. The dessert itself had a strong emphasis on apple and tarragon, so this drink pairing was totally appropriate.

Course 6: yoghurt and green apple sorbets, green apple mousse in green apple gel, purée of green apple and tarragon, crunchy meringue strips, green apple sugar film, deep fried yoghurt ‘grandma’ bread crumble.

Different textures were at play here - from the light and airy sorbets, to the creamy mousse, the crunchy bits of meringue and sugar, and the fluffy brioche-like bread crumble. The flavours were straightforward and effective, with a good balance of sweetness and acidity from the apple and yoghurt components. As with the drink pairing, the infusion of tarragon into the purée was a most striking and delightful touch in this dessert. This was indeed a very refreshing and satisfying conclusion to a hearty meal.

Just before I left, I requested to see the kitchen briefly, which David promptly obliged. The floor was a bit greasy from the evening's work so I had to tread quite carefully. Not much action as it was near to closing, but you can imagine what must go on in here during busy times:

With head chef David Johansen, who was incredibly warm and patient.

Peek into the kitchen from the street - probably the
most open fine restaurant I've ever encountered.

True to the restaurant’s commitment to seasonality, this had been an extremely substantial meal, very apt for freezing Scandinavian winters. The portions were generous, and the cooking was both solid and sophisticated, full of rich and intense flavours and aromas. It was good value-for-money by Michelin standards, and cheaper than most equivalent restaurants in Copenhagen. For me it was also a rather fascinating first experience with juice pairings, using a variety of vegetables, fruit and herbs, in unexpected yet surprisingly effective combinations.

The entire service team was excellent, but I wish to highlight two people in particular who made my evening – David the head chef, and Louise, a very new staff who joined the restaurant barely a month ago. Both displayed genuine warmth and enthusiasm towards customers and spoke impeccable English, which is always helpful for foreign guests. Louise has just returned to Denmark from an extended stint in Canada and appeared to be very happy in her latest work environment. David introduced most of the dishes for the evening, and came across as being very down-to-earth – so much so that I wouldn’t have guessed that he was the head chef if not for his slightly different uniform; however, I could certainly tell from his detailed descriptions that he was extremely knowledgeable and confident. Throughout the evening, he displayed a genuine concern for customers' feedback, and his obvious pride for his native cuisine came through in his eagerness to give some background to the dishes he served, comparing tradition with his contemporary execution. At the end of the meal when the kitchen had wound down, he even sat down with me for a good half-hour to go through the details of the entire menu including canapés, and was incredibly patient with all my questions. He also led me on a brief kitchen tour, and together with Louise, sent me off very cordially. This is one dining experience that I would be very happy to repeat if I ever visited Copenhagen again. Very highly recommended.