Potato “stones”, a dish from the Frederikshøj restaurant, in Aarhus, Denmark.
There are small gestures that change everything. Removing the tablecloth from a table, kneeling to pick a mushroom in the woods, or not buying products that are not within 100 kilometers of your restaurant. A conscious redesign of gastronomic luxury that began more than 15 years ago and that experienced its most revolutionary moment when several renowned chefs signed the manifesto of the new Nordic cuisine.
Then came the awards and stars then the culinary experiences in which the diners went to the origin – to the diners clubs located in the forests and on the lakes – instead of sitting down at a typical table. And more recently, the Health Organization has just equated its diet to the Mediterranean. And now that?
The answer to this question can be found in the new book from the Gestalten publishing house, Nordic by Nature, which gives an account of the **field work carried out by the guys from the Borderless Co. creative collective **, who toured the Kingdom of Denmark, from its most important cities to the farthest reaches of Greenland and the Faroe Islands, to explore the evolution, reinvention and reinterpretation of Danish food culture, but also to show us the current state of the most advanced Nordic cuisine.
12 months and 5,000 kilometers of culinary exploration in Denmark resulted in the book Nordic by Nature
THE PREFACE
Introducing Nordic by Nature runs by the journalist Andrea Petrini, co-founder of the international collective of chefs Gelinaz. The writer delves into the roots of the new Nordic cuisine, but also uses sarcasm to show how those "first outcasts" of northern Europe, who distanced themselves from the French, Italian and Spanish culinary languages, finally, thanks to their tenacity and principles, have managed to force the "brave Michelin guys to finally explore the main Scandinavian capitals as if they were virgin lands they could claim their own, deciding which ones are profitable and which ones are hard to find.
Petrini's text ends with several tips with which to extend this culinary formula and not die of success, such as flee from stereotypes, from the predictable as "the holy marriage between the raw and the wild" , betting on innovation, on study, on questioning: "Deep down, we all know that the answers are much less important than the questions that precede them," says the journalist.
Baked cod with kale green strawberries, mussel sauce and smoked parsley oil at Musling Restaurant, Copenhagen.
ESSAY
Nordisk Mad by Claus Meyer is a didactic narrative included in the book and developed by the co-founder of the restaurant Noma, an acronym for the Danish words nordisk ('Nordic') and mad ('food'). In it we find phrases as explanatory as this: "The new Nordic cuisine It was never a declaration of war against French food or Italian pizza, nor a crusade against sushi or the Moroccan tagine. If there is an enemy, it is the international fast food and junk food industry. dominated by large corporations that ruin our health, undermine our independence and harm our planet.
Regarding the origin and trajectory of Noma, which was for years the best restaurant in the world, Claus Mayer states that his only intention was to give meaning to his culinary concerns: "We felt that humble ingredients and a bare table could somehow also represent luxury." Of course, always betting on the seasonality of the sustainable product and reestablishing the link between the kitchen and nature.
Detail of the room of the restaurant Vækst Copenhagen, Denmark.
THE OPINION
Businessman collector of herbs, mushrooms and wild berries Roland Rittman is another of the expert firms that have participated in the Nordic by Nature book. Consultant in many Scandinavian restaurants, in Noma they refer to him as Santa Claus, in addition to his appearance, for having brought 'the gift' of the harvest to chef René Redzepi's kitchen.
In the text Rittman urges us to we go wild to rescue humanity and the planet: "Our eating habits and transitions to organic and sustainable agriculture, along with reconnecting with nature by eating wild produce, will give us the power to change, to save the planet and to save ourselves."
Espelette pepper and lemon scented sea urchins at Falsled Kro Millinge restaurant, Denmark.
THE RESTAURANTS
The bulk of the Nordic by Nature book, with a total of 304 pages, is organized around 29 danish restaurants selected, among other reasons, for their relationship with the seasonal product, their way of acquiring raw materials and their respect for the producer, the chef, the consumer and the environment.
One by one they are presented in a simple but very inspiring way –the space, the chef, the interior design and, in some cases, the setting– and then appear explained the chosen recipes in each one of them. The restaurant Ulo, in the Arctic hotel in Greenland, Koks in the Faroe Islands, Høst & Vækst in Copenhagen... No matter where in Denmark they are located, in all of them there is never a lack of natural and 'naked' decoration. ', a local product of extreme quality and a human capital that is difficult to match.
Raw shrimp dish at Kødbyens Fiskebar restaurant Copenhagen, Denmark.