We catch up with World #1 Chef, Rene Redzepi (Noma, Copenhagen), to find out his most memorable meals around the world, along with his picks of the Copenhagen dining scene:
1. Osteria Francescana - Modena, Italy
2. Tacos Al Pastor - Merida, Mexico
3. Mugaritz - San Sebastian, Spain
4. Coi Restaurant - San Franicsco, USA
FAVOURITE RESTAURANTS "There are so many places to mention, I can’t only just mention two or three. I’ll tell you about the places I really enjoyed eating at in the past year. Eating Tacos Al Pastor in Merida, Mexico last January 2011 was absolutely fantastic. My daughter ate
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three of them every day - me too - the whole family is in love with Tacos Al Pastor from Merida! Street food is the flavours of a country, its the soul and the foundation of a place, so I really love eating it when I travel.
I also had an excellent trip to New York City with chef Wylie Dufresyne of WD-50 restaurant. I love going to his restaurant, I think that he is truly an inspiration. It’s a unique restaurant, and even though we’re very different in how we cook, it’s really distinct and I feel that the cooking there is something that’s coming from deep within him. I had an excellent meal there.
In Europe, I had a really, really, really excellent meal at chef Massimo Botura’s Osteria da Francescana in Modena Italy). I also had a great meal at chef Mauro Colagreco’s restaurant, Mirazur, in southern France. I was also in San Francisco with chef Daniel Patterson at Coi restaurant which was excellent. Another highlight was eating at Mugaritz restaurant in San Sebastain, Spain. I’ve tried it before, and when I tried it again 5 years later, it was just so unique - a really fantastic experience.
In Copenhagen. Relae restaurant by chef Christian Puglisi is for sure one of the best restaurants in Copenhagen. Chef Bo Bech just opened his new restaurant, Geist, which is the Danish word for “great spirit” or “enthusiasm”. There’s also a place called Grønbech & Churchill restaurant which is also very good. These places are very democratic places which are serving very good food but for a reasonable amount of money - offering not just your average steak & frites. They want to show something with their food. This is the impact of restaurants like Paris’ Le Chateaubriand in Denmark. Restaurants are now popping up with a bistro ambiance, but with a high focus on the food and on the thoughts behind it. It’s a very interesting period in Copenhagen’s dining scene right now."
Photography: Per-Anders Jorgensen (Cook It Raw)
