Alchemist
Daisy – Orange, Ginger, Rum, Lime
2012 Dom Perignon Champagne
Greed – Citrus Air, Woodruff
Smoky Ball – Langoustine, Almond Cream, Ossetra Caviar, Puffed Gluten, Smoke
Dumpling – Bok Choy, Herbs, XO, Nam Jim Gel, Wasanbon Candy Floss
Space Bread – Vegetable Waste Bread, Sourdough Essence, Belgian Beluga Caviar
Mate & Riesling – Kombucha, Mate Tea, Riesling Grape Juice
Omelette – Egg Yolk Membrane, Egg Yolk and Comté Cheese Cream, Lardo, Black Truffles, Brown Butter
Sunburnt Bikini – Mochi Dough, Joselito Ham, Gruyere, Truffle Butter
Sea Buckthorn Tonic – Tonic Water Meringue, Vodka
Kamo Gyokuro Tea Ceremony 2021 Goku Cultivar
1984 – Potatoes, Peas, Caviar, Lovage¸ Razor Clams, Cod Eyes
Double Trouble – Moon Jellyfish, Beach Rose Oil, Beach Herbs, Nuoc Cham, Coriander, Thai Basil
Ankimo – Monk Fish Liver, Sake, Seaweed Crisp, Codfish Collagen
Marine Invaders – Beach Crab, Sea Urchin, Foie Gras
Lobster Roll – Horseradish, Fermented Tomato
Plastic Fantastic – Cod Jaw, Smoked Marrow, Comte, Edible Plastic Boullion
King Crab – King Crab and Langoustine Farce, Smoked Butter, Bleek Roe, Butternut Squash, Orange Kosho
2015 Bouchard Pere & Fils Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru & 2015 Coudray-Bizot Echezeaux En Orveaux Grand Cru
Tongue Kiss – Asparagus, Rhubarb, Yuzu, Ume
Breathless – Lamb Lung Pate, Pickles, Ramson, Black Currant
Food for Thought – Lamb Brain, Brioche, Cherries, Lemon Peel
Mycelium – Mushroom Gel, Truffles, Coffee Kefir
The Pigeon – Dry aged Wood Pigeon cooked in Bee’s Wax, Lacto-fermented Black Truffle, Red Currant
Airy Bread – Potato Starch Baguette, Yeast, 2015 Joselito Pata Negra Ham
Cheers – Bioluminescent Algae, Melon
Orchid & Hops Kombucha
Hunger – Cured Rabbit, Harissa
Fluffy Bao – Coriander, Oxtail, Scallop, Fjord Shrimp, aged Soy
Burnout Chicken – Tamarind, Puffed Rice, Dry Shrimp, Green Curry, Fjord Shrimp
Force of Nature – Colostrum, Milk, Unpasteurized Honey, Wood Ants
Andy Warhol – Green Banana Peel, Banana Ice Cream, Tonka Bean, Rum
Pine Nut Liqueur – Bora Bora Vanilla, Pine Nut Milk, Vintre Molle Vodka
Life Line – Pig Blood Ganache, Venison Garum, Blueberry, Juniper Oil
Guilty Pleasure – Chocolate, Mango Jam, Peanut Gianduja, Salted Caramel
Pinky – Calamansi Jam, Pink Grapefruit, Coconut Cream, Marshmallow Fluff
Amber – Ginger, Honey, Red Wood Ant
Cubic Margarita – Mezcal, Tequila, Lime, Sea Salt, Mint
Happy Ending – 3D Printed Puff Pastry, Apple, Caramel, Sour Cream
Even in its early days one of the most ambitious Restaurants ever created I’ve probably told my 2017 Alchemist story a hundred times and I’ll probably tell it at least as many more – a showing of hospitality quite like any other. Already impressed by my visit to Chef Rasmus Munk’s original Restaurant it was an absolute privilege to sit down in the new concept and experience what is truly “an experience” – visual, aural, gastronomy, sociology, ecology, technology and even anthropology.
From the immense door to an opening “Impression” featuring a solo violinist playing “Vi sålde våra hemman” every aspect of Alchemist is intended to overwhelm the senses, and across five “Acts” in an equal number of hours Rasmus’ team never ceases to impress in catering to each guest’s every need.
Pointless to describe course-for-course, the journey occurring as guests move from room to room and idea to idea, early bites take place in front of a test kitchen where Champagne finds itself matched to Candy Floss Dumplings and “The Perfect Omelet” before traversing the 90,000 bottle Wine cellar to a planetarium called The Dome.
Often using Food as a vehicle, the overhead projection of polluted oceans coming to life with a jaw-dropping dish of Cod topped in crispy translucent Bouillon, consider also the idea of food waste in the form of Brain, Lung or Flesh from a Crab beyond the Legs.
Never lacking for technique, cryo-freezing and emulsification joining forces with ideas such as growing Mycelium on agar or dry-aging game in wax, custom service-ware makes many dishes more titillating including Orwell’s “1984” Eye or the silicon Tongue Kiss.
Gazed down upon by caged Birds while eating a deboned Thigh titled “Burnout Chicken,” shortly after lights went dark for “Cheers” featuring edible Bioluminescence that has generated a scientific paper, sweets begin with Force of Nature featuring Colostrum, Unpasteurized Honey and Formic Acid before picturesque “Andy Warhol” and Pig’s Blood Ganache complete with a QR Code to become a Blood Donor.
Making a statement about the abusive nature of child labor with “Guilty Pleasure” before guests enter the Pink Room, an impression best left as a surprise, it is after visiting another kitchen that guests end up in the Balcony with their thoughts and three more bites including Ants in “Amber” and a 3D Printed Tarte Tatin.
About those thoughts? Calling Alchemist the most forward thinking restaurant in the world right now is easy. But it’s more than that. It is science and culture and art and 100+ people working together to create something extraordinary. It succeeds in its vision. It publishes scientific papers. It shows that big dreams can come true and that those dreams, even using Food as a medium, can make a difference.
www.alchemist.dk