Kadeau
Rhubarb, Whey and Angelica
Fire baked Kohlrabi, Spinach, Black Currant Leaf and White Currant
Mahogany Clam, Apple, Fermented Wheat and Rosehip from Bornholm
Savoy Cabbage, Parsley, Sauerkraut, Cream and Oysters
Preserved Root Vegetables, Sea Trout Dashi and Salted Plums
Roasted Bread, Herb Butter infused with Cherry Wood Embers
Langoustine, Walnut, Red Berries and Lavender
Blue Mussel, Hemp, Rhubarb, Pine Buds, Cream
Green Asparagus, Lyme Grass, Nettles
‘What’s in the Garden Right Now’ Tartlet
White Asparagus, Havgus, Onion, Wood Ants
Grilled Danish Beef, Icelandic Kelp, Garden Pesto and Koji Butter
Lamb, Fermented Pumpkin, Gherkins and St. John’s Wort
Ymer, Buttermilk Fudge, Potato, Turnip and Sweet Cicely
Fermented Raspberries, Crème Fraiche, White Currant and Walnut Schnapps
Were it not for the nearby corporate offices one would hardly realize Kadeau was there, the tiny nameplate with a buzzer beside a blue door not exactly trying to draw attention to a place that many consider to be one of Copenhagen’s best places to dine, the spotlight on Nicolai Nørregaard’s restaurant at Wildersgade 10B shining brighter than ever as noma builds out its new space.
Originally opened in 2007, the manifesto describing a desire to “grow, harvest, preserve, serve and love” his native Bornholm, it was during the first of an eight-day visit to Denmark that a noontime visit was made to the restaurant that would be departing for home the following day, and although staff could not stop talking about the ‘working summer vacation’ over the course of two hours the meal enjoyed in the 2013 Christianshavn expansion was quite remarkable just the same.
Every bit a flag bearer of the New Nordic movement, the space itself beautiful yet minimalist with a lot of hand-worked wood and stone from the island, diners visiting Kadeau begin in the lounge where the experience starts with a seasonal juice, this day featuring Rhubarb and Angelica with a Whey thickener over an Ice sphere, a nice way to open up the palate with a balance of acid and herbal aromatics, a theme that would be seen several times more throughout the following courses.
Hosting a half-full dining room on this particular afternoon, the restaurant’s last service in the space for several months, it was upon transferring to a table that course two arrived as Miles Davis took over the soundtrack, the large Ice bowl containing small balls of Spinach-soaked Kohlrabi bitter and then smoky as wild Currants and their leaves provided a vibrant backdrop while the “200 year old” Mahogany Clam that sacrificed its life for the following course was given a very fond farewell by way of a fermented Wheat Crisp topped with tiny slices of Apple and wild Bornholm Rosehips.
Speaking exclusively English in both the kitchen and dining room, perhaps not unexpected as the clientele was entirely visitors from out of town, course three saw the kitchen present a fold of Savoy Cabbage around Oysters, housemade Sauerkraut and Cream that was both briny and sweet, the quick-to-follow Terrine of Root Vegetables playing well of the same ideas with chewy salt-packed Plums and a Broth made from the Bones of Sea Trout.
Serving Bread as a ‘course,’ one of those new fine dining ‘things’ that seems fairly silly but also requires a bit more thought than a Roll and some Butter, Kadeau’s offering consists of a roasted round made of Spelt served alongside Herb Butter infused with embers from the same fire, the flavor tangy like Sourdough and tasty on its own, but even better when enjoyed along with the next three plates including thin slices of Raw Langoustine and sweet Berries beneath shaved Walnuts lightly perfumed in Lavender.
Crossing the meal’s midway point with a gently cooked Mussel matched to Rhubarb, preserved Pine and Cream, instructions to eat it ‘like an oyster’ yielding a faintly sweet flavor that reminisced of the opening beverage, course nine was a perplexing plate of crispy Leaves served atop lightly cooked Asparagus tips, the taste a non-descript ‘vegetal’ without much else and seemingly a study of the textures involved rather than the flavors.
Continuing to parade the produce of Bornholm with a bitesize Tartlet entitled ‘What’s in the Garden Right Now,’ Nørregaard and his team create a powerful bite that is both woodsy and clean with a long linger of Sorrel and Cruciferous Vegetables, the following ‘White Asparagus with Wood Ants’ not as shocking as many make it out to be as the Vegetable, Cheese and Caramelized Onion do all the heavy lifting with the little bugs, when isolated, mostly just tasting like Lemon Zest.
More food than many tasting menus, the small bites all adding up thanks to the amount of fiber even for those not choosing to drink Juice or Wine, the last two savories at Kadeau center on locally raised and house-butchered meats, the Grilled Danish Beef going Peter Luger-style by topping the Tenderloin with Koji Butter and a bit of Salt while the Lamb Rib is served on the bone painted in preserved Pumpkin Paste, the heavily fermented flavor going well bite-for-bite with thinly sliced Gherkins, but less so with bitter sprigs of St. John’s Wort.
Warned that Dessert at Kadeau was rarely a highlight, the New Nordic style certainly not reliant on Sugar, Eggs or Cream, it was actually a pleasant surprise when course fourteen was presented, the tiny tart filled with Buttermilk a bit sour but well complimented by Caramelized Root Vegetable Chips, thick Cream and Chervil while the Fermented Raspberry dish was probably best described as aggressive, even the Chef’s Father’s Walnut Schnapps doing little to mitigate the one-two punch of tangy Crème Fraiche and acidic White Currants in their preserving Juices.
http://www.kadeau.dk/kbh.php