Geranium
2009 Dufour par Charles Blanc de Noirs
Lobster, Milk, Juice from Fermented Carrots, Sea Buckthorn
Jerusalem Artichoke Leaves, Hazelnut Oil, Rye Vinegar
“Razor Clam” with Minerals and Sour Cream
Tomato Water, Ham Fat, Aromatic Herbs
“Dill Stone,” Horseradish and Frozen Juice from Pickled Dill and Cucumber Granita
Nettles, Smoked Cheese and Dried Oysters
Yellow Beets, Aromatic Seeds, Yogurt Juice and Beach Plant Oil
Grilled White Asparagus, Chervil and Chive Blossoms, Dried Trout
Salted Hake, Ash, Parsley Stems and Belgian Caviar in Buttermilk
Crispy Grains, Bread with Old Grains, Gluten Free Bread with Seeds and Butter with Buttermilk and Sorrel
Langoustine in Juniper Aroma, Ingrid Marie Reduction, Browned Butter
Lightly Salted Turbot, Green Herbs, Celeriac, Pickled Pine
Tartlet with Fjord Shrimp, Sol, Chive and Thyme Blossoms with Pickled Elderflowers
Cabbage Sprouts, Chicken, Pickled Quail Egg, Cepes and Hay Beer
A Bite of Beetroot, Black Currant, Yogurt and Tagetes
Ice Cream from Beeswax and Pollen with Intense Rhubarb
Caramel with Roasted Grain and Green Strawberry
“This is the End” Salted Licorice Mousse
Pumpkin Tree, Pumpkin Cake with Pumpkin Seed Oil, Caramel, Dried Plum Juice and Aromatic Seeds, Chocolate with Oats and Sea Buckthorn, Marshmallow with Rose Hip, Green Egg with Pine
Currently holding position #19 among San Pellegrino’s “The World’s 50 Best Restaurants,” the only Michelin 3* in Copenhagen even during the era of noma and recently ranked as the top Restaurant in The Nordics by The White Guide it is accurate to say that Geranium reigns high over the rest of region’s culinary elite, a location on the eighth floor of Denmark’s national soccer stadium overlooking the Fælledparken making this both a literal and figurative statement.
Toqued by Rasmus Kofoed, his collection of bronze, silver and gold statues from the Bocuse d’Or standing guard over a small lounge, it was just past noon on Wednesday that a brief walk was made from Østerport Station to the back corner of Telia Parken, only a stylized sign indicating the location of a restaurant accessed by elevator, the doors opening directly on the hostess desk where reservations are confirmed with diners soon face-to-face with an airy space looking lengthwise on a gorgeous dining room and exhibition kitchen.
Considered by many to be the next step in Scandinavian Cuisine, Kofoed’s cooking taking ideas of The New Nordic Kitchen Manifesto and presenting them in all their glory with the sort of plating featured at luxe Hotel D’Angleterre rather than the humble stylings of his noma contemporaries, diners visiting Geranium in its current home will immediately be struck by a glorious expanse focused on both nature and a restaurant working silently despite perpetual motion, the mood cheerful yet professional throughout 20+ plates currently highlighting the “Summer Universe.”
Turning fellow-Chef Søren Ledet into Dining Room Manager and Sommelier shortly after opening, Mr. Ledet presenting each guest with a glass of bubbles upon seating, it was mere moments later that the first of several Chefs arrived tableside with a bowl described by a list of its ingredients, the cloudy broth of Carrot Juice sweetened by Sea Buckthorn and fortified by Whey acting as a delicate perfume to the Lobster Custard beneath it.
Not differentiating Amuses or Canapes from actual ‘courses,’ the parade of flavors coming from the kitchen with flawless pacing over the course of three hours, it was following three “leaves” fashioned from Sunchoke that Kofoed’s signature dish of Razor Clam and Sour Cream in an edible shell left nearly everyone in the room smiling, a follow-up of clarified Tomato Water with a float of Ham Fat faintly reminiscent of Stuffed Cabbage after the addition of a spoonful of Herbs and Flower Petals.
Declining Wine or Juice Pairings, though descriptions from the tables surrounding made each sound quite impressive with the later particularly unique compared to what is available elsewhere in the capitol, dish five would unfortunately offer the meal’s lone slip-up by way of “Dill Stones” served with a Sauce of Horseradish and Cucumber Granita, the flavors far too aggressive to be washed away with water alone and thus not only unpleasant on their own, but enough to taint the palate for both the Nettle and Beet dishes to follow.
Thankful for the Yogurt liquids that just so happened to be part of a dish described as a “bonus course,” the acid finally liberating both tongue and sinuses from Dill and heat, it was not a minute too soon as Grilled Asparagus and Trout as well as the disc of Salted Hake bound by Ash were two of the meal’s standouts, the former an aromatic composition with a bright herbal flavors and a touch of umami while the follow-up turned 180° with a velvety texture and iodine finding its foil in tangy Buttermilk and Parsley.
At this point offering Bread Service, a pair of Wheat Crackers alongside addictive two-bite Ancient Grain Loaves and moist Gluten Free Muffins topped with Seeds that paired great with Housemade Butter fortified in Buttermilk and Sorrel, dish ten was being presented for the first time in the dining room that day and although the tableside torching in Juniper seemed mostly for show the flavor of Langoustine presented in Danish Apple Broth with Browned Butter was absolutely beautiful, the sweetness more restrained than one might guess and an elegant lead-in to roasted Turbot topped with a ‘skin’ of Mousseline served in a Sauce of pickled Pine and roasted Bones.
A tasting menu in the truest sense of the word, each dish continuing a theme and often leaving diners wanting a bite more despite fully expressing the Chef’s intentions, dish fourteen featured a dazzling Tartlet topped in crispy Shrimp with herbs and Elderflower, the afternoon’s final savory a dish of confit Chicken and pickled Eggs served beneath a blanket of Mushrooms, Peas and Cruciferous Vegetables.
At this point led on a tour of the restaurant, everything from the wine room to the offices and Kofoed’s Test Kitchen all put on full display, it was shortly after a return to the table that the Summer Universe transitioned to sweets, a crispy Beetroot shell housing Black Currant, Yogurt and Marigold assertive and balanced before the back-and-forth sampling of lightly sweetened Ice Cream and compressed Rhubarb in its own Juices, the small Cake in a pool of Caramel with Green Strawberries and an icy disc a bit less flavorful than one may have hoped, but quickly erased from memory by a Salty Licorice Skull titled “This is the End.”
At this point requesting the bill, though it was clearly foolish to assume that the “end” really meant Chef Rasmus and his team were all out of tricks, it was as the kitchen was starting to wipe down that six more bites were presented, the Pumpkin Tree and Cake each fairly forgettable compared to the rest while a “Green Egg” and Caramel in an edible sheet of Plum both continued the theme of bright herbs and complex textures until the very *end.*
www.geranium.dk/