Restaurant Jordnær

THT The Very Best of Scandinavian Food 4/5

5 Hours, 17 Plates

Jordnær sits inside the Gentofte Hotel, and I have to admit it gave me an experience far beyond what I had expected. Eric Kragh Vildgaard impressed me enormously with his original menu. The menu opens at a high tempo, with flavours built around intense acidity and umami. The chef's approach is quite clear: “People eat nothing at midday on the day they are coming here and their expectations are high, so we try to meet them with peak flavours from the very first moment.” You feel that outlook in every detail of the menu. In the first hours you are filled with caviar. The menu is focused entirely on seafood. The chef uses nothing whose source he does not know, and he creates remarkably refined plates from the sea. One of the surprises of the evening was meeting Alperen Duysak, one of the talented chefs working in the Jordnær kitchen. The non-alcoholic pairing that impressed me most on the whole tour was the one I had here. It was not just fruit juices; a very detailed pairing had been put together from different teas, infusions and creative ingredients. In both presentation and variety I found what they do highly accomplished. Being able to join the tasting of a special wine opened by my friends at the table, one of only three bottles in Denmark, was another unforgettable moment of the night. For me the signature plate was the langoustine tail. The sauce made with sakura vinegar added a very elegant balance to it. The desserts then carried the closing to its peak. With melons from Japan, strawberries from Spain and oranges from Italy you are taken on a small world tour, and that is how the five-hour experience ends. At the end of the meal we had the chance to talk with Chef Eric Kragh Vildgaard about how he puts the menu together. He is a very courteous and easy-going man; he does not only work wonders in the kitchen, he also knows Tarkan songs and sings them :)