In 2010 Copenhagen’s restaurant noma was named world’s best restaurant by the prestigious Restaurant Magazine in the hotly contested San Pellegrino 50 Best Restaurants in the World list. Meanwhile, this week, the title of world’s best chef was awarded to a Danish chef, further underlining Copenhagen’s position as a food Mecca.
He has won bronze and silver medals in previous years, but this year he took home the gold – Danish chef Rasmus Kofoed has won the title of World’s Best Chef at the 24-country Bocuse D’Or competition – widely considered the unofficial world championship for chefs – in Lyon in France.
Danish cooking has undergone a revolution in the last decade as many of the country’s chefs have learned to exploit the wonderful natural bounty of the Nordic larder. Fresh, seasonal vegetables; wild game; locally-caught fish; and cured or smoked fish and meats are some of the hallmark ingredients which have helped shape a modern local cuisine with international appeal: New Nordic Cuisine.
The revolution has been led by Copenhagen’s restaurants, which are recognised by international food writers, gourmets and gourmands as among the most exciting in the world. In the latest Michelin Guide Copenhagen was awarded thirteen stars, more than Rome, Milan, Amsterdam and Vienna, and the same number as Madrid and Berlin.
Full organic gourmet restaurant
Kofoed, who is chef at the fully organic restaurant Geranium in Copenhagen, is the only chef to have participated in the biennial Bocuse d’Or more than twice and the only chef ever to have won more than one statuette – he won bronze in 2005 and silver in 2007.
After five hours of cooking, Kofoed presented his outstanding 10-course meal.See winning dishes here
The Bocuse d’Or championship is named after the renowned French chef Paul Bocuse and was first held in 1987.
