As the leaves fall and the temperatures drop, chef Nicolai Nørregaard delves into the rich larder harvested during the warmer months for its new “Preservation Season 2024-2025”
Copenhagen, October 2024. Following its yearly tradition and methodology, restaurant Kadeau in Copenhagen welcomes the cold months with the launch of a new menu with the produce harvested and preserved during the spring and summer months on the island of Bornholm.
On October 11th, Kadeau Copenhagen opened its doors again, with a new proposal, ambiance and decor, carefully designed by the team to showcase their philosophy.
The menu
The flavours of spring and summer on Bornholm are captured and transformed through a blend of traditional and modern techniques, with a particular emphasis on preservation methods. During the warmer months, the team preserves a wide variety of cultivated and foraged ingredients from the garden and the island’s surrounding wild landscapes. During the Preservation Season in the darker months, the chefs delve into the rich larder and thoughtfully pair these ingredients with the finest, sustainably sourced Nordic seafood and meat.
«In this Preservation Season menu, we want to encapsulate the summer flavors as much as possible: we have been digging deeper into the forest, using wild game and mushrooms, and other beautiful ingredients from our trips around Bornholm”. This is how chef Nørregaard presents his new Preservation Season menu 2024-2025.
Always loyal to its core philosophy, Kadeau (2 Michelin stars and 1 Michelin Green star) works solely with local produce. However, to escape the limits of the seasonal produce, the team plans ahead and preserves all those ingredients which are only available at a particular time of the year, so that they can use them throughout the different seasons.
This year, the winter menu is comprised of 15 courses. On the one hand, the savoury dishes set off with the last summer’s tomatoes, figs and shrimps, to then yield protagonism to preserved fruits and vegetables, followed by game, with dishes like the “Wild grey duck with preserves” or the “Tongue and loin of red deer”.
To round-up the experience, the sweet dishes take the diner straight into the Nordic woods, featuring black and red fruits such as mulberry or plums.
The wine
The wine pairing for this Preservation Season menu is made up of 7 wines, in an effort to include bottles from wine makers from all over the world who share their same values and respect for nature.
The non-alcoholic pairings are thoughtfully created with a combination or infusions and clarifying techniques, using foraged and preserved ingredients from all over Bornholm.
Design and artworks
Following on from previous years, Kadeau has collaborated with V1 Gallery in Copenhagen for the selection of the art pieces displayed in the restaurant throughout the season. The team carefully immersed three artists – Anton Funck, Mischa Pavlovski Andresen and Mads Hilbert – in the ecosystem of their original restaurant in Bornholm, surrounded by nature. This way, they were able to create artworks directly inspired by the island. Their masterpieces are now shown in the dining room and hallways of Kadeau in Copenhagen and have become part of the experience for this season.
Equally, the walls of the dining room are re-painted every season in an attempt to accompany the food, the experience, and the time of the year, creating a coherent environment for diners. As such, the chosen colors for this new season are Raf (dark blue), Faux wood (brown), and Vintage ochre (orange), all created by Stockholm-based design studio Halleroed for Bleo.
“The idea of taking the artists to Bornholm in the summer for inspiration, and make artworks for the Preservation Season, reflects how we work on the menu itself – in the summer, we take inspiration from the rich abundance of Bornholm, which we preserve and use on the menu in the colder months. We love this synergy and we’re proud to be able to work with such talented artists.”
The Test Kitchen
An additional novelty at Kadeau, is their recently inaugurated test kitchen. Set aside from the main dining room, it is a space for chef Nørregaard and Tim Davies, head of R&D, to set their creativity free.
During the day it operates as lab to develop new ideas and apply them to the ever-changing menus. In the evening, it is open for dinner, private gatherings or events. Set aside from the main dining room, it provides guests with a more intimate dining experience.
Built by Danish design and architecture firm Garde Hvalsøe, it was drawn and designed by Nicolai himself. In addition, all the restaurant’s ceramics are on display in the test kitchen and used by Nørregaard and Davies when working on the menus.
“This year, again, we have worked with Lov i Listed for the new ceramics and plateware. We always make new ceramics for the new seasons. I have spent hours and hours with Torben at Lov i Listed on the new ceramics. Each piece is made for us and for this exact menu, and compliment the menu beautifully” has shared chef Nørregaard.
Useful information
The Menu:
15 servings
3500 DKK
Wine Pairing:
7 pairings
2200 DKK
Non-alcoholic pairing:
7 pairings
1200 DKK
(Prices per person, VAT included)
About Nicolai Norregaard
Nicolai Nørregaard is the head chef and co-owner of restaurant Kadeau in Copenhagen(**) and Bornholm(*). He was born and raised on the island of Bornholm, a small Danish Island in the Baltic Sea.
As a child he was highly influenced by his grandfather’s cooking, who cultivated and grew his own vegetables, caught much of his own seafood and spent a lot of time carefully preserving ingredients so that he could remain self-sufficient during the winter months. This way of cooking – very traditional in Bornholm – is what inspired Kadeau, and is the foundation of Nicolai’s cooking.
Nicolai Nørregaard is widely acclaimed as one of the forerunners of the New Nordic movement, working hyper-seasonally in close connection with nature, bringing innovative advancements and new perspectives to the ancient art of preservation, and ultimately challenging and redefining attitudes towards traditional fine dining.
In recent years, Nicolai’s holistic approach to the notion of sustainability has gained wider recognition: since the very beginning of Kadeau in 2007, ensuring a friendly, fun and supportive work culture has been just as important as creating a beautiful and environmentally-conscious garden and restaurant.
Nicolai has been a guest speaker at Madrid Fusion, the European Food Summit and CARE’s Ethical Chef Days – as well being featured in the New York Times, Financial Times and Vogue.
About Kadeau
For over fifteen years, Kadeau has attracted discerning guests from around the world to experience the unique cuisine and story of Bornholm. The original restaurant, founded in 2007 on the southernmost tip of the island, features expansive views of the pristine beaches of Sømarken. A small island in the Baltic Sea, just off the coast of Sweden, Bornholm is essentially a large rock, with its very own special microclimate. Nicknamed the Sunshine Island, Spring sometimes takes a little longer to arrive but once the sun settles in, the island heats up and maintains its heat until late in the autumn, allowing fruits such as figs, peaches and mulberries to ripen completely.
With a dedicated kitchen garden nearby and access to forests, beaches and wild fields, Nicolai Nørregaard began to shape a cuisine with local terroir as the main focus. Kadeau Bornholm still remains the only restaurant on Bornholm with a Michelin star – and was awarded a Michelin green star in 2023.
Kadeau Copenhagen was founded in 2011 and is now located in the old Christianshavn area of the city. With two distinct seasons throughout the year, the kitchen showcases the best produce and food traditions of Bornholm with a clear focus on foraging and preservation. It has successfully retained two Michelin stars since 2018, as well as a Michelin green star since 2023. Today, Kadeau is open on Bornholm during the summer months – from May to September – and in Copenhagen all year round.
During the Growing Season in the spring and summer, fresh produce arrives from the garden and wilderness of Bornholm. At this time, the menu reflects the seasons on the island with native herbs and flowers, fruits and vegetables and other ingredients hand-picked by our team. During the Preservation Season in the darker months, the chefs delve into the rich larder which was prepared throughout the summer. The best of Scandinavian seafood and wild game is served with salted and pickled leaves, canned and fermented fruits and aromatic oils. Using over 50 different preservation techniques, by the end of summer, the team creates close to 15 tonnes of preserves.
More information
Kadeau Copenhagen
Wildersgade 10 B
1408 Kbh K
Open from Tuesday to Saturday.
PRESS CONTACT
We are at your disposal for any need related to this project; please do not hesitate to contact us.
Micaela Muro-Lara
micaelam@mateoandco.es
M +34 644 121 645
