Chef serves authentic Nordic tastes
Print Edition
THE only truely Nordic restaurant in town, Pelikan, recently welcomed the renowned Danish Chef de Cuisine Yves Le Lay from Copenhagen’s Nimb to present an authentic Nordic gourmet experience hosted by Danish Consul General Nicolai Prytz.
Nordic cooking has gained international appeal in recent years thanks to its unique identity and commitment to sustainable, local products.
Besides the beautiful visual element of the Nordic style, the innovation comes from combining a strong focus on health, ethical production practices and by rethinking traditional Nordic ingredients in playful ways that explore new flavors and textures.
With experiences at Michelin-starred restaurants in Denmark and Switzerland, Le Lay has been head chef at Nimb for more than a year.
“Back in the 1960s, there was a wave of Nouvelle cuisine with great chefs dropping the heavy sauces and minimizing the components on the plate. And 15 years ago, the Nordic chefs came together, and made a manifest which was exactly the same,” the half-Danish, half-French chef said.
“The idea might not be new, but until then, only good products for fine dining were imported from France or Italy. Nordic style is about opening your eyes and exploring the region’s relatively undiscovered local seasonal products, looking at the wild, the plants, the berries, the fish in the sea… That, for me, is Nordic.”
“Nordic is local, fresh and minimalistic, a bit like Danish design,” the chef added.
According to Le lay, it took about 13 years for Nordic cuisine to find a place among the best cuisines in the world. “From a few restaurants initiating the wave to the farmers producing higher quality products, the whole Nordic concept is spreading everywhere to fine dining restaurants, supermarkets and consumers,” he said.
“Someone once commented that my food is contemporary Nordic with a French influence. First, it’s about using the best ingredients. Second, I play more with spices to give an exotic touch that is missing in Nordic cuisine — for example, star anise and coriander seeds or whatever to give an interesting touch.”
Le Lay brought his signature dishes from Nimb restaurant to Pelikan to share with local guests. “Unfortunately I’m not familiar with Chinese ingredients and producers so this time I’ve brought salmon from Iceland and some Danish ingredients to give a real Nordic experience and an introduction to Danish food innovation and style,” Le Lay said.
The head chef at Pelikan, Kasper Elmholdt Pedersen, said of Le Lay’s visit: “The concept was to use our ideas to come up with the best dishes possible and to bring out the best in each other while showing off some culinary ideas and techniques from an amazing famous chef.”
The highlights of the evening included the Cured Salmon with söl and fermented garlic, pointed cabbage slaw, horseradish and lemon verbena. Söl is an Icelandic red seaweed which is used instead of salt for curing.
The result was just impressive with a slight natural salty touch. The Icelandic Cod was another Nordic staple accompanied with winter cabbage and smoked mussel sauce. The chef also brought his own version of the traditional Danish Christmas classic dessert Ris á l’Amande, a rice pudding with toasted almonds and warm cherry sauce. Another dessert, Popping Sugar, was inspired by the fireworks at Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen.
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