As promised, some of the better pics from Saturday’s meal. We’re all still recovering from the exertions of the evening so it’s taken us a little longer than we wanted, but better late than never!

Langoustine, caviar, langoustine royale, langoustine broth.

Raw scallops, mussel juice, sea perslane, beach mustard, yarrow flowers.

Mackerel, fennel, dashi, powdered bonito, fennel fronds.

Plating up the 72 hour slow-cooked beef ribs, yellow beetroot, chanterelle and cep sauce, wood sorrel, button onions.

Cooling the dessert plates with liquid nitrogen.

Also served were the sweetbreads with hazelnuts, red currants, celeriac and chickweed, and honey ice-cream with parsnip sponge, wild parsnip seeds, shattered honey and malt soil.

18 sated guests.

The team at 3am.

Saturday wouldn’t have been possible without the help of a lot of people. So in no order of preference, huge thanks to the following:

Andreas Wiking, for letting us use his terrific studio space

Sabrina Weinrich, for her wonderful work on our visual identity

Pontus Elofsson, for supplying and pairing the wines

And of course the chefs, Ben Greeno, Rob Martin and Lars Williams with help on the night from Hannah Grant.

We should also thank all of our wives and girlfriends who showed us such support and patience during our frenzied preparations.

Finally, as we mentioned previously, the planning for CPH Meal #2 is already underway and we need your help to find a venue. We’re even chucking in a sweetener: the person who finds the venue eats for free. So get hunting and get in touch at cphmeal at gmail dot com.

Now that we’ve had a couple of days to draw breath we think it’s safe to say that our first CPH Meal was a success. The initial feedback we’ve had has been overwhelmingly positive and the whole team were delighted with how it turned out.

We’ll have a fuller write-up on the site tomorrow as well as some more pics. For now we’d like to get the ball rolling for CPH Meal #2. We’re throwing it over to you lovely readers for suggestions on where the second meal should be held. We’re looking for interesting spaces in and around Copenhagen with cooking facilities.

Hit us with your thoughts at cphmeal at gmail dot com

Aaron and Chris

Yesterday Ben met wine expert and Noma sommelier Pontus Elofsson who kindly agreed to pair some wines with our menu. Pontus was voted best sommelier in 2007 by Spiseguiden, and before his time at Noma worked at Era Ora and Kroghs Fiskerestaurant.

You may notice that, along with some more familiar grape varieties, there are two slightly more unusual choices. We’re very excited about the paring of Saki with the mackerel, and you’ll also see the inclusion of some very special artisan rose hip wine to go with the cheeses.

• NV Champagne Extra-brut Sève Rosé de Saignée, Serge Horio, Aube
• 2008 Riesling Kabinett trocken, Groebe, Rheinhessen Germany
• Michisakari Junmai Ginjo-Hojo, Japan
• 2008 von den Terrassen 1958, Martin Arndorfer, Strass Austria
• 2006 Langhe nebbiolo, Roberto Voerzio, La Morra Italy
• Rose hip wine, Niels and Kitty Clausen, Fredensborg Denmark
• 2004 welschriesling Ausbruch, Gut Oggau, Burgenland Austria

We aim to give a more in-depth introduction to the wines when we serve them along with a little insight as to why they were chosen.

Cheers,

Chris.

The first CPH Meal is only days away, so we thought you’d like to see the menu before you eat. We’ll be giving detailed explanations of each dish on the night, and the wine pairings are still being finalised, but this should be enough to satisfy your curiosity and whet your appetites:

• Scallops, beach plants, mussel juice.
• Mackerel, fennel, Dashi.
• Sweetbreads, celeriac, hazelnuts.
• Beef ribs, mushrooms, wild garlic.
• Ragstone, Stinking Bishop, Cheddar (tbc), Høgelundgaard Sønderjysk Blå, Oatcakes.
• Honey, Parsnips, Seeds.

Thanks,

Chris

Chris and I took a trip to the Lake District this weekend, taking the opportunity while we were there to pay a visit to the Hesket Newmarket Brewery. This ‘little brewery with the big heart’ was faced with closure just a few years ago but has pulled itself back from the brink. Counting just a handful of local pubs among its customers and with the previous operators set to pull out, a cooperative of passionate locals stepped in and reversed the brewery’s fortunes. Today, demand for its beers is soaring and it’s once again a source of pride for the local community.

With orders pouring in from across the country, we asked the owners if they would consider expanding their operation. Their response was unequivocal: not if it meant compromising the uniquely high standards their beers have set to date. That’s the kind of commitment to excellence and authenticity we love and admire.

A big part of Hesket’s success can be attributed to the sterling efforts of master brewer ‘Wish’, pictured above. Wish was kind enough to talk us through the brewing process, revealing some of his recipes and techniques as he did so, leaving us with a palpable sense of his dedication to his craft. After chatting with Wish we walked round the corner to The Old Crown Pub and tasted some of his beers, all of which were exceptional.

We’re delighted to be able to offer some Hesket Newmarket beers on Saturday, and we think they’ll be the perfect way to round off the evening.

Cheers,

Aaron and Chris

PS: Full menu details will be on the site tomorrow.

The date of our first meal is rapidly approaching and we’ve been busy sourcing ingredients. On Monday Ben and I paid a visit to one of Copenhagen’s best fishmongers,Jacob Kongsbak Lassen, out in the meatpacking district.

Kongsbak Lassen is a family-owned company and last year celebrated its 125th anniversary. It’s where chefs from many of Copenhagen’s best restaurants come to select their fish and it’s easy to see why.

Ben introduced me to the duty manager, Jesper, and he whisked us into the service elevator and down to the freezer facility. The chefs are planning a mackerel dish for the 19th and Jesper set to work, seeking out the best specimens.

He rejected the fish from the first box he found, explaining that the best and freshest mackerel retain a rainbow-like sheen after they’ve been caught. The next fish were much better, he said, and as he held one up to the light, I could see the kaleidoscope of colours playing across the scales.

Jesper explained that these mackerel had been caught in Norwegian waters using a more refined, far less aggressive netting technique that, unlike trawling, keeps the fish alive for longer. The result is  fresher, more tender fish on the plate.

The fish selected, we said goodbye to Jesper and I left Ben pondering how best to do it justice on the night.

Cheers,

Aaron.

From left to right: Rob, Ben and Lars.

Ben Greeno, from England

Ben started life as a chef at 21 Queen Street in his hometown of Newcastle before moving south to Nottingham’s Sat Bains where, under Sat’s watchful eye, he soon flourished, making sous chef in rapid time.

In 2005, the need for pastures new took Ben to Denmark where, in a whirlwind year, he would work first at Kommandanten, then Noma (Ben was the very first chef employed at the then unknown venture), and finally The Paul.

This was followed by a year in France and some hard labour at Le Grand Hôtel d’Uriage, before heading back to Denmark where Mads Refslund made him chef de partie at MR.

A year later, Noma again came calling and Ben now finds himself jointly heading up the pastry section of the world’s third best restaurant.

Rob Martin, from America

Rob’s professional life began in San Francisco at the much-loved but now sadly defunct Rubicon. Next came an enjoyable period at Frisson (also now closed for business!), before Rob decided it was time to head east.

In New York, Rob enhanced his credentials under the tutelage of two of that city’s best-known restaurateurs, first Daniel Boulud at Daniel and then David Bouley at Danube.

Rob and his Danish wife then chose to raise their family in Copenhagen, moving to Denmark in 2006. Rob would find work first at Noma, then Gastronomique and then MR where he and Ben first crossed paths.

Rob is currently chef de partie at aoc (formerly Prémisse).

Lars Williams, from Denmark and America

Lars Williams has worked at some of the world’s finest restaurants. As well as Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck (where he met his wife), he has plied his trade at Aquavit in New York, and WD-50, perhaps the most innovative kitchen in America.

He has also been employed as a head chef on a yacht travelling the Pacific where his only ingredients were what he could forage and what he could catch.

He is currently chef de partie at Noma.

After a hard day in the pub, our chefs have settled on a menu. Six courses, six glasses of wine, snacks and a glass of champagne to start.

Afterwards there will be freshly brewed coffee and ales from the UK’s Hesket Newmarket Brewery (Chris and I will be there this weekend to pick up supplies!).

We will post the full menu up later this week but you can probably get a few hints from the picture above!

As always, any questions or invite requests to cphmeal@gmail.com

Cheers, Aaron and Chris

Hello everybody, just a quick post to say thanks for checking out the site. We’ve been asked to reveal some more details of our first Meal so here goes.

It will take place on September 19 and tickets will cost 1,200DKK. We’ll be updating this blog with lots more details about the menu as well as biographies of our chefs. For now, to register your interest, just drop us a mail at cphmeal@gmail.com. Because of the limited number of places, we’ll have to operate a first come first served system, but it is our intention to make this a regular event, so it’s definitely worth letting us know if you’re interested.

Thanks, Aaron

Last Sunday morning, Ben, one of our chefs, took me to Amager Strand to hunt for some naturally occurring ingredients that might make their way into some of the dishes at CPH Meal. I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of foraging, and although I’ve been to the beach at Amager numerous times, my ignorance of the richness of the plant life there means it usually blurs into a green mass in my peripheral vision.

On the way to the beach we made a short detour to the kolonihavehuser tucked away at the back of Holmen to taste the seed heads of the Wild Parsnips that grow there. This unassuming plant has a very strong parsnip flavour with an almost eucalyptus aftertaste. Ben talked about using these in a dessert and I can certainly imagine this intense flavour cutting through the sweet, creamy taste of ice cream or the acidity of fruit.

After cleansing our palates with a couple of plums we found hanging over the fence of one of the kolonihavehuser, we moved on to the beach. There we tasted the flower and pods ofSea Peas. The flower in particular had a very surprising taste. An initial burst of sweetness followed by a delicate pea flavour. Ben thinks this might be an interesting accompaniment to snails.

Other herbs we found included Sea Purslane, Yarrow and Sea Plantain – all within a few metres of each other. Our little excursion to the beach certainly opened my eyes to the possibilities of finding culinary inspiration in the most unexpected locations.

Cheers,

Chris