Denmark | world-food-thursdays

Country No. 36: Denmark

January 2018

Snaps and Rye, Ladbroke Grove

Attendees: Ben, Ellen, Maor, Kim, Lee, Poppy (venue chosen by Kim)

£55 a head

What better way is there to start another year of World Food Adventuring than at the home of Hygge, our bacon loving, village pillaging, flame-haired northern neighbours – the Danes. These days the Danes are a largely underrated nation, since shocking the world by winning the Euro’s in 1992 they drifted off the radar until 2003 when René Redzepi set up Noma, the world’s best restaurant through most of the second decade of the 21st century. Since then us Brits have rediscovered a love for all things Danish with Danish Noir media infiltrating our televisions, woolly jumpers from the Faroe Islands infiltrating our wardrobes and Scandi-stripped backed style infiltrating our kitchens.

Would Snaps and Rye prove to be a continuation of the British infatuation with Denmark, or much like Nicklas Bendtner, be underserving of the early hype?

Snaps and Rye is a small restaurant/ delicatessen near Notting Hill and was surprisingly empty given its location. Perhaps a symptom of post-Christmas excesses coming home to roost or perhaps a forewarning of the food about to be provided….

A diminished crowd made the trip to West London with Naomi still sadly MIA, Becks and PK having sitter issues and Calum and Eoghan engaged in their own World Food Odyssey in Brazil. Having said that those gastronaughts who did arrive were keen to make up for the lack of numbers by ordering as much food as possible. Pre-starters consisted of some delicious salt and pepper baked almonds, olives, cheese and some fiery pickled chillies. That was when we went into overdrive, perhaps due to overindulging in some craft Danish beer, named after the Tivoli attraction in central Copenhagen. Most diners went for the soft duck egg with kombu, crispy artichoke served in a tarragon broth which was presented in a simple style and tasted delicious. Ben, feeling adventurous, went for the seared snaps-Cured Salmon with Skyr + Treacle, Fennel, Apple and Hazelnuts. The salmon was beautifully presented and delicate in flavour. As a side note the waitress mentioned that it was sourced from the Faroe Islands, apparently the best source for salmon in the world. To complement the starters and mainly to avoid any FOMO we also ordered two helpings of the smoked cod’s liver which had a really intense flavour and texture and a sizable cheese platter.

As with the appetizer there was a consensus on the main course and most people ordered the pheasant breast, black pudding fritter with mushroom and sage and scorched gem lettuce. Unfortunately this is where the meal started to go downhill. It turns out that pheasant is best served rare, which most of our diners found pretty off-putting. While the kitchen was only too happy to give the pheasant a bit more cooking time there wasn’t much coming back for this dish, it’s similarity to chicken (in appearance) was just too much. Other main courses were sadly a bit bland and overpriced.

Undeterred we did still manage to order several desserts the standout of which was the Danish custard pudding. Finally, to prepare us for the journey back into the cold, dark, January evening, we ordered some flavoured Akvavit which was unanimously given the thumbs down.

Danish Facts:

There were so many facts…

Danes enjoy salty liquorice with a cold glass of milk
The UN World Happiness Report has rated Danes as the happiest people on earth two years in a row.
The Danish pastry that the world has come to know was introduced to Denmark in 1870s, when striking bread makers were replaced by Viennese immigrant bakers, with their repertoire of sweet breads, cakes, and puff pastries. In Denmark, these pastries are known as Wienerbrod (Viennese bread).
Danes are certified foodies. They are the fifth largest exporter of food in the world, despite their small population.
Denmark is famous for its liberalism, and this is best illustrated by “Christiania,” a hippy commune that sprung up in 1971. Allowed to remain a social experiment, it is still inhabited by about 900 people seeking an alternative lifestyle.
Traces of Danish occupation of the north and east of England survive in the names of over 2,000 town and villages which are of Scandinavian origin, such as places with names ending in –toft (homestead), -thorpe (hamlet), -beck (stream), -by (town), and -wick (creek).