The Danish way

chef interview

Ask a non-Dane to name some famous foods from Denmark, and they’re likely to offer up something along the lines of pastries, herring or even butter cookies. We are all quite familiar with other European style of cooking but not so much with the Scandinavian especially Danish. This cuisine has a lot more to offer than one might imagine.

Adam Hummel Ebsen is 32-year-old Danish chef who has been cooking professionally for about 12 years. He started his apprenticeship at ‘Malling Kro’ and worked there for four years, which gave him a solid foundation in both gourmet and classic Danish, French and Nordic cuisine. He has been a head chef at ‘Traktørstedet Ludvigslyst’ which is located at a Danish countryside. In the young chef’s work experience, he has done a lot of different functions, including working several times at the fashion week in Berlin for the ‘Bestseller Company’ and even worked overseas. However, now he’s back to where he started to his modern and classic Danish Nordic gourmet cuisine.

“When I came back from Australia, I went back to ‘Ludvigslyst’ as the head chef again and spent more than three years there, making it one of the most recognised restaurants in the area. And then, not too long ago, I felt the need for some changes, so when I got the offer to come back to ‘Malling Kro’ as the head chef there, I took it,” tells Adam.

Recently, Adam was invited to Pakistan by the Danish Embassy. In an exclusive interview, You! talks to Chef Adam Ebsen and learns more about Danish cuisine and the chef himself...

You! What inspired you to take up cooking?

I just felt like I was never really good at sitting still at school. I liked doing stuff with my hands. I have always loved to eat food and my mom always made good food, so I figured it would be a fun thing to try and it turns out I really liked it. My mom definitely gave me the foundation of my interest in food and eating from home.

You! Did you always wanted to be a chef?

No, not really. I always liked to cook but I never really knew what I wanted to do with my life. Then I figured that I would just take up chef’s schooling, so my mom would also stop nagging about getting an education. (haha)

You! How many countries have you worked in so far?

I’ve worked in Australia for almost a year at ‘Rockpool Bar & Grill’ and it was very difficult to do that away from home. I learned about modern Australian cuisine. It was challenging but definitely helped me build some character. I worked a little bit in Norway but I hated it so much that I left after a week and went home. (haha)

You! How many chefs have you trained so far?

I think I’ve had six or seven.

You! What’s your signature dish?

It’s hard to say, really. When you’ve been cooking for a long time you go through a lot of dishes, but I like to cook with seafood a lot.

You! How would you define your style?

If I’m in my own environment and have all the ingredients and tools that I am used to, I would try to go for something simple and modern Nordic. But with the flavours, I’d try to incorporate a bit of French classic cuisine. I like to keep it simple with the plating and a lot of flavour. I use French techniques, so it’s a fusion. As long as it tastes good and looks good, I don’t need to label it.

You! Do you have a restaurant or would you like to open one soon?

I would like to open my own restaurant. I have thought about it for several years but I am just really bad with money so I need to sort that out. I’m saving for it and will be serving dumplings and Chinese dim sums.

You! Your style of cooking and the cuisine you want to serve in your future restaurant is quite different. Why is that?

Yes, absolutely different. I like doing modern cool cuisine as well, but if I were to open a restaurant like this, I would have to borrow five million Krones from the bank. The equipment, staff and ingredients are all really expensive. To make a gourmet restaurant, you either need someone with a lot of money or borrow crazy amount of money. Then you’d be working to pay off your bank loan and make only a little bit of money. With a small Asian dim sum restaurant, I would need a tenth of the equipment and the ingredients would be much cheaper as well. That’s something that actually can happen for me as the other thing is not doable.

You! Define Danish cuisine for us...

Traditional Danish cuisine is like comfort food. It’s really heavy with a lot of cream, butter and sugar. It is stuff that just makes you want to lie down and sleep (and which is not really healthy). But ever since Noma restaurant became number one in Copenhagen, new Nordic cuisine has been big for a while. They kind of invented this cuisine and started the whole wave with it. It’s about finding local produce and make gourmet food out of that.

You! Who is your favourite chef?

He’s a Danish chef Ronny Emborg but works in New York. He served one of the best meals I have ever had in a fine dining restaurant.

You! What is your comfort food?

Potato Leek Soup is one of my favourites.

You! Is this the first time you have visited Pakistan?

Yes, and I like it. The people are really friendly and it’s fun here.

You! What is your opinion about Pakistani food?

I like spicy food and I think Pakistani food has the right amount of spice.

You! Do you have a favourite Pakistani dish so far?

‘Dal Gosht’ with some yogurt, fried onions, chives and a bit of lime juice was really nice.

You! What is the difference between Pakistani and Danish cooking?

Mostly it is the spices we use. Traditionally in Danish cuisine, you use salt, pepper, lemon and butter. You don’t use all kinds of different spices to make the flavour.

You! One ingredient you cannot live without?

Salt.

You! What do you like best about being a chef?

I like the rush of a busy à la carte service.

You! What is the downside of being a chef?

Drink too much, sleep too little, eat too little, work too much and don’t get paid enough.

You! What are the ingredients of being a good chef?

Salt. (haha) But you would need passion and hard work.

You! Besides cooking, what are your interests?

In my spare time, I really like music, fishing, and mountain biking. I am very interested in music. I used to DJ five-six years ago but now I don’t have time to do it anymore. I actually don’t really have time to do much except see my girlfriend, get drunk and work. (haha)

You! What would you advise aspiring chefs?

If you really want to do it, you should find a really good place to work that makes really nice food and has a friendly staff.