Nicolai Nørregaard

Nicolai Nørregaard is the co-founder of Kadeau, a restaurant founded in Bornholm, an island in the heart of the Baltic Sea, flying the Danish flag but just 37 kilometers from the coast of southern Sweden. The restaurant (today one Michelin star and another green one), open from May to September, was founded in 2007 on the southernmost tip of the island, by Nicolai (kitchen manager) with Rasmus Kofoed (dining room, just a case of homonymy with the chef of the Geranium in Copenhagen). They will then be joined by Magnus, brother of the second, ceo.

In 2011 the trio opened a second restaurant in Copenhagen, in the old area of ​​Christianshavn (another 2 Michelin stars and another green one). And in 2022, another important partner will sign up, the Korean-Canadian chef Kyumin Hahn, a boy with important internships between California and Fäviken.

Between the two tables of Kadeau, the greatest charm is certainly given by the island of Bornholm, an enormous rock in the middle of the sea, with a surface area that measures more than double the island of Elba and a special microclimate: nicknamed "Island of the Sun", spring sometimes takes a little longer to arrive but, once the sun settles, it warms up and maintains warmth until the end of autumn, allowing fruits such as figs, peaches and mulberries to ripen completely. An anthology of seafood, native herbs and flowers, fruit and vegetables and other ingredients collected by the team's foragers.

With a huge biodynamic vegetable garden nearby and a vast network of forests, beaches and wild fields, Nicolai Nørregaard shapes a cuisine centered entirely on terroir. An almost entirely self-sufficient approach that was suggested to him by his grandfather, a gentleman who cultivated and grew his own vegetables, caught most of the fish and spent a lot of time preserving the ingredients in order to overcome the difficulties of the winter months.

In the preservation processes of the darker months, the chefs draw on a rich pantry, prepared throughout the summer: seafood and game are served with salted and pickled leaves, together with fermented fruit and aromatic oil extractions. Over 50 different preservation techniques are used, which by the end of the summer give shape to as many as 15 tons of preserves. And there is daily work carried out alongside many virtuous local producers: some procure the rhubarb, some the sweet leeks, some the seaweed...

A microcosm waiting to be discovered, in the heart of the Baltic Sea, where the guys also run a high standard eco-campsite with sea view, a beautiful cellar of natural wines and a ham and cheese toastie that we still remember.