The event was held at Restaurant Salon in the centre of Copenhagen near the Royal Palace of Amalienborg. The chef, Claus “The Red” Christensen, has had restaurants in the city centre for almost 50 years. He has always been the guarantee for delivering a real “solid” meal - old school style.

On arrival we had time to mingle whilst enjoying a welcome drink with canapés. Then Claus declared “If you want to have a hot meal you have to get seated!”

Chef Claus gave us a brief introduction to the menu and the story of the dishes. One of his signature dishes on the menu was turbot in puff pastry known as “The Whale”. People keep forgetting the name of the dish and started calling it “The Whale” as the portions are big. Our serving was approximately a seventh of the main course portion. It was still big!

MENU

Jerusalem artichoke soup with truffle
Sancerre ‘Le Chêne Marchand’
Lucien Crochet - Loire Valley

Paté en croûte - sour, sweet and strong
Moulin-à-Vent 2018
Philippe Pacalet - Cru Beaujolais

Baked turbot in puff pastry
spinach and lobster sauce
Bourgogne Rouge
Hubert Lignier - Burgundy

Côte de boeuf
bordelaise and béarnaise sauces
Châteauneuf-du-Pape ‘Télégramme’ 2019
Domaine du Vieux Télégraph, Rhône Valley

Glazed pancakes
apple compote and Calvados
Fonseca 10-year old Tawny Port

Coffee
Sweets

Between the main course and dessert, Chancelier Thorbjørn Moy (formerly a Grand Officier Maître Rôtisseur) summoned Chef Claus. Thorbjørn summed up what an achievement he had delivered for the Danish gastronomic scene over almost 50 years. Chef Claus has never compromised his way of cooking. When other people started decorating their dishes with tweezers, Chef Claus relied firmly on old craftsmanship where you have texture and flavour. His dishes are beautifully arranged where it makes sense.

At the end of dinner, the assembled brigades were given the appreciation by Thorbjørn. He added further highlights not mentioned earlier. The pâté en croûte was beautifully made. Had a student chef made this for a final exam it would have scored the top marks.

Thorbjørn also liked that second helpings of the steak were offered. More common in rural areas not so often in the centre of Copenhagen. The servers were very friendly and smiling. They took time to chat and tell interesting anecdotes along the way.

Based on the feedback, Bailli Délégué Jørgen Krenk awarded staff the Bailliage of Denmark pin for their first-class service at a Chaîne event.

Torben Søemod
Conseiller Gastronomique