Scan Magazine | Special Theme | A Taste of Denmark
Delicious fresh produce from Restaurant Domestic's supplier Sommergrønt, a Hadsten-based organic producer of fruit and vegetables founded in 1990. Photo: Sommergrønt
Reaping the benefits of hard work and teamwork Just two years after opening their Restaurant Domestic, four of Aarhus’s bright young culinary sparks won a Michelin star for their laid-back, welcoming, yet luxurious take on local, Nordic cuisine. 2018 has seen them awarded a star once again and one of the head waiters, Christian Neve, has taken gold in the Nordic waiting championships. They put their success down to hard work, dedication and their close cooperation with passionate local farmers. By Louise Older Steffensen | Photos: Jesper Rais
In 2015, Christian Neve teamed up with fellow waiter Ditte Susgaard and chefs Morten Frølich Rastad and Christoffer Norton, all of them friends and colleagues from the Aarhus culinary scene. In their twenties, all four were already well established, but young enough to have been trained under the influence of the New Nordic movement, which sparked global interest in Danish and Nordic cooking and emphasised the use 58 | Issue 114 | July 2018
of local, in-season and sustainable ingredients.
Sustainable suppliers “The relationships with our suppliers are crucial,” Neve explains. “They’re fruitful partnerships for both sides and a lovely way of adding to the local community.” The quartet’s commitment to staying local was apparent from the start, implied even in the naming of Restaurant Domestic.
“At a fundamental level, the people who grow the food, and who are out there on the fields with the crops or animals every day, have a much more intricate understanding of each year’s produce than anyone else. We’re able to go back and forth to them, learning directly from the source, to get the best out of these wonderful foods.” For Neve and his team, something like asparagus can be just as exciting and flavourful as caviar. “Ours have been nurtured by Kaj from Djursland, who has dedicated his life to growing asparagus. With his help and with the chefs’ talent in the kitchen, simple dishes can be spectacular,” Neve argues. This summer, Restaurant Domestic became only the third Danish Michelin-star winner to be certified with the Organic