A shower of stars for Danish restaurants at Michelin Guide 2023
This afternoon, the 2023 Michelin Guide for the Nordics was released. Six new Danish Restaurants were awarded Michelin stars for the first time, including one restaurant going from zero to two stars. This brings Denmark to a total of 43 stars, distributed on 31 restaurants.
Skyrocketing from zero to two
Among the newcomers was the restaurant Koan in Copenhagen that after being open for only two months, received two stars. The former noma and Relæ-chef, Kristian Bauman accepted the award on stage.
"For the past seven years, my curiosity about my birth country South Korea has grown stronger and in this connection I have tried to go on a discovery in the country to learn more about culture, history, people and traditions," Baumann said earlier this year in a press release.
The menu at Koan reflects Baumann’s culinary and personal journey by fusing creativity with respect of tradition, like white kimchi served in Korean ceramics that has integrated fragments of pottery from China's Qing Dynasty in the porcelain.
Small-town stars
Several of the new 1-star-restaurants are located in small towns in rural areas of Denmark. The restaurant at the seaside-hotel Villa Vest is located in Lønstrup that holds around 550 inhabitants, the ambitious Domæne is located in the small town of Gødstrup and the restaurant TRI is nestled among the white sandy dunes of the Danish west coast; a 7-table intimate dining experience, near the tiny town of Agger.
TRI-head chef Nicolas Min Jørgensen described his feelings on stage at the ceremony:
“Extremely proud. We’ve only been open one year. It has been an incredible busy year, and this has got to be the crown of opening a restaurant in a city of only 300 residents.”
Green Stars
As a testament to Denmark’s commitment to sustainability, a total of five Danish restaurants were awarded a new green Michelin Star. This star highlights restaurants at the forefront of the industry when it comes to their sustainable practices. Among these, the 2-Michelin starred restaurant Kadeau was awarded a green star for its restaurant in Copenhagen, as well as a green star for its original restaurant on the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. Denmark now has a total of 17 green Michelin stars.
Leading innovators
No new three-stars were awarded in The Nordic countries, but the two Danish restaurants noma and Geranium kept their three stars and their position as leading restaurants on the international gastro-scene. And even though noma has announced its closing as a permanent restaurant in 2024, innovative 2-starred restaurants like the eclectic Alchemist in Copenhagen and the refined Frederikshøj in Aarhus continues to carry on the torch of Danish gastronomy.
See the full list of Michelin starred restaurants in Denmark here.
Denmark, International PR Consultant