Nicolai Nørregaard, Kadeau: Crafting three stars

The plates are designed by him. So is the glasware. 

Nicolai Nørregaard designs a new set of ceramics every year with people he has known for a long time. The glassware is made inhouse too. We went to Copenhagen for a chat with him in the test kitchen at Kadeau. This is a talk about craft and about a chef who refuses to stay in the kitchen.

He just got his third Michelin star. We wanted to know what really goes on behind it.

It starts on the walls. Old dishes stay up as a reference library. The menu changes twice a year and every new idea has to stand next to what came before. It is a hard cycle and he runs it without shortcuts.

Nicolai is CEO and creative director. He shapes the flavor, the plating and the room around it. In collaboration with V1 Gallery, artists come to Bornholm for residencies and their work is installed in the restaurant with the seasons.

Twice a year it all shifts together. Food, plates, glass, art and interiors. A new feeling every time, but always rooted in the island.

Bornholm is where it comes from. Smokehouses, preservation, gardens and a deep craft tradition. Cooking became his fastest way to make something. You can taste it right away.