September 2009
Copenhagen - Denmark
http://www.berntsen-exclusive.com

This time, I had chosen to invite my 10-year-old gourmet stepson on what would hopefully be a gastronomical experience.

Before the arrival, my stepson (Fredrik) has proclaimed that he did not eat mushrooms, oysters or sweetbread, and since three of the dishes on the menu contained these three things, it did not seem likely that he would have a great food experience.

After having arrived in a taxi, as I would probably be drinking both wine menus, we had a champagne aperitif followed by the first dish, consisting of oysters with horseradish, celery, apple and rye bread. Fredrik politely tasted the dish and exclaimed”This tastes awesome”, and gulped down the rest of the dish with relish.

The next dish was a perfectly roasted scallop with seaweed, rose hips, sesame and almonds, which also goes down at a remarkable speed, as the taste experience of a perfectly composed dish encourages you to eat until there is nothing left.

It was now time for the Samurai’s favourite dish, which on this evening consisted of Foie gras with honey cake, plums and teriyaki. Here, I have to stop and add that this is without a doubt one of the three best dishes I have ever tasted, and the best dish that Fredrik has tasted during his short 10-year life. Fredrik and I had been fooling about, laughing and talking up till now, but suddenly, we were both quiet while having a true gastronomical experience. This dish is so good that it can easily be served as first course, side dish, main course or dessert.

Then, the time had come for Gris´ basse (piggy), as they call it at the restaurant, with veal sweetbread, chestnuts and cocoa. To follow a Samurai’s favourite dish with piggy can be quite a task, and even though the dish was perfectly put together, Fredrik and I both agreed that out of the 7 dishes, the pig was the dish we could have done without, if we had been asked to choose. But what was most important to me, was that Fredrik ate the veal sweetbread with a big smile on his face.

The 5th dish was also the third thing that Fredrik did not eat before visiting Berntsens Ballade, i.e. mushrooms with soil and herbs, but he does now. As I have always said to my wife, if we just bother to cook with some love and respect for the profession, and also serve the food in a nice and appetising way, we can get all kids to eat anything, as we eat with our eyes before our mouth. Fredrik ate every little mushroom, and once again, he said”this tastes awesome”.

The two final desserts were both”crowd pleasers”, and were a perfect ending to an amazing food experience.

So to all of you who think that your children do not eat this and that, give them a gastronomical experience, and you will change the way the view food forever.

The wine menu for these deliciously composed dishes had been put together by the young talented owner Alexander Berntsen. When I say young, it is because both owners are only 24 years old, and Alexander exhibits the same amount of talent as a sommelier as Jonathan Berntsen exhibits in the kitchen.

As you have probably noticed by the stars I have given, the service was perfect, and you could immediately tell that you were dealing with trained employees of one of the better restaurants.

If you do not wish to try the menu, which is changed every three weeks, Berntsens Ballade also has a Bistro with the well-known classics Moules Mariniere (clams steamed in white wine), Beouf Bearnaise and old-fashioned apple cake.

In conclusion, I should mention that the price level is not as high as at Søllerød Kro, Noma and Kong Hans, but the ”value for money” is right up there with those three restaurants, and I will soon come back again, and again.