The Danish are a hospitable lot. So hospitable, in fact, they have an official scheme devoted to entertaining strangers. It's called Meet the Danes and it enables tourists to hook up with local families. Last year, Meet the Danes arranged 3,000 meals for tourists in Danish homes. But one top chef has taken the idea a step further and is offering gourmet dinners in a private apartment.
Mette Martinussen set up 1.th restaurant (it's named after the number of the apartment) because she was interested in staging a dinner party in a more intimate environment. "We send out formal invitations, we ask all our guests to arrive at the same time and then we lead them through a 10-course meal. The idea is to make the guests feel like they are at a very exclusive dinner party."
The notion of the meal as theatre led Mette to open Madeleine's Food Theatre last month, a concept restaurant where food is served against a backdrop of moving walls and staged performances. But it is 1.th, hidden away in a nondescript apartment block near the trendy Nyhavn canal district, that seems the more intriguing of the two.
Mette has now handed over the cooking at 1.th to Anita Klemensen, who welcomed us into an ornate, chandeliered drawing room in the first-floor apartment. Anita gave up her job as a pasty chef because she wanted to work face to face with her guests. On this occasion, these were from Ecuador, Finland, the US and UK as well as a local family.
After champagne and just-baked breadsticks with tapenade, we were led into the open kitchen and dining area where we watched Anita and her four assistants as they worked. Anita weaved among the guests, offering animated descriptions of the food and accompanying wine as she served each of the 10 courses.
The meal kicked off with scallops and sautéed wild mushrooms with lemon butter, followed by fjord shrimp drizzled with hollandaise. Next up were guinea fowl breasts roasted in goose fat and served in a miniature pot with broad beans and a delicate broth. The piece de resistance was sommerbuk or summer deer, a seasonal specialty. For those with room, desserts included a tart strawberry foam and oozing platters of ripe goat's cheese with a spiced apricot and aniseed compote.
After dinner we were encouraged to linger in the library with a round of cognacs. As the other guests chatted, I quizzed Anita for some secret addresses of her own. Here are her favourites.
K Bar, Ved Stranden 20 (0045 3391 9222, k-bar.dk).
"A classy cocktail bar with melodic music in a light, airy setting."
Peter Lieps Hus, Dyrehaven 8 (+3964 0786, peterliep.dk).
"This tiny restaurant is in a traditional Danish homestead 10km north of the city where the serene elderly owner serves delicate slivers of smoked deer, seared Danish freshwater fish and rugbrød (rye bread)."
Søllerød Kro, Søllerødvej 35 (+4580 2505, soelleroed-kro.dk).
"This restaurant was where I trained. It is a restored barn and one of Denmark's finest restaurants offering classic Scandinavian fare with a French twist."
Estate Coffee, Dronning Olgas Vej 30 (+2811 1211).
"Barista of the Year Klaus Thomsen runs this new independent coffee shop. We collaborated on a recipe - a three-tiered bittersweet Symphonie coffee that layers Nicaraguan espresso with vanilla seed pannacotta and steamed French pressed coffee."
· 1.th, Herluf Trolles Gade 9 (+3393 5770, 1th.dk) Dkr1,100 (approx £100) per head with wine. Book three weeks ahead. Maximum 25 guests. Meet the Danes (meetthedanes.dk) costs about £35 for three-courses with wine and coffee. EasyJet (easyjet.com) flies Stansted-Copenhagen from £40.98. This year's Copenhagen Cooking Festival (copenhagencooking.com) runs August 19-27.
