Tuesday, September 16 1:00PM—1:45PM

Nordic Cuisine Main Stage Presentation

Biography

Hailed as one of the most influential chefs on the international gastronomic scene, culinary wunderkind René Redzepi, 31, has literally re-invented the Nordic kitchen. As head chef and owner of the 2-star Michelin sensation Noma in Copenhagen, Denmark, he has drawn on his own cultural heritage, offering an inventive blend of Nordic and Macedonian cuisine with a distinctive emphasis on regional specialties such as musk ox and local seafood.

Classically trained, Redzepi began his culinary career in 1993 at Copenhagen’s Restaurant Pierre André. Prior to opening Noma in 2003, Redzepi worked at the 3-star Le Jardin Des Sens in Montpellier, France; Ferran Adrià’s acclaimed el Bulli in Roses, Spain; Thomas Keller’s 3-star Michelin restaurant The French Laundry; and lastly, as sous chef under Chef Thomas Rode Andersen at Copenhagen’s famed Kong Hans Kælder.

Since the opening of Noma, Redzepi and his restaurant have received numerous awards and accolades. Since 2005, Noma has been continuously rated as best gourmet restaurant in Copenhagen by www.aok.dk. In 2007, Noma ranked number 15 out of 50 restaurants on Restaurant Magazine’s ”50 Best” restaurants in the world while Redzepi was voted “Best Chef Outside Italy” by Identita Golose. The restaurant was awarded its first Michelin star in 2005, it’s second in 2007. In 2006, Michelin recognized Redzepi as a “Rising Star.” This year, he was declared Honorary Chef by Madrid Fusion 2008.

Recipe

Mashed Potatoes with Lumpfish Roe and Crispy Chicken Skin
Chef René Redzepi of Noma – Copenhagen, Denmark
Adapted by StarChefs.com

Yield: 4 Servings

Ingredients

Lumpfish roe:
• 400 grams cleaned lumpfish roe
• Salt
• Sugar

Chicken skin:
• 4 large pieces chicken skin
• Salt

Bread Crumble:
• 2 pieces toast, frozen
• 4 tablespoons butter

Baked potatoes:
• 8 Ditta potatoes

Broth:
• ¼ liter heavy cream
• ¼ liter whole milk

To Assemble and Serve:
• Special equipment: potato ricer
• 4 tablespoons of chopped shallots
• 1 tablespoon of chopped chives
• 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon of chopped dill

Method

For the Roe:
Season the roe with salt and sugar, to taste.

For the Chicken Skin:
Preheat oven to 160ºC/320ºF. Clean the chicken skin and spread it flat on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Season with salt, place another piece of parchment paper on top of the skins, and top with another baking pan. Bake for 1 hour, until skins are golden in hue. Once crispy, break into smaller pieces.

For the Bread Crumble:
Tear the bread into fine pieces and toast in butter until golden brown. Season with salt.

For the Potatoes:
Peel the potatoes and boil in salted water until they are completely tender. Keep warm until serving.

For the Broth:
Bring the heavy cream and the milk to a boil. Keep warm until serving.

To Assemble and Serve:
In a large, deep plate or bowl, spoon out a bit of the roe and stick a few fragments of the crispy chicken skins into the roe. Place the bread crumble, shallots, and chopped herbs alongside the roe in a few straight lines. Press the potatoes through a potato ricer tableside, and drizzle the cream mixture over the food, letting the diners mash their own potatoes.