Jordnær

Jordnær has received the type of attention in the last few years that very few restaurants get. It tends to raise both my curiosity and my doubts. Is it just a fad? I mean, how can a restaurant seemingly come out of nowhere and be discussed among the highest echelons of global cuisine.

I was to have visited a year earlier, but my reservation was cancelled when they decided to spend 4 months doing a pop-up in St. Moritz. "Just let me know when you will be back - then I will make sure to have a table ready for you ❤" emailed Tina, the chef's wife who manages front of house. I grabbed this reservation without any trouble, so no notification needed.

Didn't matter.

As soon as I sat down, the beaming and attractive Tina came right up my table. "We are so very glad you were able to be with us tonight. We felt just awful about cancelling your previous visit. This has been months in the making."

Wow. To steal from Will Guidara, this is truly "One size fits one" hospitality. It continued as Chef Eric Vildgaard, a former gang member, presented my first bite. "We are so happy you were able to reschedule and be here with us tonight."

Given his size and presence, I expected Chef Eric to be serious. Firm. Perhaps a bit off-putting. I couldn't have been more wrong. A total teddy bear, Chef Eric has one of the softest and most attracting personalities I have ever seen. You like him instantly, and hope he likes you back.

With 2 very minor exceptions, this meal was complete perfection. Mindblowing perfection. These are the experiences I look for. Even among the best restaurants in the world, it is difficult to find this level of execution - from the food, to the environment, to the service, which is just the right combination of an underlying formality with smiling, friendly, easy-going and informal staff, led by Tina who makes the entire place glow even brighter.

As with many meals of this type, it began with small bites - little tartlets of fish and caviar and the like, intended to wake your palate for the main events. Not here though. These first 6 bites (well...5 actually, the 6th absolutely fell apart on my all over the table. I'm still not sure if that's a pox on them or me. Though, given my proclivity to make a mess, probably me...) were some of the best food I have ever been served.

The crab tartlet was filled with crab and accented by Japanese torahashi spices at the perfect level, elevating and singing alongside the beautifully sweet crab.

The tuna and caviar tart is likely the best bite of food I have ever had. I do not exaggerate when I say it brought me to tears as I struggled to accept and internalize the waves of incredible flavor. A server came to ask if I enjoyed the bite and I struggled to respond without becoming embarrassingly emotional.

These bites were presented by the super young chefs who made them. This bite was presented by an Asian chef who couldn't have been more than 12 years old (kidding...). He gleefully described the compontents, smiling widely from ear to ear. Before leaving with a bow, he looked me in the eye and earnestly shared "I tried to make it beautiful for you."

Chef Pre-Teen: you absolutely did.

The meal continued with hit after hit. Save a few minor changes, this meal was sublime and executed with such intense precision and perfection. Simple yet beautiful, classically new Nordic (my favorite...) and delicious beyond words. The sourcing and treatment of each protein, the crafting of each sauce, the balance of each spice...this restaurant is simply at the highest level.

Wines were tremendous in their own right and beautifully paired. Check out the photo of the herbal infusion cart where they cut fresh herbs from the mini-garden (whichever you wish) and create a fresh tea to accompany the delicious final bites. They kept coming around and refilling the small teapot to be sure you had as much as you wanted. (I have never seen that happen anywhere.)

Desserts were capped off with a musk melon. You can read more details about it in my reviews of Jônt and Ômo, but let me tell you, this melon is spectacular. I was giddy watching it being presented to another table, knowing it would soon be headed to my own.

I felt certain that a restaurant of this caliber could be created only with the old-school heavy-handed kitchen management that ruled, if not by fear, at least by pressure. Chef Eric and Tina were in the vestibule, personally handing people their coats, taking photos and thanking each guest for being there. They were very kind to talk shop for quite a while.

He shared a lot about trying to create a team that was friendly and moving away from the traditional angry kitchen culture. There is no heirarchy in his staff. Chef Eric himself still washes the floor each morning with his team, reminiscent of Chef Nahid Ahmed from Luthun. You can feel it in this space. You can feel it in the staff. It is all such a reflection of him. 

I asked where he wants to head, now that he rightly received his 3rd star. He explained that his goal was to teach by his own example and help the culinary space move away from their typical unhealthy kitchen environments.

If anyone can do it, he can.

Jordnær lands at #1 all time. I tried to talk myself out of it. But if you asked me to pick one restaurant anywhere in the world to go enjoy a meal tonight, it would be here. It would be Chef Eric.

It would be Jordnær.