Thorsten Schmidt is a young brain in tune with naturalist Scandinavian cuisine, which is so fashionable these days. His vegetable garden offers 184 varieties he transfers to his dishes, which are distinguished from the others thanks to the green spirit and the unknown flavours they radiate. His utterly reflective constructions are always elegant and harmonic. This perfectionist looks at the landscapes with erudition and imagination; never with audacity. Everything is impeccable. Take the appetizers, for example. The dill yogurt is the best “sour double cream” we remember tasting. The rosehip butter changes the story of butter without altering its texture, giving it an orange tonality and a refreshing touch due to the acidity of the fruit. The small roasted potatoes filled with caviar are synonymous with rigor and top quality product.
The raw crayfish, apparently entire, but actually cut into four or five pieces before being reconstructed, is fabulous. An utterly vivid exquisiteness. It is served together with an emulsion of compacted shells and cucumbers, pieces of the vegetable, wild redcurrants or gooseberries. The top is garnished with extreme talent and vegetal colour: Scandinavian watercress, seaweeds, herbs, flowers, … that embellish and give some fantasy to His Majesty the crayfish.
Thorsten Schmidt raises the flag of humility and rustic style. He demonstrates an innate gift for the latter, which is really velvety and silky. His exquisite taste and balance also show up through the new season’s small potatoes cooked with smoked egg yolk and served on dehydrated straw with Svendbo cheese shavings, spices and others complements. A peasant dish transformed into an extremely erudite delight.
Surprise is present is all the work of this wise chef. Deer tartar, garnished with a cutlet, imitating the latter, seasoned with a pleasant and aromatic mix of local spices made in front of the guest, magnified with two traditional sauces that have been reinvented: wild pig stock and wild berries vinegar; terrific! A new and raw version of the classical game cuisine.
The passion for green fields also reaches the desserts: in a mortar, the guest grinds a bunch of aromatic herbs, takes out the chlorophyll and uses the whole to add a refreshing hint to a creamy and neat wheat ice cream. Taste the latter first, you will be gratefully surprised! This obsession for green wood leads to other intense experiences, such as the oak ice cream served with its shavings, which make wood invade both nose and mouth.
The young Thorsten Schmidt is destined for getting a 9/10. A mark he is already able to reach, actually.
