”I always think of my ex-wives when I do this!” he laughs. The King wiggles the knife in the hinge of one of the shells. The fist-sized shells contain a slurp of oyster flesh the size of a chicken egg. I am reminded that the world’s largest oyster was found here a few years ago and listed in the Guinness Book of Records. It was as big as a size 44 shoe and weighed 1.6 kilos. The King lets me sample a few and then hands me my own knife. A cheap, industrial style knife that opens the oysters like a charm. We take in the scenary, the mineral taste of the Pacific oyster adding to the magic. He pours me another glass of champagne and then another. It is not a bad way to start the day. By mid morning I contemplate moving here on a permanent basis. The horizon is still blurry. This time it might be the champagne talking. Islands, it is often the case, are weird. Fanø, the very northernmost of the Danish Wadden Sea Islands, is no exeception. The island is located off the coast from the city of Esbjerg to which it is connected by a small ferry. It is only a twelve minute commute from Esbjerg to Fanø, but in high season the ferry costs 55 euros, making some tourists prefer other islands in the Wadden Sea connected to the mainland
plant, while Fanø looks like a hamlet from The Lord of The Rings. I half expect hobbits from The Shire. Fanø, it turns out, is a great place to get married – and get married fast. Since 2013 local authorities have launched a programme that attracts foreign nationals wanting to get married in an EU-country with a fast and efficient bureaucracy: last year 400 weddings between nonDanish nationals took place on Fanø. It not only brands the island as a romantic holiday destination, it also provides the island with an income as each couple on average spends over 1,000 euros. According to Kaas Krog the island has always kept an open mind and welcomed the outside world: ”There are more than 30 different nationalities living here on Fanø. It’s a small community with a cosmopolitan mindset,” she says. Perhaps this explains why voters in a small and seemingly provincial hamlet like Sønder Ho on the island voted yes – as opposed to the majority of Danes – when Denmark in December 2015 rejected the adoption of EU legislation on justice and home affairs. The Wadden Sea is not just a grand scale buffet for migratory birds. Humans dig in as well and have done so historically: since the middle
My respect for the King increases tenfold as he uncorks a chilled bottle of champagne and starts opening oysters with a pointy knife. ”I always think of my ex-wives when I do this!” he laughs. with cheaper alternative ties like dams or bridges. But even if Fanø’s 3,300 inhabitants mainly live off tourism, they are okay with that. Ask any local if they want a bridge to Esbjerg and the answer is likely to be a big fat no. ”There’s much identity and history in that a stretch of water that separates us from the mainland. We are proud islanders,” says Kristine Kaas Krog, a local council member and chairman of the committee for business, environment, and technology. As you cross that stretch of water on the local ferry it quickly becomes apparent just how big a leap that is, mentally as well as physically. The industrial harbour of Esbjerg in the background looks like Springfield, the fictional town of The Simpsons with its massive power 176
ages farmers have used the marshes for raising cattle and sheep, which were traded with Germany and The Netherlands in return for goods and specimens such as cinamon, cloves, nutmeg, and silks. Ultimately it is what turned small towns such as Ribe and Tønder into merchant cities and regional hubs. Today lamb from the local marshes is once again in demand in gourmet restaurants in Copenhagen. The lambs graze on wild herbs and grass that is regularly flooded by the tide, acquiring a unique aromatic and salty flavour. Besides the oysters there are the Wadden Sea shrimp, razor clams, and cockles, which have all made this remote part of Western Jutland a gourmet destination. Perhaps this explains how a tiny island like Fanø attracts visitors who end up staying
indefinitely. Like chef Paul Cunningham, once in charge of the gourmet restaurant The Paul in Copenhagen, today the chef at Henne Kirkeby Kro, a little thatched inn in a sleepy hamlet which was just awarded one star in the 2016 Michelin Guide. According to Cunningham he is ”truly besotted with the place.” ”The good, local produce and the people here are what make all the difference to me,” he says, sitting in a soft couch in the inn that has become a second home to him. A delicious lemon cake and hot cup of coffee sit in front of us. Cunningham enjoys not only the natural surroundings, but also the fact that he has all he needs in his own backyard. From the marsh lamb to the Wadden Sea oysters. ”Everything sounds more idyllic over here and you know what? It is more idyllic. I’ve become a more normal person since I started working here. I wake up happy. I can’t see myself going back to Copenhagen,” he says. Last year he and his staff were invited to do the dinner at the MAD food event, a gastronomic conference organized by René Redzepi of Noma. For a small-scale inn with only twelve tables, that is a big acknowledgement. Still, he makes a point of not doing a Nordic concept cuisine. ”Why does everything have to be raw, salted, or fermented?
We can’t all do burned leeks, split buttermilk, or rapeseed. Rapeseed tastes like rancid butter, like poo, it goes off instantly! What’s wrong with simple, honest cooking?” he asks rhetorically. Instead he aims for a kitchen based mainly on locally sourced products, tempered with ideas and ingredients from the many countries he visits every year. ”I’m not re-inventing the wheel here. I don’t have a lab or a test kitchen. In fact, my hashtag ought to be #startfuckingcooking or #lessexperimentationmorecooking,” he says drily. Cunningham smiles, looks out the window and then back towards the kitchen. It is late in the afternoon and the twelve tables at Henne Kirkeby Kro are all booked, as they have been since he took over the shop in 2012. He looks content. He also looks like someone who needs to #startfuckingcooking – #rightfuckingnow!
Henne Kirke By Kro Strandvejen 234 6854 Henne Hennekirkebykro.dk
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