Greetings from Charlotte

Finally, summer is here. While writing this the sky looks rather grey but we are now in June, and that means summer to me. There have already been some very warm days and it is great to see how guest enjoy drinks, cocktails and food on the terrace. We have noticed our guests like to eat earlier in the summer (partly due to Royal Albert Hall performances) and we therefore open the kitchen from 5pm now. With the Proms soon to start, it will allow everyone to catch their favourite concert.

Staying true to our sustainable roots we have just introduced a new summer a la carte menu. We have also recently started changing the set menu every 2-3 weeks in order to offer our more regular guests different choices and keep using fresh seasonal produce. You can find these menus here. Finally, May was busy in our catering and we would like to thank particularly Fritz Hansen and Nordea for offering their guests Madsen canapes and open sandwiches.

Swedish Midsummer Menu

Friday, June 25 is the Swedish Midsummer Eve. Midsummer Eve is widely celebrated in Sweden with outdoor activities such as singing and dancing around the Maypole. As usual food and drink are important aspects of the festivities which in this case involve a lot of herring, salmon, potatoes, chives, sour cream and strawberries. Not to forget the Akvavit !

At Madsen we will be celebrating Midsummer with a 4-course set menu on Friday, June 25. The menu features the above mentioned traditional staples and we have already called the florists to ask for "field flowers" and leafy branches to decorate with. Over the weekend, Saturday and Sunday June 26-27, we will be offering a 2-or 3-course set lunch menu with marinated herring and cumin potatoes, Skagenröra on toast and to finish off with strawberries and cream. Both menus will be in addition to our a la carte menu. You can find the full menus here.

Karolina and her team

As many may have noticed our restaurant manager has changed. Heidi, who was with Madsen for nearly a year, decided to follow her dreams and travel around the world. This has meant Karolina Vithen has now joined our team as the new Restaurant Manager. Karolina fits the bill as she has a Danish mother and Swedish father. However; Karolina grew up in the south of Sweden where her parents were running boutique hotels. She has since studied hospitality management in The Hague hotel school in Holland and undertaken internships with the Four Seasons in Dublin and Swissotel in London. Karolina is very interested in wine, and she takes great pride in delivering excellent customer service.

In Karolina's Front of house team you will find Maria, Matilda and Lovisa. They are all Swedish and they have come to London to explore and enjoy the city. Maria has been with Madsen since March 2010 and her home-town is Gothenburg in Sweden. Maria is a very good dancer and specialises in ballet and contemporary dance.
Lovisa is also from Gothenburg that is the second largest town in Sweden. Lovisa has trained in hospitality in Sweden and prior to Madsen she worked in the Gentlemen's Club in Mayfair. Lovisa joined Madsen in January 2010 which means she has been with us in both winter, spring and summer now. Lovisa is the most experienced of the waitresses and she is good to teach others her skills.
Matilda is from Uppsala, just north of Stockholm. Matilda has worked at Madsen since February 2010 however, she will shortly go back to Sweden to study economics. Matilda has been a great asset to the restaurant and we will all miss her.

Restaurant Noma - best in the world

The world's best restaurant is now officially Danish! It is amazing considering this was quite unthinkable just a few years ago when Restaurant Noma first came to life. In April this year Noma was named 'The World's best restaurant' when the British Restaurant Magazine announced its annual top 50 restaurants in the world. Noma beat the ever popular El Bulli in Spain, and last year's number 2: Heston Blumenthal's "The Fat Duck" in Bray. It is highly noticeable that Noma's reputation has helped to put the Nordic cuisine and culture on the culinary map with many chefs now experimenting with Nordic products and flavors.

A little about Restaurant Noma - Noma is located in Christianshavn, central Copenhagen, where it occupies a newly renovated warehouse building. Here they specialise in a Nordic gourmet cuisine, where typical methods of cooking and fine Nordic produce are put together in an innovative and gastronomic approach. The head chef is called Rene Redzepi who has previously trained at El Bulli and Jardin des Sens. Rene and his team regularly travel around the Nordic regions to find new ingredients that are later transported into town for use in their innovative dishes. Examples are Horse mussels, deep-sea crabs and langoustines from the Faeroe Islands, which are living right up until the moment they are served to the visitors. You can find out more on their website.

Recipe of the month

Danish Koldskål

Koldskål is a typical Danish summer dessert. It is best enjoyed when the sun is shining and you need something to refreshing. It can best be described as a buttermilk sauce made on egg yold and vanilla. It is usually served with "Kammerjunker" biscuits and fresh fruit such as strawberries.

For the Koldskål you will need: 1 liter buttermilk, 3 egg yolks (ideally pasteurised), 4 tbsp sugar, 2 tbsp vanilla sugar, 1 vanilla pod, 5 strawberries

To make: Whip the egg yold together with the sugar until you have a foam. Add the butter milk and whip the mixture for a couple of minutes. Rinse and cut the strawberries into bite-size and serve on top of the Koldskål together with Kammerjunker biscuits (see recipe below).

For the Kammerjunker biscuits: 1/4 kg flour, 2 tbsp baking powder, 1.5 tbsp vanilla sugar, 75 g sugar, 75 g butter, 1 egg, 50 ml whipping cream, 1 vanilla pod

To make: Mix flour, baking powder, sugar, vanilla sugar and the vanilla from the vanilla pod in a bowl. Melt the butter and let it cool. When cool, add the butter to the flour mixture. Add the whipping cream and knead the mixture to a soft dought. Leaving in the fridge for at least one hour. Roll out the dough to 1cm thickness and cut out circles that are 3cm in diameter. Place the circles on a baking tray with baking paper. Bake for 7 minutes in the oven at 200 degrees. After 7 minutes, take them out and cut them vertically in half and bake them for another 6 minutes. Let them cool and they are ready to be enjoyed with your Koldskål.

1001 stories of Denmark

How much do you actually know about Denmark and its cultural heritage? Well, now there is no excuse for not having a story or two up your sleeve. Last month, The Heritage Agency in Denmark launched an extensive website about Danish cultural heritage that is called “1001 stories about Denmark”. Visitors are invited to read and listen to stories from all over Denmark – from the Iron Age settlement Sorte Muld “black soil” on the island of Bornholm to the Black Horse Cavern in the Copenhagen borough of Vesterbro. On top of this you can add or recommend your favorite locations in Denmark, comment on the existing places and stories, upload images and videos, as well as write new stories to keep the site alive. Definitely worth a try.

Below is a photo of Vallø Castle, south of Copenhagen. You can find the 1001 Danish stories here

What's on in the area

Natural History Museum
The Deep Exhibition (28th May – 5th September): Plunge into the fascinating deep sea world of The Deep, the new exhibition at the Natural History Museum. Discover the bizarre creatures and harsh habitats of an environment less explored than the surface of the moon. Find out more here

V & A Museum
Modern Masters: Matisse, Picasso, Dali and Warhol (1st May – 23rd June): This display features prints by four of the 20th century's greatest artists: Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali and Andy Warhol. Over 50 works drawn from the V&A Museum's collections have been selected to illustrate these modern masters' engagement with the printed medium. Find out more here

Science Museum
Dan dare & The Birth of Hi-tech Britain (Until 1st November) : Explore how Britain found huge pride in wartime advances such as radar, penicillin and the jet engine after the war in 1954. Discoveries like these were now tipped to kick-start world-beating industries, bring prosperity and bankroll the emerging welfare state. Find our more here

Royal Albert Hall
Swan Lake (9th June – 19th June) : The sensational production of the Swan Lake will now be shown in the Royal Albert Hall. With its dramatic story line and captivating sets and costumes this is a ballet that will most certainly entertain you. Find out more here

Cadogan Hall, Chelsea
The Royal College of Music’s Rising Stars (21st June, 7.30pm): Rising Stars is a series of concerts showcasing some of the very best RCM soloists and chamber groups. Be the first to hear these talented and award-winning young musicians. Find out more here

OPENING HOURS

Monday Midday - 10.30pm
Tuesday - Thursday Midday - 11pm
Friday & Saturday Midday - 11.45pm

Sunday Midday - 5pm
kitchen closes an hour prior to closing time

020 7225 2772
reservations@madsenrestaurant.com