Merry Christmas from Madsen

Greetings from all of us at Madsen. We are excited about December and all the activity in the restaurant. It is a busy season with the Christmas buffet, and we have been busy decorating the restaurant to create the right atmosphere.

In November, we served our first Christmas meal to Mrs. Leyson from Wales, who brought with her 30 friends to have dinner in the restaurant. We have since learned some of them have "converted" to Danish food which makes us proud. We also hosted a J-day party for Sarah and her friends from Denmark in the middle of November. Luckily, we got the Tuborg Julebryg beers home in time. On the catering side we have been busy making canapes and snitter for Nordea in the City, and most recently for the Danish company Dahlberg for their Christmas event last week. There is a lot planned during the month of December and we are looking forward to catering for both Goodwille and the Swedish School as well as many private parties.

The "Julekalender" on Twitter

In Scandinavia it is custom with a "julekalender" on tv and radio during the month of December. The Julekalender is basically a story about Christmas where a new part of the story is revealed each day in December. The story culminates on December 24 when we celebrate Christmas Eve.

At Madsen we would like to bring a bit of this tradition to England. We have therefore made our own Julekalender with a new anecdote about Nordic Christmas every day. Why not follow us on Twitter to a little Christmas "kick" every day? On Twitter our name is MadsenLondon and you can see our profile here.

Christmas buffet

The Christmas season has now started and with that comes lots of traditional food. At Madsen we serve a Scandinavian Christmas buffet with marinated herring, "sylte"/veal brawn, roast pork and crackling, red cabbage, meatballs, liver pate , filet of plaice and of course ris à la mande with warm cherry sauce. We also have a vegetarian option with a baked artichoke salad followed by hazelnut patè with root vegetables £18.50. You can find the full menu here. On week days, we serve a Christmas a la carte with all the essentials on as well.

We offer the buffet on Friday evenings, Saturday lunch and dinner and Sunday lunch. If you are a group of ten people or more, we can also offer it during the week, if you book it in advance. The weekends are already very busy however; we still have availability on the last weekendend before Christmas, December 18-20. You can email us on reservations@madsenrestaurant.com or phone us on 020 7225 2772 to book a table.

Apart from the Danish Tuborg Julebryg (please see more below) we also stock Swedish Julmust. Julmust is a non-alcoholic drink that tastes a bit like a Coke with Christmas spices. It is the most popular soft drink in Sweden during the Christmas season.

Catering and Christmas holidays

If you are not able to make it into the restaurant for a Christmas meal, you could order our Christmas food for your home. As part of our catering activity we have of course come up with tasty buffets for catering that can be reheated at your own premises. You can find the menus here.

Please note that we are closed for Christmas and New Year from December 23, 2009 to January 5, 2010 (both days inclusive).

Tuborg Julebryg at Madsen

Tuborg Julebryg is the most famous Danish Christmas beer. It was initially launched in 1981 as a result from the vast popularity a Christmas advertisement for Tuborg received the year before. Tuborg then decided to make a Christmas beer and the advertisement from 1980 has been used since. The advertisement features Father Christmas and Rudolph chasing a Tuborg delivery van. See it for yourself here.

The beer itself is a bottom-fermented, wiener beer brewed on lager, münchener and caramel malt with English liquorice. The beer is dark-golden with a fresh aroma of caramel, grain, liquorice and blackcurrant. It's excellent with traditional Christmas recipes, smoked fish, marinated & fried herring, roast pork and duck.

Tuborg Julebryg is a seasonal beer and is only on the market for six weeks every year. Its launch, known as “J-day” (Julebryg-day), always takes place on the first Friday in November. The beer is released for drinking at exactly 20.59 in the bars.

At Madsen we are glad to stock Tuborg Julebryg this Christmas so come along and enjoy!

December recipe - Ris à l'amande

Ris à l'amande topped with warm cherry sauce is a traditional Danish dessert served at Christmas. When served on Christmas Eve, one whole almond is placed in the pudding. The person who finds the almond will get an extra gift. This usually results in a number of second helpings. It is a tradition not to reveal who has the almond until all the pudding has been eaten.

For 4 people:
1 liter whole milk
0.1 liter water
150 g pudding rice (white)
1 vanilla pod
100 g sugar
75 g blanched, chopped almonds
0.3 liter whipped cream
warm cherry sauce

Use a pot with a thick bottom. Boil water and pudding rice for 2 min. Add the milk and stir for 10 min. Put the lid on and let the porridge boil at a low temperature for 30 min. – stir once in a while so the porridge does not burn. The consistency should be almost the same as oatmeal porridge.
Take the porridge off the stove. Scrape the vanilla out of the vanilla pod, and add the vanilla and the pod to the porridge along with the sugar. Mix the whole thing and put it in the fridge, and let it cool down completely. The basic rice pudding is best if made the day before you need the finished dessert.
Blanch the almonds. Put one whole almond aside and chop the rest into coarse pieces or flakes. By now the cold porridge is quite stiff, but that will change when you add the whipped cream later on. Mix the almonds with the porridge and take out the vanilla pods. Whip the cream and mix it carefully with the porridge. Add sugar to taste or whipped cream for consistency. Remember to put in the whole almond.

Serve the Ris à l'amande with the cherry sauce and remember not to forget the present for the lucky finder of the whole almond.

Lucia - Swedish celebration

On the 13th of December, Lucia is celebrated across the Scandinavian countries - and especially in Sweden. The legend goes that Lucia was working to help Christians hide in the catacombs of Rome. In order to bring with her as many supplies as possible, she needed to have both hands free. Because of the darkness, she attached candles to a wreath on her head instead of carrying them in her hand. Her husband denounced her as a Christian, and she was sentenced to be burned. However, the flames would not consume her, so the guards cut out her eyes instead.

In Sweden in every town and school, a Lucia bride is elected to portray St. Lucia. A national Lucia is elected on television from the regional winners.
The Lucia bride is wearing a white gown with a red sash and a wreath with candles on her head. She walks at the head of a procession of women, each wearing a white gown and holding a candle. The candles symbolize the fire that refused to take St. Lucia's life. The women sing the traditional Santa Lucia song while entering the room.
On December 13, the Swedes eat pepparkakor (ginger snaps) and Lussebullar, a special saffron bun, made for this occasion. To this they drink glögg which is the Nordic version of mulled wine.

At Madsen we have two previous Lucias - Danish Charlotte and Swedish Sophie. Charlotte was elected for her school and Sophie, who is one of the waitresses, was elected Lucia of her region when she was sixteen. This was after her grandmother had entered her into the competition without asking permission. It is seen as a great honor to become the Lucia.

On the 11th of December St. Paul's Cathedral has arranged a Lucia event with the Swedish church.

What's on in the area

Royal Albert Hall
The holiday season is taking over the old renowned premises of the Royal Albert Hall with an extensive Christmas programme, but for the first 6 days of December you can attend the AEGON Masters Tennis before it's all covered in snow and carols. To view the December programme click here.

V & A Museum
Go to the V & A and experience the history of the Maharajas (litteraly 'Great King'), from the chaotic times just after the collapse of the Mughal empire in the early 18th centry to the end of the British rule in 1947. Exhibition runs from 10 Oct 2009 - 17 Jan 2010.

You can still catch the Future Fashion Now: New Design for the Royal College of Art which runs until 31st of January 2010. The display showcases highlights from the Royal College of Art fashion MA graduates' final collections. You'll get to see the whole process of making a design, from the preliminary sketches to the final outfit.

To see what else is on at the V & A click here.

Natural History Museum
The Grand Opening of Your Mind - The new Darwin Centre opened on the 15th of September 2009. Letting the general public have an up-close look at the ongoing, daily researches and the internationally important collections. Find out more here.

See the spectacular photos of the 2009 winners at the Veolia Environnment Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition which runs from the 23 Oct 2009 - 11 April 2010

You can also try out the 1050-square-meter Ice Rink at Natural History Museum and go for a hot chocolate here at Madsen afterwards.

The Science Museum
Future Foods is an exhibition about the pros and cons of GM (genetically modified) food where you get to say your opinion. To read more about the exhibition click here.

OPENING HOURS

Tuesday - Thursday Midday - 11pm
Friday & Saturday Midday - Midnight
Sunday & Monday Midday - 10pm

020 7225 2772
reservations@madsenrestaurant.com