After two successful pop-ups, Kristian Baumann, is opening restaurant “Koan” on Tuesday, April 4, at Copenhagen’s waterfront. His menu will feature a Korean-inspired tasting menu, part of a kitchen philosophy that reflects a culinary point of view where traditional Korean cooking techniques and flavours meet with Nordic ingredients.
“For the past seven years, my curiosity about my birth place South Korea has grown stronger and I have tried to go on a discovery in the country to learn more about its culture, history, people and traditions,” says Baumann. “It has manifested itself in the fact that my vocation as a chef has grown to a higher level in the form of a sincere calmness. I again have an apprentice’s view of all the impressions I have gained through dinners, ingredients as well as traditional and complex layers that are in the different Korean cuisines. Our kitchen at Koan is a reflection of traditional Korean cooking techniques and flavours, combined with the wonderful ingredients that the Nordic seasons offer. For close to three years we have worked to refine the expression and delve further into traditional techniques and dining concepts to better understand our journey. Exploring the street kitchens, the temples, the barbecue culture and the royal court cuisine is something that I’ll take with me for the rest of my life”.
Baumann’s partner in the restaurant, Lasse Peder Nielsen, is also the sommelier and has spent the past few years building the restaurant’s wine cellar. “My business partner in the restaurant, Lasse Peder Nielsen, has put a focus on wine that is produced with respect for the planet, and there is something for both the natural wine lover and the traditional wine aficionado. Lasse, together with our knowledgeable team, has put together two different wine menus, a non-alcoholic and a pairing built around Korean Sool, a common term for Korean alcohol which we are very excited to present”.
In a sneak peek into this new venue, as chef Baumann says, the guests will be able to experience Koan’s white kimchi, with a traditional flavor profile and a visually modern expression, served in a work of art created by a Korean potter who has collected fragments of pottery from China’s Qing Dynasty and combined them with new porcelain. He has always had a great fondness for bread and thinks it would be fun to share a memory from a trip to Korea, where a small afternoon snack in the form of a Kkwabaegi burned into his memory. Rice has also played an important role in his life and that’s why he also presents special types of rice prepared in a Korean Gamasot – iron pot, i.e. a traditional preparation, in order to offer a more authentic taste experience.
