People who inspire us: Mikkel Karstad - gastronomic star

MIKKEL KARSTAD is one of the most innovative and hip Danish food creators. He is head of a reward-winning canteen at one of Copenhagen's largest law firms, he writes and creates food stories for magazines and he is the man behind several cookbooks.

Photo vipp blog · weyoutheyate

Recently the Danish newspaper Berlingske wrote an article about Mikkel with the title "Kulturens skjulte stjerner" The Hidden Stars of Culture - Mikkel has made many projects and cookbooks (the latest is the bestseller 'Almanak' in Danish), not in his own name, but in the name of Claus Meyer, for whom he worked for from 2006-2011. Claus Meyer is the co-founder of NOMA the world-famous restaurant in Copenhagen and has a large range of restaurants, food-businesses and is the entrepreneur behind many successful projects in Denmark.

Mikkel Karstad is a respected name in the gastronomic world, but unknown compared to Claus Meyer, and this is part of the reason why Mikkel's name appears in small print on the copyright page of the 'Almanak' cookbook and not on the frontpage.

To us Mikkel Karstad is a gastronomic STAR and he deserves his own fame. If you wish to get inspired too, take a look at his blog WE YOU THEY ATE

Happy food inspiration!

Uh la la

In Jægersborggade in the cool and casual neigbourghhood Nørrebro, just a few minuts from the center of Copenhagen, you find the ceramic shop Uh la la with unique design ceramics by the young product designer Julie Bonde Bülck. We just love her simple and decorative Bonbonnières.

If you are in Jærgersborggade make sure you try one of the hip restaurants or cafés. At Grød (porridge in Danish) you only find porridge on the menu, but not the classic sticky oatmeal, but creative variants such as spelt porridge with chestnut purée, apple and toasted almonds.

Breakfast and lunch dishes are 35 dkk, a dinner porridge is 50 dkk while a dessert comes in at 25 dkk. The menu changes every week, but is updated on the café's facebook page (in Danish).

In no. 10 you can get a coffee from some of the best baristas in town. The Coffee Collective is a specialty coffee micro roastery and coffee consulting company. The main goal of this place is to provide people with an exceptional coffee experience. Try it, it's really good coffee.

We also recommend Manfred's a cool restaurant where focus primarily is on rustic everyday food, made with modern techniques and quality ingredients. You will find it in no. 40.

Photo coffeecollective.dk · groed.com

Go discover!

Food we love in Paris

Le Camion Qui Fume (the smoking truck) is a very popular burger restaurant on wheels. You can check where to find it on their online itinerary on their web or Facebook. It's very popular especially among younger Parisians, but also a good break on a shopping day in Paris. They serve quality burgers but only have around 200 servings, so be prepared to wait in line for your burger.

Photo from the book Le Camion Qui Fume

The best breakfast you get at Le Pain Quotidien. This breakfast restaurant and café has bread (pain) as a main ingredient, but they also have different breakfast menus with fresh fruit salads, yogurt, homemade marmalade and their white chocolate nutella is like magic on your bread. There are several restaurants around Paris, but our favorite is next to Palais royal. If you are there, make sure you stop by Galerie Vivienne - a passage with small shops and cafés in a neo-classical Pompeian style covered with mosaics, paintings and sculptures. You can also find the shop of Jean-Paul Gaultier in the Galerie.

Le Bistrot de l’Alycastre (2 rue Clément, 6e, tel 01 43 25 77 66) is a lovely bistrot with two small dining rooms near Marché St. Germain. All the fish dishes are done à la plancha and they have great desserts. Affordable prices and good service for a Parisian bistrot.

Bon appétit!

Copenhagen restaurants we love

Pluto - in Borgergade 16 in the center of Copenhagen. A large, rough room with lots of life, music and fantastic food. They offer a lot of delicious dishes, but we recommend the 12 course menu for 450 dkk.

Photo Nanna Kreutzmann

Radio - is one of Claus Meyer's many food-projects (he is the co-founder of restaurant Noma). At Radio they serve fresh, mostly organic food from Scandinavian (mainly Danish) producers. The restaurant has a Scandinavian, urban decor with wood, black and white tones. The restaurant is next to the old Radio house - a nice building to have a look at, designed by Danish architect Vilhelm Lauritzen. 

Photo Radio

Sticks'n Sushi - there are several Stick'n Sushi around Copenhagen, but the one on the top of Tivoli hotel is definitly the one with the nicest view - over the roofs and waterfront of Copenhagen. It is a really nice place to go with kids too - they have a very good kids menu.

Photo from Travelingmama

Bon appétit!

Hay

One of our favorite interior shops in Copenhagen is Hay. You can get Hay products in many online shops, but nothing like the real thing. Hay's two shops in the heart of Copenhagen, Hay Cph and Hay House, are really worth a visit. They sell furniture and a multitude of small special items for the home including this beautiful pair of scissors, which we absolutely love. You can find Hay Cph at Pilestræde 29-31 and Hay House at Østergade 61.

Office scissor made of stainless steel, black or brass colored

Hay organizers

Hay House

Birthday

Welcome. Our new blog is finally born after a long period of figuring out how we would get the time to do this. We are both passionate about interior design, kids stuff, fashion, food and particularly inspired by lifestyle trends from Paris and Copenhagen. We are from Copenhagen, but one of us currently lives as an expat in France. 

We will share and write about everything that inspires us.

Happy reading!

pompoms by Style Me Pretty