Copenhagen's Geranium restaurant, run and owned by chef Rasmus Kofoed, has been chosen as the world’s best restaurant at The World’s 50 Best Restaurants ceremony in London.
Evidently emotional, Kofoed spoke to the crowd at Old Billingsgate - a renovated, historic fish market where the awards were held - about growing up as a child and struggling to find his place in the world. What shone through was the joy he has gained from cooking, and from the recognition he and his team are receiving at the restaurant.
“I got tears,” the chef said, recounting his feelings after hearing his restaurant's name called out in the crowd. “For me, this recognition is not about being better than another, it’s a celebration of all of us.”
Photo by: Claes Bech-Poulsen
Geranium is situated inside a football stadium in Denmark’s capital, and is known for Kofoed's sharp, concise and considered cooking. It stands out for the beauty of its 20-course tasting menus, hyper-seasonal produce and strong techniques. Kofoed is also the only the chef in the world to have won bronze, silver and gold at the Bocuse d'Or cooking competition, said to be the Olympics of food.
He shared the stage with his sommelier, Soren Ledet, who spoke about how the pair would be nowhere without the dedication of their crew. “We have 15 different nations from four different continents working within the team, without their passion we could never accomplish our dream.”
With a cheeky look to the crowd of journalists lining up to take quotes from the chef, Kofoed said: "We need to go out and dance a bit now."