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Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau has revealed that he researched his character for the film A Taste Of Hunger with fellow Dane, three-Michelin-star chef Rasmus Kofoed.
The actor, known for his portrayal of Jaime Lannister in HBO smash Game OF Thrones, plays driven chef Carsten who runs fictional Copenhagen restaurant Malus along with his wife Maggie. The culinary power couple are willing to sacrifice everything in pursuit of their first Michelin star, and all seems to be going well until Carsten receives an anonymous letter claiming that his wife is in love with another man.
In preparation for the role, Coster-Waldau spent time in the kitchen with lauded chef Rasmus Kofoed at his restaurant Geranium. Much of the film’s action takes place in the restaurant kitchen, and so Coster-Waldau needed to know the technical aspects of cooking and running a kitchen. He turned to one of the best in the world as a teacher.
“I spent some time in Copenhagen with Rasmus Kofoed, who runs a restaurant called Geranium,” Coster-Waldau told Eater. “He was very gracious, and he spent a lot of time helping me understand not only the food, but the kind of passion and focus and work ethic that goes into creating something like what he’s created, and what my character wants to create in the movie."
“When I was there, the restaurant was serving lunch, and he asked if I wanted to go into the kitchen. I laughed and said 'Great idea, what could possibly go wrong there? But okay.' He put me in charge of cutting out these little tiny flowers that were decoration, but it was pretty cool because I got to hang out with all these other chefs and just talk to them. He definitely made sure that I couldn’t destroy anything. Copenhagen is just very lucky. We have a lot of incredible chefs, and this whole world of eating has just changed so drastically now. Chefs are superstars now, and what they do is art. It has a whole different type of weight."
Kofoed is not only an incredibly talented chef but also understands the drive and ambition needed to rise to the top of global gastronomy. Geranium currently sits at number two on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list and the Dane has previously competed for and won the Bocuse d’Or, the highest prize for competitive cooking in the world.
