Paul Food

The past decade has seen Copenhagen make a real mark on the world’s gastronomic map and it has become one of Europe’s most exciting foodie destinations. Throughout the city a new cuisine has emerged: eclectic and experimental, yet respectful of Danish culinary tradition. And it’s a measure of its success that the latest Michelin Red Guide awarded no fewer than 12 stars to Copenhagen restaurants — more than it lavished upon Rome, Madrid, Berlin, Milan or Vienna. British chef Paul Cunningham is something of a star himself in his adopted home of Copenhagen. It was an affair of the heart, rather than anything culinary that first took him to Denmark more than 10 years ago – he fell in love with a Danish girl while they were both working in the UK and, ready for adventure, he followed her home. Until September 2011 he ran his own Michelin-starred restaurant in an iconic glass pavilion in the middle of the picturesque Tivoli Gardens. He is now about to embark on a new venture at a superbly restored old country inn with five bedrooms, kitchen garden and butchery. Taking inspiration from his winter globetrotting trips Paul’s resulting menus span the world in an exciting, ever-changing array of dishes re-written every fortnight. Paul Food (which won a Gourmand Cookbook Award in 2010 for the best Danish language cookbook) is his first book to be published in English. His previous books Madjournal, The Paul, Incognito Royale and Paul’s Grill have also been ground-breaking productions.

Paul Food contains 100 recipes organised month-by-month and spiced up with his anecdotes from 25 world-wide locations – so he goes to Paris in January, Barcelona in May, October he is in New York where he visits the best restaurants in the city that never sleeps, he goes hunting for truffles in Vilanova, as well as creating dishes at his Danish summerhouse, showing what he can do with glorious Danish and Scandinavian ingredients.   The book also describes what takes place when former president Clinton steps into The Paul and is treated to Lobster à L'Américaine.