CULINARY ARTS
How about we have a talk about culinary arts? I asked Jesper Gøtz in an e-mail in October, adding that I was thinking of the original meaning of the term: the art of preparing good, tasty, nourishing food.
‘Great idea, let’s spend half a day together in early December. We can cook and talk, and you can take some photos,’ he promptly replied.
From HÅNDVÆRK bookazine no. 10 the artissue
Jesper Gøtz is a trained cook and has worked in the most exquisite parts of the Danish culinary scene. Most recently, he was a chef’s assistant in Noma’s ‘younger brother’, Restaurant 108.
We first met in 2018, when I wrote about Lille Bakery on the small Copenhagen island Refshaleøen in my book HÅNDVÆRK.
Lille was one of the first of the now many high-quality sourdough bakeries in Copenhagen. A bakery that pushed the boundaries of when good is good enough and which also challenged the notion about proper settings for serving sublime meals.
Before opening the bakery, Jesper had spent years experimenting and perfecting his sourdough, and he had strong opinions about not just the aesthetic aspects (look and taste) but also the health benefits of including sourdough bread made from quality flour in most meals. Before I finished writing, Lille Bakery had become an eatery as well. And the ink was barely dry before I heard that Jesper was already working on the next chapter – no longer content just to bake and cook, he also wanted to teach.
In early 2020, he opened his own baking and cooking universe in Raadvad, next to Karin Carlander’s weaving workshop. Since then, he has taught many dedicated amateurs to take their home-baking to the next level and, not least, helped cooks in restaurants and canteens bake quality bread as a core component of every meal.
Raadvad Fabrik (Raadvad Factory), with the related workers’ housing, dates back to 1643, when a hammer mill and a grinding mill were built on the site.
In the early 1920s, Raadvad Knivfabrik (Raadvad Knife Factory) took over the buildings and established a production of bread slicers, knives and razors here until the 1970s, when production moved to the Danish town of Brønderslev.
Since 1994, the Raadvad brand has been owned by the Fiskars Group and has in practice been discontinued.
The former factory buildings are now used as workshops and studios for artists and craft makers and are also home to the Centre for the Restoration of the Built Heritage (bookazine no. 7), which holds courses and provides advice about building restoration and traditional building crafts.
In the area, there are also family homes, an inn and a youth hostel.
December
About a week before our culinary appointment, I write to Jesper to tell him that I am bringing a frying pan that I have brought home from Fiskars and which I would like to include in the cooking. I also took home some Iittala glasses, which I will bring, along with some plates and other bits and pieces.
A few days before, Jesper writes, ‘How do you feel about grainotto with Hokkaido cream and pickled Hokkaido squash?’
I reply that it sounds both delicious and beautiful and head out to find a bottle of wine. I have in mind a naturally fermented white wine from Drudgaard on Funen. I find it in a shop on Vesterbro and bring it along.
When we meet, Jesper has changed the menu. ‘Last night, I just felt like mussels,’ he says, adding, ‘I can’t cook something I’m not in the mood for.’
I arrive just after the busy Christmas fair at Raadvad. On the table and shelves, there are a few bags of Kornbymølle flour, which Jesper warmly recommends, and many different kinds of biodynamic flour from the Aurion mill, which he recently established a collaboration with.
In addition, he has his own Gøtz line of baking-related products, baking steel, bread knife, proofing basket and linen cloth, produced in collaboration with skilled artisans.
Jesper cleans up the space to make room for cooking, as I unpack.
‘I didn’t have time to bake,’ he says, ‘but I shopped at Københavns Bageri in Carlsberg Byen close to my home. I really appreciate food and bread that others have made with dedication and care and, on top of that, the service is friendly.
Bakers are true artisans. Sometimes people tell me they think bread and cakes are expensive. I always tell them, “Do your own baking. Buy quality flour from skilled millers and see if you can match the craftsmanship. Also, add up the numbers to calculate the cost.”’
After a few moments, the space is tidy, the raw ingredients are laid out, and there is fresh coffee.
Jesper is fast and skilled, as he chops and cuts the greens and cleans the mussels. In no time, the mussels are ready, steamed in the pan in the white wine I brought, garnished with pointy cabbage and herbs.
‘Going forward, my cooking is going to focus more on health,’ he says.
‘It’s important to know what you need to eat over the course of a week, a month and a year in order to stay healthy.
For example, I have shifted my focus from light sourdough bread to wholemeal bread. The final push was at a recent fair in Austria, where I met some old sourdough bakers and tasted their bread, which has a high share of wholemeal.
After trials and development, I am now able to bake fairly fluffy bread using 40% wholemeal. My new baking courses, in a partnership with Aurion, have an increased emphasis on health and focus on wholemeal bread.’
Tell me a little more about what you’re doing to these days.
‘What’s interesting is not so much what I’m doing as what I’m thinking,’ he replies.
‘A few years ago, I set myself a goal: I want to teach so many people to bake that, in the future, I am involved in one million meals a week.
The maths is a little complicated, but I think I am about 10–15% of the way to achieving that goal.
I spend a lot of time thinking about what the world is going to look like one, five, ten, twenty years from now.
I want to spend my time in a way that maximizes my influence while also doing what I love. In this process, I develop, learn and challenge both my own and others’ thinking.’
‘I was thinking about it as I drove up here today – I still enjoy my trade, after 20 years.
The best advice I ever had was from my uncle, who is a trained carpenter and established a timber yard. He is the only person in my family who has always had his own business. He told me, “First, learn the trade, then you can play.” I spent many years perfecting my craft, and now I have a more playful approach to cooking and baking. The dish I just made is not one I have ever made before. I had the inspiration and did what came to mind.’
Are you a good businessman?
‘I think so. I certainly think about how I can make sure that what I do is both financially viable and sustainable in the sense that I don’t burn out and lose focus but maintain my ability to think about the future and see new opportunities.
I like to develop and launch new concepts, but only when I truly believe that they represent an improvement.’
‘Everybody talks about sustainability, there is a lot of information in circulation. It’s difficult to navigate in and to determine what is actually sustainable.
But there are some things we know for sure.
Avoiding food waste is a very significant factor.
Finding other sources of protein to replace or supplement meat is another key factor. However, it does not seem to affect our carbon footprint much whether we import our fruit and veg from southern Europe; transportation is a very small piece of the bigger puzzle.’
‘On the other hand, biodiversity is important for our environment, which speaks in favour of growing and eating local crops in season. That is one of the interesting aspects of my collaboration with Aurion: they are based on healthy values and put an emphasis on public health, and they work with a very wide range of grains.’
‘The first time I visited Aurion, in 2020, I spoke with Jørn Ussing, who founded Aurion. He is also the founder of Kornets Hus (House of Grain, featured in bookazine no. 6). Jørn told me that 95% of the rye grown in Denmark is used to feed pigs.
Imagine if it was used for bread instead!
Speaking of food waste, wasting 10 kg of bread has a much smaller climate footprint than wasting 10 kg of meat.
In recent years, I have taken an interest in the people who cook for many and who cook in large quantities. I have held baking courses for canteen staff.
In Denmark, we eat about 1 million canteen meals a day. If we can bring the professional kitchens along, we can shift many kilos of flour. Canteen menus make a huge difference in terms of enjoyable meals, public health and sustainability.’
‘A key aspect of my mission is communication. It is important for people to know what they put into their bodies. It is more important to know what to choose than knowing how to prepare it yourself from scratch.
I think that shared meals and convenience food will play a growing role in the future.
Any community should have a baker, a cook and its own farm. I am very interested in developing a contemporary take on a community.
Whether the food is part of a social meal or taken home, it should be simple and based on quality ingredients. Including bread in every meal is a good way to save both money and time.
Steamed mussels served with bread, dhal served with bread, those are good everyday meals. At home, we serve bread with spaghetti and meat sauce. Pasta is fine, but only up to a point, and I often substitute pork for beef.
In the future, I think there should be a small ratio of cooks to diners, the opposite of fine dining, where a large number of cooks service a small number of diners. In a fancy restaurant, the cook removes the mussels from the shell, but people should open their own damn mussels,’ says Jesper, as we wipe our greasy fingers in linen textiles from his neighbour at Raadvad.
So in the future as you envision it, we won’t prepare our own meals?
‘Of course, we’ll cook our own meals too, but we should also have better options for buying good, healthy, ready-made meals. Prepared by professionals with an understanding of flavour, nutrition, preparation methods and food waste.’
For me, preparing a meal for my family or friends is an act of caring, you don’t feel that way?
‘Yes, I also feel that preparing a meal is an expression of love, and I cook for my wife and my child every day.
But I have been thinking about it, and I don’t think the young generation feels the same incentive to cook that we do.
One thing is for sure, eating more quality bread is a good thing.’
tallerkner Birgit Marie Østerby
bestik GEORG JENSEN
forklæde UASHMAMA / LÛBECH LIVING
pande FISKARS
tallerkner BIRGIT MARIE ØSTERBY
lys VANCE KITIRA / LÛBECH LIVING
træskeer MORTEN RIIS
saltkar LOUISE
skærebræt FIL DE FER
knive
kop KARIN MICHELSEN
brødkniv JESPER GØTZ x
glas IITTALA
vin DRUDGAARD
Skal vi tale om kogekunst? spurgte jeg Jesper Gøtz i en e-mail en oktoberdag og uddybede,
i den betydning ordet havde engang: kunsten at lave god, velsmagende og nærende mad.
“Det er jeg mega-klar på, lad os bruge en halv dag i begyndelsen af december sammen. Så kan vi lave mad, snakke, og du kan tage billeder”, svarede ham prompte.
Jesper Gøtz er uddannet kok og har arbejdet med det ypperste, den danske madscene kan fremvise. Hans sidste ansættelse var som souschef på Nomas lillebror, restaurant 108.
Jeg mødte ham første gang i 2018, da jeg skrev om Lille Bakery på Refshaleøen i København i min bog HÅNDVÆRK.
Lille var et af de første, i en nu lang række, af gode surdejsbagerier i København. Et af dem, som skubbede til grænserne for, hvornår godt er godt nok, og samtidig også til grænsen for, i hvilke rammer det sublime måltid kan og skal serveres.
Jesper havde i årene op til åbningen nørdet sin surdej til perfektion og havde holdninger til ikke bare det æstetiske (smag og udseende), men også til de sundhedsmæssige fordele ved at lade surdejsbrød bagt af kvalitetsmel indgå i de fleste måltider. Inden jeg havde sat sidste punktum, var Lille Bakery også Eatery. Knap var tryksværten tør, før jeg hørte på vandrørene, at Jesper i tankerne var videre, han ville ikke bare bage og lave mad, han ville lære fra sig.
I begyndelsen af 2020 slog han dørene op til sit eget bage- og kogeunivers, i Raadvad, i tilknytning til Karin Carlanders væveværksted. Her har han siden, i stort antal, uddannet glade amatører til fuldbefarne hjemmebagere, og ikke mindst har han som konsulent hjulpet kokke i restauranter og kantiner med at få styr på deres daglige brød som en fuldgyldig del af ethvert måltid.
December
En uges tid inden vi ses, skriver jeg, at jeg tager en pande med, som jeg har hjembragt fra Fiskars den vil jeg gerne have involveret i madlavningen. Jeg har også Iittala-glas med hjem, som jeg vil medbringe, desuden tager jeg tallerkner og nogle andre småting med.
Et par dage inden vi skal ses, skriver Jesper: “Hvad siger du til kornotto med hokkaido-creme og syltet hokkaido?”
Jeg svarer, at det lyder både lækkert og smukt, og kører ud for at købe en falske vin. Jeg har en naturligt gæret hvidvin fra Drudgaard på Fyn i tankerne. Jeg finder den på Vesterbro og tager den med.
Da vi mødes, har Jesper ændret menuen. “Jeg sad i går aftes og fik lyst til muslinger”, siger han, og fortsætter: “Jeg kan ikke lave mad, jeg ikke har lyst til.”
Der har været julemarked i Raadvad og derfor mange gæster i dagene forinden. På bordet og på hylderne ses nogle få poser Kornbymølle-mel, som Jesper er varm fortaler for, og mel af mange slags fra den biodynamiske mølle Aurion, som han netop har indledt et samarbejde med.
Desuden har han sit eget Gøtz-sortiment af bagerelaterede produkter, bagestål, brødkniv, hævekurv og hørklæde, sat i produktion i samarbejde med dygtige håndværkere.
Jesper rydder op, så vi kan få plads, mens jeg pakker ud.
“Jeg nåede ikke at bage”, siger han, “men jeg har handlet hos Københavns Bageri i Carlsberg Byen tæt ved, hvor vi bor. Jeg sætter stor pris på mad og brød, andre har fremstillet – har gjort sig umage med, og når man så ovenikøbet bliver mødt af sød betjening.
– I bagerierne er der virkelig tale om at udøve et håndværk. Jeg støder på folk, som synes, at brød og kager er dyre. Mit svar er altid: Så bag selv. Køb godt mel, fra dygtigere møllere, og se så, om du kan gøre håndværket efter, og regn også gerne ud, hvad det koster.”
Oprydningen tager et øjeblik, råvarerne til måltidet er kommet frem på bordet, og der er brygget kaffe.
Jesper arbejder hurtigt og rutineret, hakker, snitter og renser muslinger, og i løbet af ingen tid er han færdig med en pande fuld af muslinger dampet i min medbragte hvidvin, garneret med spidskål og krydderurter.
“Min madlavning kommer til at have større fokus på sundhed fremover”, siger han og fortsætter,
“det er vigtigt at vide, hvad skal man spise på en uge, en måned og et år for at holde sig sund.
Jeg har for eksempel flyttet min interesse fra det lyse surdejsbrød til fuldkornsbrødet. Jeg blev for alvor omvendt på en messe for nylig i Østrig, hvor jeg mødte nogle gamle surdejsbagere og smagte deres brød med højt indhold af fuldkornsmel.
Nu har jeg testet og udviklet og kan bage ret luftige brød med 40% fuldkorn. Mine nye bagekurser, som jeg holder sammen med Aurion, har et øget fokus på sundhed og handler om fuldkornsbrød.”
Du skal fortælle mig noget mere om, hvad du går og laver.
“Det, som er spændende, er måske nok, hvad jeg går og laver, men i endnu højere grad, hvad jeg går og tænker over”,svarer han.
“Jeg satte mig et mål for nogle år tilbage. Jeg vil lære så mange at bage, at jeg på daglig basis, i fremtiden, er involveret i 1 million måltider om ugen.
Jeg har en lidt indviklet måde at regne det ud på, men jeg har på fornemmelsen at have tilbagelagt 10-15% af vejen til mit mål.
Jeg tænker meget over, hvordan jeg tror verden ser ud om 1-5-10-20 år.
Jeg er optaget af, hvordan jeg bruger min tid, så jeg få mest mulig indflydelse, samtidig med at jeg laver det, som interesserer mig. I den proces udvikler jeg mig, bliver klogere, og jeg udfordrer både mine og andres holdninger.”
“Jeg tænkte over det, da jeg kørte herud, jeg er stadig glad for mit fag, selvom jeg har været i gang i 20 år nu.
Det bedste råd, jeg har fået, fik jeg af min onkel, han er uddannet tømrer, og derefter etablerede han trælasthandel. Han er den eneste i min familie, som altid har været selvstændig, Han sagde: Først skal du lære dig håndværket, derefter kan du lege. Jeg brugte mange år på at perfektionere mit håndværk til fingerspidserne, nu har jeg en mere legende tilgang til at lave mad og bage. Den ret, jeg lige har lavet, har jeg ikke lavet før. Jeg fik en inspiration og gjorde, hvad der faldt mig ind.”
Er du en dygtig forretningsmand?
“Det synes jeg. Jeg tænker i hvert fald meget over, hvordan jeg kan sørge for, at det, jeg laver, både hænger sammen finansielt, og så jeg ikke brænder ud og mister fokus, og så jeg har tid til at se fremad og se nye muligheder.
Jeg vil gerne udvikle og lave nye koncepter, men det skal være, fordi jeg tror på, at der er tale om forbedringer.”
“Vi taler alle sammen om bæredygtighed, der er mange informationer i cirkulation. Det er vanskeligt at sortere og at finde ud af, hvad der er overhovedet bæredygtigt.
Men der er ting, vi ved med sikkerhed.
At undgå madspild er et meget stort håndtag at skrue på.
Andre proteinkilder som erstatning for eller supplement til kødet er et andet. Til gengæld ser det ikke ud, som om det betyder så meget for CO2-regnskabet, om vi importerer vores frugter og grøntsager fra Sydeuropa, transporten er en meget lille brik i det store spil.”
“På den anden side er biodiversitet væsentligt for vores miljø, og det taler for at dyrke og spise de lokale afgrøder i sæson. Det er noget af det, som er interessant ved mit samarbejde med Aurion, de er baseret på sunde værdier, og er optaget af folkesundhed, og de har virkelig mange forskellige lokale korntyper i deres sortiment.”
“Da jeg besøgte Aurion første gang i 2020, talte jeg med Jørn Ussing, som i sin tid startede Aurion. Han står også bag tilblivelsen af Kornets Hus (omtalt i bookazine 6). Jørn fortalte, at 95% af al dansk rugproduktion går til svinefoder.
Tænk, hvis rugen i stedet blev brugt til at bage brød af!
Når nu vi taler tale om madspild, en rest brød på 10 kg har ikke nær så hårdt klimaaftryk som en rest kød på 10 kg.
Jeg har de senere år været meget optaget af dem, som laver mad til mange og dermed i store mængder, og jeg har uddannet kantinepersonale i at bage.
I Danmark spises der hver dag godt 1 million måltider kantinemad. Får man storkøkkenerne med på vognen, kan der flyttes mange kilo mel. Det gør en kæmpe forskel, hvad der serveres i kantinen, både i forhold til nydelse, folkesundhed og bæredygtighed.”
Det er ressourcekrævende at producere rustfrit stål første gang.
“Min mission er i høj grad formidling. Det er vigtigt, at folk ved, hvad de putter i munden. Det er vigtigere at vide, hvad man skal vælge, end om man kan lave maden selv.
Jeg tror, at det fælles måltid og convenience food kommer til at fylde meget mere i fremtiden,
Ethvert samfund bør have en bager, en kok og et eget landbrug, jeg er meget interesseret i at finde et moderne take på et community.
Måltiderne, hvad enten de skal indtages i fællesskab eller tages med hjem, skal være enkle, baseret på gode råvarer. Hvis der indgår brød i alle måltider, er der meget tid og mange penge at spare.
En portion muslinger med brød, en dhal med brød, er god hverdagsmad, hjemme spiser vi også brød til spaghetti med kødsovs, det er godt med pasta, men man skal ikke have for meget af den, og oksekødet har jeg i høj grad erstattet med svinekød.
Jeg synes, at der i fremtiden skal være få kokke om mange mennesker, ikke som i fine dining, hvor mange kokke servicerer de få. På en fin restaurant piller kokken muslingerne ud af skallerne, men folk må ‘sgu da’ pille deres egne muslinger”, siger Jesper, mens vi tørrer vores fedtede fingre af i hørtekstiler fra naboen.
Så vi skal slet ikke lave mad selv i den fremtid, du ser for dig?
“Jo, selvfølgelig skal vi også det, men vi skal også have bedre mulighed for at købe god, sund mad færdigt. Tilberedt af dygtige folk, som har forstand på smag, den sundhedsmæssigt rette sammensætning af måltidet, tilberedningsmetoder og madspild.”
For mig ligger der en stor omsorg i at tilberede et måltid mad til min familie og mine venner, sådan har du det ikke?
“Jo, at lave mad er også for mig en måde at udtrykke kærlighed på, og jeg laver mad til min kone og mit barn hver dag.
Men jeg har bare tænkt meget over det. Jeg tror ikke, at den unge generation har det samme incitament i forhold til at lave mad, som vi har.
– En ting er sikkert, hvis man spiser noget mere kvalitetsbrød til, er det godt.”
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INTRO
The List
