We're Alex and Marko the Vagabrothers
And this series is about new Nordic cuisine
We'll be traveling across three Nordic capitals,
exploring the culinary revolution that's turned this region
into one of the most dynamic food destinations on Earth.
Along the way we'll be meeting locals,
eating, drinking, and having a great time
Hope you're hungry
In episode 1 we're flying from LAX to Copenhagen
Alex: "Abracadabra"
Alex:"Where are we going?"
Marko:"We're going on Norwegian Air flight DY706 to Copenhagen"
Marko:"Ready bro?"
Alex:"Very very very ready, i'm so stoked right now, gunna be an awesome trip"
Ok so we just got checked in and I want to take a moment to tell you guys more about this trip
So as we mentioned in the announcement video, we're flying out with Norwegian Air
to Copenhagen then going to Stockholm and Helsinki
to cover a series about new Nordic cuisine
which is basically a modern interpretation of traditional Nordic cooking
we're going to be going to all three cities over the course of seven days
we're going to be making daily videos
releasing them a couple days apart
but we will be making a video for every day of the trip
we're gunna go to cool kitchens, bars, all sorts of awesome stuff
it's going to be an amazing series on a really cool region
So stay tuned! I've got a plane to catch so we'll tell you more about it
when we're there in Copenhagen
Alex:"Quick little change here in London on the way to Copenhagen"
Mark:"I'm so ready I'm so stoked on this right now"
Alex:"This is going to be a really really fun trip you guys,
and we're excited to share it with you guys in the daily vlog format,
so lets roll"
Alex:"Urban House"
Marko:"Boom!"
Alex:"Can I take a peek in it?"
Alex:"Open that up"
Just finished showering, got cleaned up
and it's a beautiful evening her in Copenhagen
so we are going to go get some dinner and coctails
we're going to meet up with our hosts here
and start checking out the food scene
I'm hungry, i'm excited
i'm looking forward to a good cocktail, lets roll
Alex:" So it's evening in Copenhagen, we just got off the plane,
we just met up with Emil who's going to show us a pretty epic meal"
Mark:"Ya so like I said earlier in the video
this is all about exploring new Nordic cuisine which basically started in 2004
Some Danish chefs along with a bunch of other Nordic chefs
made a manifesto about local, sustainable, organic food
and so we're going to go dive into it
Most people kind of associate that with the Noma restaurant
but we're going to go check out some of the other guys
who are making a wave and see what it's all about"
Alex:"And stuff our faces"
Mark:"And stuff our faces in the process!"
Mark:"So what are you burning on top there?"
Waitress:"Juniper"
Alex:"Wow, smells so good"
Waitress:"Here you have a Norwegian seal tail
and a fried chicken foot, the foot you eat with the hands and only the skin
and then of course a little fire with the burning Juniper
which is only decoration"
Mark:"So good, so delicate. Have you ever eaten a chicken foot before?"
Alex:"I have not eaten a chicken foot before, I've seen chickens feet on chickens,
but i haven't eaten one before soo..."
Mark:"Chicken wings are like the hands and these are like the feet"
Alex:"This is good, I might have just had some thumb there"
Höst is a collaboration between local restauranteurs and Danish designers
that was recently named the worlds best designed restaurant
We ordered the three course tasting menu
with dishes inspired by rural Danish cuisine
and, surprisingly, a wine pairing that didn't break the bank
Alex:"How do you say cheers?"
Emil:"Skål"
Alex:"SKÅL"
Alex:"Is that because Vikings used to drink like
Meed out of a skull
skål, like your skull, cranium
and then they would just be like 'SKÅL'
That happened"
Emil:"Not with a skull no"
Alex:"Aw man"
Emil:"But it's a great story we should use that"
Alex:"Well I thought it was real"
Alex:"Bro, satiated?"
Mark:"Oh my god that was really good introduction to new Nordic cuisine
We saw kind of all the elements from the organic, sustaneable, local,
the reinterpretation of old recipes
Alex:"How many dishes, it was like 5? Perfectly paired with the wine,
and when that's done well there's really nothing that you could ever possibly complain about
so we are going to put a night cap, we're going to go have a cocktail".
Mark:"So ya we are going to a place right down the street
it's in a building that used to be a pharmacy in the 1880's
two years ago it was reconverted as a bar
so we're gunna go learn a little bit more about new Nordic cocktails
Alex:"By having a Cough Drop"
Emil:"The bar's called Lidkoeb
Lidkoeb means the deal you made when farmers traded cows or cattle on the markets
when they shook hands they drank on it and that's a Lidkoeb"
Alex:"So it's like you spit in your hand and shake?"
Emil:"Exactly"
Mark:"So we're going for another drink? Lidkoeb"
Mark:"If there is one way to adjust a jet lag,
it's staying out late and getting cocktails"
Alex:"Ayyyohh, got a taxi, nailed it"
The concept behind Nordic Cocktails
is the same as Nordic food
Forging a unique style by drawing on local ingredients
that speak to the culture
after grabbing a couple of cocktails on the ground floor lounge, we went up two stories to the whiskey bar
to meet the guys behind the drinks
Bartender:"What we try to do when creating a new cocktail menu,
of course is inspired by Noma which is a really good restaurant,
we want to try and convert what they are doing into cocktails
we want like four things of Denmark to be represented
so the forrest, the farmyard, and kolonihave,
which is a house you have outside of the city where you grow a garden,
and of course the ocean
we wanted to do it out of, out of emotion or experience"
Mark:"Ok"
Alex:"Is that badger from here?"
Bartender:"Yep"
Alex:"Local badger"
Bartender:"Actually Ura, killed it with his bike
just outside right here.
Ura:"No big deal, it's just a badger"
Mark:"We don't need no stinking badger"
Bartender:"We decided to mount it and get it in here"
Mark:"And the glasses?"
Bartender:"The glasses are Ura's he has really poor eye sight so.."
Alex:"Is that how come you ran over the badger, you didn't see it? And those are the glasses?"
Ura:"Too much whiskey man, too much whiskey"
Alex:"Well that was an amazing first evening in Copenhagen and if tonight is any indication
for what the rest of the trip is going to be like, I think we are in for an amazing adventure"
Mark:"I've had a great time so far, we had our first sampling of new Nordic cuisine,
we had some Nordic cocktails, all were amazing, we're staying in Copenhagen tomorrow
Some really fun stuff happening so tune in for that video and tun in for the rest of the week!
It's gunna be great going to Stockholm and then Helsinki after this,
so if you liked the video don't forget to share it with your friends, give it a thumbs up,
and subscribe if you haven't already but how could you not have already subscribed? You have to!
Alex:"In the mean time remember to stay curious, keep exploring and we will see you guys on the road"