Copenhagen’s Alchemist restaurant transcends all conventions by taking diners on epic culinary journeys, serving 50 courses over five hours, and entertaining them with projections. Rose Dykins reports
Copenhagen’s two-Michelin star Alchemist restaurant has reopened, offering 50 courses of imaginative food in an incredible setting.
Inspired by the way alchemists aimed to “purify, mature and perfect physical objects,” the restaurant aspires to transcend the nature of food and dining, offering a multi-sensory storytelling experience.
Head chef Rasmus Munk, takes a political approach to gastronomy. He has previously created edible ashtrays to raise awareness of lung cancer, and attached organ donor cards to tartare dishes to encourage guests to sign up.
“Due to the coronavirus crisis and the restaurant’s temporary closure, I found a great need among the homeless coincided with me having four empty kitchens and time on my hands,” says Munk.
Munk appealed on social media for chefs, food wholesalers and producers to donate whatever they could. Chefs then prepared 550 portions of food each shift, complying with social distancing conditions.
Meals from JunkFood – including chicken soup and tartlets – were then served to the homeless and socially vulnerable at Copenhagen’s shelters and hostels.
Now open once again, Alchemist’s carefully curated menu for more privileged members of society comprises 50 “impressions”. Guests move to a different area of the restaurant for each course – or “act” and the meal takes between three to five hours to serve.
The Dome area of the the restaurant is topped off by an 18-metre dome, where projections of jellyfish and the aurora borealis dance above diners’ heads.