Culinary: Rasmus Kofoed

Photo Credit: Claes Bech-Poulsen

By: Alexandra Bradford

RASMUS KOFOED, a Danish-born chef and co-owner of Geranium in Copenhagen, holds the distinction of being the first chef in Denmark to achieve three Michelin stars. Additionally, he is the only chef to have won gold, silver, and bronze medals at the Bocuse d’Or. Geranium also achieved the coveted number one spot on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2022.

Geranium, founded in 2007 near Rosenborg Castle, Copenhagen, was a collaboration between chef Rasmus Kofoed and business partner Søren Ledet. Kofoed led the kitchen while Ledet managed wine and front-of-house operations, earning the restaurant its first Michelin star within a year, and becoming a local sensation. Geranium relocated to its current location in Copenhagen's National Football Stadium in 2010, securing its reputation with subsequent Michelin stars.

In a conversation with DEFINING GREATNESS, Kofoed delves into his rural Danish upbringing and its influence on his journey to greatness. He explains how Geranium serves as an extension of himself, mirroring his personal evolution and growth over time.

The following conversation has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.

DEFINING GREATNESS: At the time of this interview it is almost Christmas, and you are preparing to shut down Geranium for three weeks during the holiday season. Can you tell me why a break this long is important for you and your staff?

RASMUS KOFOED: It's just something that we've been doing for many years now. We have a lot of employees with children, and it's a good time for them to connect with their families around the traditions of Christmas and New Year's. I think it's important for a place like this because it's intense. We are really on point when we are here [...] you need a lot of energy to run a restaurant like this. And for that reason, I think it's very important to have breaks. So we close down for three weeks, and then we open up in January, and we'll be ready with batteries recharged for the New Year.

Can you talk to me a bit about your journey and how you got to where you are today?

I believe it's a journey that has been written in the stars since I was born. As a child, I was fascinated with creating visual ideas out of my imagination. I had a lot of colorful ideas that I liked to play out. I was a child before the time of iPhones and screens, so when I was bored, I went outside for fresh air and explored the landscape. And then, as the oldest of five kids, I started to help my mother in the kitchen. I began baking and cooking, and I enjoyed the aromas, the taste, and the time spent making the meal. After that, you can sit down and bring joy to the little family. That’s how it began.

Did you know as a child that you wanted to become the great chef that you are today?

I did not know that at all, because as a child, we didn’t have a television, so I didn’t know about Michelin star celebrity chefs or what it was like to work as a chef. But I liked to create and cook, and to be in the kitchen, and for that reason, this was a natural direction for me. And then I started my career and I came to a restaurant, [Hotel D'Angleterre in Denmark], and it was a completely new world. I had never experienced cooking like that. I came from the countryside, I was a shy, shy boy at just 18 years old. And then I went straight into this kitchen with all the discipline, and I enjoyed it, and I liked the uniform and running service. I loved the team spirit where we were in it together. I really enjoyed it, and as I was growing, I got better and more comfortable, and I could see that this was meant to be.

This is my world, and I need to get the best out of it. We are living maybe only one life; I need to get the best out of that life. So I gave it all the attention that I could, and I was cooking, creating new recipes, and then I started doing cooking competitions, and I started to win the competitions.

Can you share a pivotal moment in your early career that has shaped your path as a chef?

The time that I realized I wanted to go to the world's biggest cooking competition, Bocuse d'Or. I went to Belgium after my apprenticeship in Denmark was done and I ended up in the Flemish part of Belgium, working in a two-star Michelin restaurant,  [Scholteshof]. The way they used the farm and surrounding nature was incredible and so inspiring, but there wasn’t a lot to do during my one day off in the Belgian countryside. So I started studying Roger Souvereyns’s cookbooks and recipes. And then, in one book, I saw a photo of the Bocuse d'Or competition with the 24 judges sitting there in their white hats and a chef presenting them with the most amazing platter of food. I was thinking, “Imagine if that could be me one day.” I took notes for new ideas, and that inspiration led me to qualify in Denmark for the Bocuse d'Or. It was a very important step in my career; it created the whole foundation of who I am.

What lessons have you carried from Bocuse d’Or?

 Confidence, because it's a huge challenge, and nobody from Denmark had ever won the competition before me. I really wanted to win because I believe in myself, and I am a dreamer, so I thought, “This is possible.” It's important to believe in yourself.

Initially, I thought about the judges and the other countries competing, but the last time I won, I began to focus on what I like the most and how the food I serve represents my heart, my soul, and my ideas. I used recipes from Geranium: a sauce with Danish elderflower, pickled herbs from the countryside. I believed in myself and my taste buds, and that was enough to win. So I stayed true to myself, believed in myself, and succeeded because of that.

You have hit upon a theme I have noticed from doing these interviews: wanting to get everything you can from life, and being dreamers who work hard to manifest those dreams. 

Yeah, that's how I feel about it.

You’ve said that the kitchen at Geranium is different in comparison to the kitchens you started out in. Can you help me understand those differences? 

When I was an apprentice, there was an understanding that the oldest apprentices would look after the younger ones; we had to eat in separate rooms, we couldn’t really talk. It wasn’t a great working environment when it comes to team spirit. I said, “When I am head chef one day, I will do the opposite.”

We have a solid team at Geranium, and I know it works well because my team can be themselves; they aren’t so stressed. Our kitchen is open and faces the guest. I like the flow of energy and how we work in choreography together. It’s important for my staff to be individuals.

When we pass information to the guest, it comes from the heart, and the guest should feel our passion. We have pressure because of the Michelin stars and because we were ranked number 1 in the World’s 50 Best. We have guests flying in from all over the world for dinner, so the expectations are high, but we don’t think about those expectations. We just think about creating a great experience and having a great time at Geranium.

After 13 years, I still really enjoy it. When I look back, I am proud that we have created such a beautiful place to work, full of energy of people working together and giving the best that they can give. And that’s amazing to be part of.

Can you talk to me a bit about the plant based motivation behind Geraniums menu?

I grew up with vegetarian food because my mother cooked vegetarian meals for us. Three years ago, my family leaned into a more plant-based diet at home, and I found it inspiring and also a great challenge because you can’t cook with anything from an animal. If you grate cheese onto a meal, it will taste good, but if you don't have that cheese, you have to think about what you can bring to the food to make it taste great.

You also need a more isolated focus on the individual vegetables and what vegetables are best in certain seasons. So, you need to focus on seasonality and simple flavors and how you can create umami flavors, which are important for the meal.

It was a challenge for my little family at home to cook basic, healthy, and tasty dishes that can be made in 45 minutes because I don’t have endless time. At Geranium, I needed a new challenge and felt it was important for me and the team to come out of our comfort zone and take the next step together to inspire people to eat more vegetables in their lives, to pass on the love I have for a greener way of eating, so that people can live a healthier, more balanced life.

As a world famous chef you must work incredibly hard.

I have never felt that I work incredibly hard. I choose my life, and I don’t regret it for a second. I don’t see it as work; I see it as a passion. The culinary world is one that I feel good and comfortable in; it is complex and fascinating, and there are endless possibilities. It’s where I belong on this planet.

Thinking about that balance between your personal life and your professional life, what does your day to day life look like? 

It is important for me to put my focus where I can get the most value. For instance, I no longer take part in the mise en place. I used to be at Geranium early every morning to be part of the mise en place, and that was good because I could show how I wanted it to be done. It’s not a waste of time; I still enjoy it, but my focus needs to be on developing new dishes and looking for new ways of doing things. Geranium is a complex experience, and that is something we are always working on.

And so having a staff at your level whom you can delegate to must be incredibly important?

It's very important. It's great to be surrounded by inspiring people who over time also become very close friends. Many of the people have been here for a long time, especially the leading team. We have high ambitions with Geranium, and have since the beginning, but we also have high ambitions for creating a great working environment. We work to improve that every day.

Photo Credit: Claes Bech-Poulsen

I read that you ensure that your staff has healthy food to eat while at work.

We serve the staff plant and fish-based meals, along with healthy juices containing carrots and beetroot, for example.

Have you found that healthy eating improves staff output?

I believe that healthy food will make them feel good, and I hope I can inspire them to eat healthier. I mean, they can do whatever they want when they're not here, but I think it's important, and it's authentic to who I am and the values that I care about. That is also why we changed the Geranium menu and said goodbye to meat, focusing on vegetables. It’s just where I am in the world right now.

You've reached the top of the culinary world by winning the most prestigious awards, including three Michelin stars. Is there anything left that you want to achieve?

I still have the same hunger, and I feel joy working with the team and creating a great experience for the guests. The Michelin stars and the World’s 50 Best aren’t something I think about on a daily basis. I actually think about them very little. It's more about how we can make the menu great and give a thoughtful experience to the guest. I also enjoy balancing work and striving to be a great father for my children and a great husband.

Additionally, I like to challenge myself to be healthy and go running outside, where I can connect with the seasons and nature. It's a great investment in myself because I want to live longer and be healthy.

You're working on a Geranium cookbook. What can we expect from this book?

It's a very inspiring and complicated process to put everything in a book, which is why we are actually working on two books. The first will be a very colorful book with a lot of signature dishes from the old Geranium, the journey, the people, and all the stories.

And then we will focus the second book on Geranium as it is today: with recipes and photos, and a focus on the people who have worked with Geranium from the beginning. Like the collaboration we have with ceramic artists, glassmakers, and biodynamic farmers. And it’s special because we have a long history with these people.

It takes time, of course, to put everything together, but it's okay because it needs to feel good. It needs to be a great process. And also to justify the work and all that we put into Geranium, they need to be nice books when they're done.

How do you define greatness?

Greatness is being able to give back. We can live isolated lives and can be consumed with ourselves, not to mention all the hard things that are going on in the world right now. But if you can have perspective and look outside of yourself and give people love and care, that is greatness. Even on my tough days, that is what I am striving for.