Amazing brunch at Brasserie van Koch in Århus

I'm rubbish at keeping my new years resolutions, so it should come as no surprise that I haven't managed to update the blog once a week. I have actually been cooking a lot, but life has gotten in the way of regular updates. I'll try to do better....

At the end of January I went to visit my sister and her husband in Århus in Denmark. As usual it was a real treat to be in Århus, not only did I get to spend quality time with my sister and brother-in-law, I also got to play with their lovely dogs and stuff myself with gorgeous food, both at home and restaurants.

There is a fantastic restaurant in Århus, Brasserie van Koch (sorry, the website is only in Danish). I've been there a number of times for dinner when visiting Århus, and the food is very high quality, innovative, and delicious. It is by far one of the best restaurants I've been too, and that it's very reasonably priced makes it even better. One thing I always missed visiting is the Sunday brunch at Brasserie van Koch. My sister has talked about it for years, but it has always been fully booked when I've been there. However this time they've managed to secure us a booking.

I was full of anticipation going there, would it really be as amazing as I've heard? My oh my, was it amazing! Mind-blowingly good. There can not be a better brunch anywhere. Seriously, this was an incredible experience!

We started with a small bowl of lovely bouillebaise bisque to wet our appetites. Not really necessary as I was already drooling at the site of the buffé of epic proportions that was laid out in the beautiful light dining room. Of course there was a table with common breakfast items like yogurt and muesli, but honestly, I can have yogurt anytime, and this was not an occasion when you want too waste valuable stomach space with everyday food like that. But then there was the two tables with cold and hot food. Pickled herrings of course, this being in Scandinavia, but also different types of salmons, paté, salad, smoked meats, sausages, meatballs, marinated vegetables, chili con carne, curries, eggs, different types of gratins, braised pig cheeks, ribs, potatoes in every form..... Well, just look at the picture below and you'll get an idea of the multitude of choices. In fact there was so many choices that I almost had an anxiety attack at the realization that there was no way I would be able to sample all the dishes.



Here is some of the lovely cold dishes that find it's way to my plate. To this we had a fresh apple-ginger juice and coffee.


I also sampled a lot of hot dishes, including the braised pig's cheeks which was gorgeous, the meat so tender that it was falling to pieces, but I forgot to take a picture....

Then there was one table filled with incredible cheeses. This being Denmark, there was also a table with tasty bread. Oh I miss quality bread! The standard of bread in common grocery shops here is depressing.


I only managed to sample a few of the cheeses, one mature goats cheese was particularly tasty. The cheeses tasted even better with a glass of port wine and a delicious fig compote.


Another table was full of desserts, cakes and pancakes and all things sweet.


The lemon cheesecake and pancakes were lovely. In a very feeble attempt to be healthy I added apple wedges to my plate. No idea why as I of course did not have any space left for fruit at that time.


As you can see, this was an amazing meal. My only regret was that I only had one stomach.... Below you can see my lovely sister and brother-in-law enjoying our fabulous brunch (J&L hope it's ok).