Søren Selin, Head Chef, AOC in Copenhagen
Søren Selin is the head chef of Restaurant AOC in Copenhagen, Denmark which holds two stars in the Michelin Guide.
Taking over from Ronny Emborg in 2013, Søren went on to achieve a second Michelin star for the Nordic restaurant in 2015 making it only one of three in Denmark to achieve this feat – the other two being Geranium with three stars and Noma with two, respectively.
Søren’s enviable career includes stints at numerous Michelin starred establishments throughout Europe including the two Michelin starred restaurant, Le Relais Louis XIII and the one Michelin starred, Jules Verne, both based in Paris. Søren also worked at Alberto K located in the iconic, Radisson Blu Royal Hotel in Copenhagen where he spent four years as Executive Head Chef before deciding he wanted to move on to return to focusing on the food and the kitchen.
Adding to his long list of accolades, Søren has also been nominated for The Danish Dish of the Year five times taking home the grand prize twice, once in 2013 and again the following year, for the highly acclaimed Restaurant AOC.
Taking over the reins from former head chef, Ronny Emborg, Søren joined the famed Nordic restaurant in 2013. Remaining faithful to its philosophy of stimulating guests via the senses Søren uses only the very best in Nordic produce to offer guests a sensory experience unlike any other.
Since joining the restaurant in March 2013 Søren has received acclaim from critics and peers alike for his use of ingredients from both land and sea that champion Nordic territories.
Søren explains, “my main inspiration comes from nature the changing of the seasons, even though it is the same cycle again and again each and every year it is still strong when new produce comes up from the soil or you can get some new kind of fish so that’s the main inspiration”.
This praise was evident in 2015 when the restaurant claimed its second Michelin star making it just one of three in Denmark to receive two or more stars.
In recent months Restaurant AOC has also seen an influx in international diners, Søren explains this has a lot to do with the increased interest in Nordic cuisine.
He said: “We have had this whole new Nordic food wave, we have a lot of international guests in Copenhagen and I think it’s mainly because the Nordic kitchen has been so successful during many years.”
Simplistic in design, the 40 cover restaurant offers guests a choice of tasting menus ranging from 5 to 10 courses with each individual course representing the incredible produce Denmark has on offer. A smaller four course menu is also available using a selection of dishes taken from the main tasting menus. As the menus are seasonally led the dishes change regularly depending on availability.
“We change a dish when the season changes because suddenly we can’t get the produce any more so we need to figure something it out,” explains Søren. “We also change a dish if we are a little bored of it so we want to try and make something new. The creative process is what gives us most joy from working in the kitchen. I think my kitchen is quite light and fresh in flavour, we serve a lot of dishes down here so when you come you get a menu.”
To add to the experience a wine pairing option has also been carefully selected by Sommelier, Christian Aarø who uses wines from both the old and the new world vineyards to complicate the dishes.
“Success, what it means to me is to have a lot of happy guests in the restaurant, to have a crew that is happy and proud and also to have a feeling within myself that you have achieved something and it is a sense of pride but in the end it is also a business to have a restaurant so you need to have a lot of happy guests so that is one of the important benchmarks of success."
Moving forward Søren is keen to stay at Restaurant AOC and is currently working on developing its sister restaurant, No. 2 which is also based in Copenhagen.
Søren said: “We are just happy coming to work here every day and making good food for our guests.”
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