Michael de Laine

By Michael de Laine, the Copenhagen Voice, 12 December 2009

In warfare, a guerilla pops up in expected places, attacks the opposition and then disappears into the local background, where he or she blends in totally. In Silver.Spoon.Dining, Tiffany Ng’s guerilla dining concept, an ethereal restaurant appears for an evening or three, then disappears after leaving a good impression the palate.

Half-way through the COP15 climate summit in Copenhagen, Cafe Fokus on Frederiksborggade was the venue for a single evening of Silver.Spoon.Dining.

As well as a selection of classic Cafe Fokus dishes (Caesar salad, goat cheese salad, burger and beef tenderloin), diners on 12 December could choose from a CO2 minimal menu offering onion soup with licorice and fennel; scallops on a stick, with carrot confit cream and beetroot chips; oven-baked pork belly, with cauliflower cream and vanilla, and apple juice foam; Calvados and apple must salted salmon, with watercress and apple salad; and licorice marinated venison, with fennel comfit.

Judging by the selection served to us – we did not have the venison – chef Fabian Moraga had composed an appetizing and delicious menu from locally produced food that fused the French cuisine with the Scandinavian.

According to the description in the menu, Silver.Spoon.Dining is a new venture where chefs, menus, venues and themes come together for a single event in an ethereal restaurant, before disbanding and then reappearing elsewhere.

“We strive to satisfy your epicurean tastes by allowing up-and-coming chefs the creative freedom to design innovative menus using the freshest, most-sustainable ingredients available,” the menu blurb says. “Quality dining for affordable prices at its best.”

That the food was not boring must be due to Tiffany’s concept and Moraga’s work.

Originally from Chile, Moraga has been a chef for more than a decade, perfecting his culinary skills in Copenhagen, Norrköping, Malmö and Stockholm.

He finds transforming a simple commodity into edible artwork exciting and invigorating. Moraga believes it is the responsibility of the chef to know the history of each of his dishes , from feed and fertilizer to harvest and transport. Therefore he relies primarily on local, sustainable suppliers, selecting the ingredients with the utmost care.

Good and appealing food with low carbon footprint ought to have drawn in the crowds from the Bella Center. But the restaurant was only half-full – perhaps the government officials and the NGO representatives had decided instead to go to Helsingør for the big food bash at the Kronborg castle arranged by the weekly magazine Monday Morning.