Restaurants in Copenhagen celebrate the 60th anniversary of the “Shooting Star”
DENMARK: Smørbrød – or ‘smørrebrød’ as it is called in Danish – is a classic dish which is typically based on rye bread with a variety of toppings from herring to tartar, seafood, potatoes and eggs.
– The Danish tradition of smørrebrød dates back to the 1880s, when restaurants in Copenhagen began to serve pieces of bread, and 60 years ago a new classic was put to the test, writes Visit Denmark in a press release about the anniversary.
Tribute to the astronaut Gagarin
The Danish smørrebrød pioneer, Ida Davidsen created ‘Stjerneskudd’ as a tribute to the world’s first man in space, Juri Gagarin.
When the astronaut visited Copenhagen in 1962, Ida Davidsen made the sandwich in the shape of a space rocket to honor what he had achieved.
It had fried fish fillet combined with salmon and prawns on white bread topped with caviar and a lemon wedge. The dish is unique as it is not served on rye bread, and Gagarin is said to have loved the rum sandwich so high that it quickly became a fast part of the restaurant’s menu.
Ida Davidsen called it ‘Stjerneskudd’, as it continues to be called today in restaurants and cafes around the country. As a way to celebrate the 60th anniversary on September 5, several restaurants in Copenhagen are serving their own version of ‘Stjerneskudd’.
Sandwiches in Copenhagen
- September 5 is the 60th anniversary of the smørrebrød dish ‘Stjerneskuddet’.
- The word smørrebrød is a mixture of the words ‘smør’ (butter) and ‘brød’ (bread), as the original was just bread served with butter or fat spread.
- Smørrebrød is mostly a lunch dish and is often served with a glass of schnapps on the side.
- The oldest known smørrebrød menu dates back to 1883 and is offered in the world’s second oldest amusement park, Tivoli, at what is today part of the Nimb restaurants.
- Several bib gourmand restaurants focus on smørrebrød in Copenhagen – Selma, Norrlyst, Bjørnekælderen and Restaurant Møntergade.
- Copenhagen wine merchant and bar owner Oskar Davidsen started a Copenhagen sandwich empire that has been around for more than 100 years. Kona Petra started serving smørrebrød in 1888 to feed the wine bar’s hungry guests.
- Oskar Davidsen later created the world’s most extended smørrebrød menu with 178 varieties on the menu, which was over 140 cm long.
- The Davidsen family today has a smørrebrød empire that spans five generations, and his great-granddaughter Ida Davidsen invented «Stjerneskudd». Her son has taken over the smørrebrød business today and is now looking for a new premises.
- A whole day – August 27 – is dedicated to smørrebrød at Copenhagen Cooking.
Shooting stars in many varieties
This is how some of Copenhagen’s restaurants celebrate the anniversary:
At Aamann’s Replik, which is located at the Royal Danish Playhouse, the focus is on seasonal ingredients from local producers. Here, most varieties of smørrebrød can be enjoyed while you have a view of Copenhagen’s harbour.
To celebrate the 60th anniversary of ‘Stjerneskuddet’, Aamanns Replik has created a special version of the classic dish, consisting of fried fish and moist seasonal flatfish, hand-peeled prawns, seasonal fish roe, grilled asparagus topped with fried tomato, garlic and herb mayonnaise to make it finished. An upgraded lobster version is also available upon request.
Known for traditional Danish cooking and smørrød, Meyers i Tårnet, with its unique location in the tower of the Danish Parliament, marks the 60th anniversary during the weekends in September.
At Meyers, the focus is on the current seasons, and the version of Stjerneskuddet is made with local and seasonal ingredients. Made from a piece of toasted sourdough bread with fillets of fried and steamed plaice, hand-peeled prawns, caviar, pickled colored tomatoes, lemon and tomato mayonnaise topped with tomato snow and herbs. The dish can be enjoyed with a view of the city.
With seven independent kitchens gathered in a gastro house, Seaside Toldboden takes you on a culinary journey around the world. However, Danish cuisine is still an important part of the lunch menu at the Nordic kitchen, Solveig with head chef Naveed Kronholm as manager.
On September 5, in honor of the ‘Star Shot’, his taste of the smørrebrød will be available at Seaside Toldboden for lunch. Solveig’s interpretation of ‘Stjerneskuddet’ is a deep-fried plaice and steamed sole served with tomato hollandaise, crayfish tails and trout roe on top.
Restaurant Palægade is located in the center and serves exclusive Danish sandwiches for lunch such as turbot from the West Coast of Denmark. The restaurant is owned by the people behind the Michelin star Formel B, and in addition to serving sandwiches dedicated to sea, field and forest, they also have a cake cart with petite fours and cakes to choose from.
Restaurant Palægade’s tribute to ‘Stjerneskuddet’ is a fried plaice fillet served on crispy toast with prawns, pickled tomatoes and green and white asparagus and a steamed turbot with Baerii Caviar topped with a sauce Choron.
Restaurant Barr, located in Noma’s former restaurant by the water at Christianshavn, draws inspiration from traditional dishes from North Sea cuisine with dishes such as whole-grilled turbot and fried Danish camembert.
To celebrate the 60th anniversary of ‘The Shooting Star’, Restaurant Barr has put a Nordic twist on the classic elements of the open sandwich with ingredients such as langoustine, herb salad and an elderflower remoulade served as part of the lunch menu. Some of the Danish beers you can choose for your dishes include sour beer from Gørløse in North Zealand, Refshaleøen in Copenhagen and Bornholm.
Located in a building from 1716 in the former home of the Danish composer Carl Nielsen, you will find Restaurant Carl Nielsen – a smørrebrød place dedicated in his name.
In light of the 60th anniversary, a new version of the ‘Star Shot’ has been added, and it consists of a steamed plaice fillet with scallop stuffing, a fried cod fillet, homemade Thousand Island dressing, marinated hand-peeled prawns, crushed lemon juice jelly, home-pickled asparagus and Rossini- caviar.
Restaurant Schønnemann is one of Copenhagen’s oldest eateries. Since 1877, this old-fashioned establishment has been serving freshly made smørrebrød, and today all the dishes are made from organic ingredients. Here you can choose between 24 beers, more than 140 different aquavits and a variety of smørrebrød from long-aged herring to smoked eel with scrambled eggs and freshly breaded fried plaice fillets.
In honor of the 60th anniversary of ‘Stjerneskuddet’, Schønnemanns has created its version of the classic smørrebrød made from a fried and steamed plaice fillet on toast with smoked salmon, fresh Greenland prawns and Danish caviar topped with Hollandaise sauce.