By Drude Therkildsen Bill & Mette Bjerre
Captured by Esther Cæcilie Lock-Hansen

 As we wave goodbye to the bright and endless summer nights and long, warm days with ice coffees, cold drinks and Mammis lemon pie ice cream, we welcome the calmness and quietness of autumn. You can already feel it when the first days of September hit; a crispiness in the air, that works as a warning of darker and shorter days ahead. As the city calms, nature flourishes into its most splendid dress with nuances from yellow to bright red with the deep, deep blue October sky as its canvas. But there is no need to go into hibernation just yet – why not explore the richness of nature in this bountiful season on a small getaway? We took advantage of a less crowded calendar and went to visit Samsø a beautiful weekend in September.

We have long wanted to visit our neighboring island, Samsø. Home to some of the best vegetables produced in Denmark and surrounded by beautiful beaches, rolling hills, and dotted with small breweries, bakeries, farm shops, it’s the perfect place to sit back, lower your shoulders and enjoy the goodness from both land and sea. We arrived with our bikes on a warm September morning after catching an early ferry from DOKK1. And oh my, what an easy and enjoyable trip it was!  We are, truth be told, a bit embarrassed that we have never visited Samsø when it’s such a short bike- and ferry ride away from the center of Aarhus. Arriving at Samsø, we instantly noticed how quiet the island is. It’s the kind of quiet that make you think about the amount of noise you’re surrounded by every moment of every day without even noticing. But it’s not just the quiet – Samsø has a breathtaking landscape swept in the calm, light colors of harvest and autumn. On our way across the island from Sælvig to Ballen, we biked through avenues of rowan trees with bright red berries, cute villages tucked away behind old stone fences, and farms selling the most vibrant colored pumpkins.

We had no route planned but wanted to visit a variety of places offering great food, baked goods, beer, and wine. This can be a bit tricky off season, so keep this in mind while planning. We were, however, excited to visit Vinkapellet and their variety of carefully selected biodynamic wines from France, Italy, and Spain. Located on an old farm, you feel like you’re stepping directly into a scene from Emil of Lönneberga – half expecting Ida to run around the corner with her apron full of berries at any point. The wine bar is cozy, intimate and you can easily imagine the atmosphere of a great evening with old and new friends – perhaps at one of the many concerts organized by the owner Regin.
Another reason to visit Samsø during this off-season time.

Regin moved to Samsø with his family after owning a wine shop on Nørrebro in Copenhagen for several years. However, fierce competition in the industry combined with the not so child friendly environment of the city, convinced the small family to trade the hustle and bustle of the city for the calmness and tranquility of Samsø. A choice they haven’t come to regret yet, despite obvious challenges of running a bar with niche wines on a small island. We are anxious to be back and enjoy a glass of pinot by the candlelight in the old stable building.

Leaving Vinkapellet and setting course for Ballen, the sea turns up in the horizon. Ballen is far more vivid even off season than other small villages located inland. We had a long-needed cup of coffee at GROMA – a small café beautifully located next to the beach with decent coffee and bread, perfect to take on a stroll along the harbor. We didn’t have time to visit other perhaps more picturesque towns such as Nordby, but we were encouraged to go visit Nordby and hike around Alstrup or Langør and enjoy the blooming heather and crystal blue sea. Advice hereby passed on. After a quick lunch at Røgeriet in Ballen, we headed on to our final destination and the cause of our visit – Restaurant Strandlyst. Next time we will go for lunch at Skipperly.

Restaurant Strandlyst is a part of Hotel Strandlyst, serving breakfast for the hotel guests and lunch and dinner for walk-ins and reservations. This summer it is run by the great power couple Katrine and Simon – Katrine working hard behind the scenes and Simon in the kitchen creating the everchanging menu. We were invited a long time ago to come taste their take on a local menu living up to the standards of fine dining while keeping a casual and earth-bound vibe. Both are autodidact in the field. Simon has his training from Italy, but no official graduation from Denmark. Katrine is a multi-academic with degrees in both language and communication. Both has lived in many different places abroad, and Simon has travelled the world as chef on a vessel. Today they have settled with their young daughter at Samsø, but in no ordinary fashion, as they keep reinventing themselves, their projects and food adventures.

“We moved to Samsø for lots of reasons. Some of them being the obvious ones: The silence and the nature, to get away from cars and rush. But besides that, we liked the idea of seasonal work and the changing opportunities. Many people here wear more than one professional hat. Samsø gives you the opportunity to get jobs that might be slightly different from your field of education. Lastly, Simon’s first employer promised us a house to live in cheaply as a part of his employment. However, we never got the house we were promised and ended up living on a boat instead for our first season here. Since we moved here, we’ve come to experience the benefits of a small community. Everybody knows one another and we always know who to call if we need help or a cup of coffee.”

Can you tell us a bit about your vision when you opened this season?
“We had experience from fine dining, both as joint ventures and, for Simon’s part, separately. We basically had no trouble finding the core of the food concept. We’d made it up through experience and through endless amounts of talks about our dreams already.”

We can easily relate to the advantages of being able to adjust your job by the projects and ideas that engage you. And we are happy that Katrine and Simon decided to make the move. As guests we instantly felt welcome and grounded at the restaurant. We were first served a risotto with local mushrooms and chantarelles so rich, golden and full of taste you feel like autumn has been served on a plate. Warm, tender and calm – and the absolute favorite of the evening. We could easily taste the influence of the Italian kitchen from Simon’s early training. The risotto was followed by a deconstructed and modern version of “makrel i tomat” a Danish classic consisting of mackerel and tomatoes, but with small taste explosions and surprises in every bite. We always applause any dish so creative that we couldn’t possibly imitate it at home. The mains of pork and cod served both as a little piece of Samsø in their own way. From the farmland and richness of mainland Samsø to the breezy and salty shores, it was like having all of Samsø on your plate. The fatty pork, perfectly balanced by the sourer berries gathered in woods and local village ponds, and cod, covered in rose hip in a variety of textures and richness. A unique taste of mature sweetness like the golden light of late summer. The dinner was fulfilled by a dessert taking us straight to Simon’s culinary roots with an Italian inspired dolce of vanilla gelato, rosemary with crunchy sweet walnuts, and mushy brownie. A perfect ending to your autumn getaway lit by candlelight and heated by the fireplace.

After dinner, we had an extra glass with Simon to ask about his approach when creating the menu:
“The food should be simple with only a few elements. It should be honest and be a result of a fun, creative process. The first thing I do is to find out which ingredients are in season at the time. And then, well, it is a somewhat funny process. I sit by myself in front of the computer on late, silent evenings and play football manager while watching tv-series on my phone. And then the inspiration comes to me. I makes choices based on what I think could be fun to make. It is often things I’ve never tried. Based on these rather broad ideas of every dish for the new menu, I buy all the ingredients. However, the exact dish is not created before I have the ingredients in the kitchen and we run the first evening service with the new menu.”

Katrine follows up:
“A part of the meaning of this restaurant is to find happiness and feel pride in the creativity and handiwork. If one day that should disappear, you will no longer find us in this business. We need our hearts in it and our guests should be able to taste and feel that.

When our guests walk through the door, they should feel as if they entered the door at a good friend’s house. We want homely vibes and relaxed guests that feel like they are exactly where they should be in accordance with their state of mind. No matter who they are.”

We applaud the attitude towards finding pride and being creative in whatever they take on – we can easily feel the creativity from Simon in the menu and the philosophy of hospitality and honesty in the restaurant. But as winter is closing in, along comes the time for creative souls of Samsø to reinvent themselves and look inwards.

Can you tell us a bit about your plans and dreams for Strandlyst or other projects?
“We hope to continue running this restaurant. This year is our first and we have gotten many experiences to draw from for the years to come. Both in relation to creating menus and to running the business in general. This year, the only trained chef we’ve had is Simon. Next year we hope to hire one more trained chef to be able to go with two different menus. Especially because many of our guests want to come and eat here more than one time during their stay on Samsø. So, it would be nice to give them the opportunity to try an entirely different menu.

This autumn we’ll try to launch some take away and during the (very, very dark) winter on Samsø, we might try to do some theme nights, and a New Year’s Eve menu that people can come pick up.”

We are anxious to follow the couple along their journey! As always we asked the låcal experts on where to dine and where to go on Samsø – during season as well as off season. Here is their answer and our call to go visit Samsø at its most beautiful and tranquil season:

“We’re thrilled about the new Thai restaurant in Nordby called Koh Samsø. It is authentic and they use many local ingredients.

Nature has a lot to offer and we particularly like Nordby Bakker which makes for some beautiful walks in a pre-historic hilly landscape. And it is good fun for kids, too, as they can run up and down the hills.

Also, the harbor of Langør is really something special. It is unique and tranquil.

And then, of course, treat yourself with an ice cream from Casa Tua. We like to go to the one in the pink little house. In the summertime it is nice to sit on the lawn and enjoy the beautiful field of flowers next to it. And if it is too cold and windy, you can sit in your car and enjoy your ice cream.

Go to René’s Økogrønt or Yduns Have to get your local, seasonal, organic greens. The latter, as a bonus, sells really nice ice cream, too. Both are farm shops (self service).

It is actually hard to pinpoint places to recommend on Samsø because the density of passionate, skilled, creative and hardworking people who create concepts within food and drinks, handicraft, experiences and even clothes are really high.

However, we would like to give this advice: If you go to the island outside of the highest of the high season, please check the opening hours of the places you’d like to visit. Even up until just before going there. Because it is extremely challenging to run a business in a seasonal place. Therefore, opening hours change all the time. If you want to go to a restaurant, book a table in advance.”