Saison

In the residential, harbor side area of Hellerup in Denmark you'll find Saison, a fine restaurant that offers diners haute cuisine courtesy of legendary Danish chef Erwin Lauterbach.

Saison has a rich history dating back to 1981 when Lauterbach opened his first restaurant, also named Saison. The name obviously means a lot to him and you can tell why, thanks to the seasonality and freshness of the ingredients. His insistence on quality ingredients and superb flavors gave him a loyal following, most of who continued to patronize his restaurant when it moved to Skovshoved Hotel in 1989. In 1993, Lauterbach and Saison moved again, to Strandvej 203 in Hellerup, where it still stands today.

Vegetables are key at Saison, and always fresh, and they appear either as important ingredient in the sumptuous dishes, or as decorations in vases around the restaurant.

'Food should taste of that which it is made of,' says Lauterbach. 'The basis of successful cooking is to consider the best in each piece of raw material and to bring out its own taste.' Erwin Lauterbach mentioned this in his book, 'Smukt og enkelt' - a gastronomic calendar - that was published in 1991.

Erwin also finds time away from cooking to write cookbooks and judge cooking competitions and generally live the life of a culinary celebrity. Any chance to dine at the restaurant of such a chef should not be sniffed at. And, because vegetables are such a feature at this restaurant, it comes highly recommended for vegetarians.

At lunch, there are three course and four course options for DKK 350 and DKK 450 respectively, as well as a la carte dishes. In the evening, the three course option goes up to DKK 440, and the four course DKK 540 and offers dishes such as Carpaccio, iced foie gras, fried skate wing with capers, as well as cheese and dessert.