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If there had been a way out back then, who knows what would have become of him. But there was only blue. Above him the sky, below him the sea. Nothing but water all around. At thirteen, Eric Vildgaard's criminal record was so long that the Danish authorities sent him to a therapy ship far out on the North Sea. A floating exile for young people for whom every attempt at resocialization had failed. "I was in a reformatory," says Vildgaard, "but they quickly threw me out again. I was so aggressive - no one could find a way to get me under control." In the end, there were only two options: Adult prison or the welfare ship. But even that had a catch: "Apart from the captain and me, nobody spoke Danish. The whole crew was Polish." He had never felt so lonely before. So empty. The only pastime he found was an old cookbook. This is where the story of one of the world's most extraordinary chefs begins.
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