Nature's bounty: Henne Kirkeby Kro blossoms under Alan Bates

The West coast of Jutland is raw and unfiltered Danish beauty at its finest. Long sandy beaches, dunes with rose bushes, and miles and miles of flat, wind-swept terrain. You’d be tempted to think that not much goes on in these parts. But at Henne Kirkeby Kro, great changes are afoot as wave of new energy crashes upon the famed establishment. Since March, 36-year-old chef Alan Bates has taken the reins at the 234-year-old thatched-roof inn where the legendary Paul Cunningham found a new lease of life, receiving two Michelin stars in 2017.

Last year, former head chef Paul Proffitt left to open his own restaurant, and with Cunningham away battling longtime illness, Bates has had ample opportunity to make his own mark on the revered dining destination. That suits him well. “I don’t want to come here and make someone else’s food. Here, my imagination is the limiting factor,” he says. For starters, he has capitalized greatly on Henne’s vast kitchen garden, allowing it to decide to a much higher extent what makes it on the menu here.

“Our garden is the ‘unique selling point’ that others don’t have. It’s not a showpiece, and I wanted to use it a lot more” says Bates as he leads us through 5,000 square meters of late summer abundance. Here, the scent of bronze fennel, apples, and countless herbs wafts through the air. There’s beehives, berry bushes, and fruit trees, and in the polytunnel, warm, sweet tomatoes ripe for the picking. To not make use of this would be crazy, the chef argues.

“The immediacy of the product is what makes the whole difference. The parsley, the zucchinis, the tomatoes – everything is harvested just a few hours before service. We run it to the wire; and if we need more, we run out and pick it ourselves. That makes a real difference.” That  is evident in Bates' poached Danish lobster served with compressed melon, crystallized ginger, and variations of sweet tomatoes from the garden; the tomato water enhanced with fermented melon juice, fresh Thai basil, and flavorful basil oil. A refreshing, refined dish that tastes like French-kissing Danish summer.

Aside from garden produce driving the menu, there’s also meat from organic cows and lamb sourced from pastures in nearby Varde Ådal. But also N25 Kaluga caviar, served atop a fluffy crumpet with a slice of cold butter, lemon zest, and a side of crème fraîche. Most of the fish comes from small fishing boats landing their daily catch in Hvide Sande. Standouts include grilled monkfish served with a buttery crouton, razor clams, and an intense sauce Grenobloise made with browned butter, capers, coriander stems and pickled chili; and to top it, a foamy mussel stock with Noilly Prat and lemon peel. Or poached brill with garden broccolini, elderflower, and champagne beurre blanc with caviar. It’s refined and precise classic cuisine offering pure, unadulterated flavor and a clever use of spice and aromatics. The wine pairing offers acidity-driven wines like Riesling from Klaus-Peter Keller, Chenin Blanc from Chateau de Plaisance, and ‘wilder’ specimens, like Jura Savagnin from Stéphane Tissot.

With his return to Henne Kirkeby Kro, Alan Bates has come full circle. Born in Cambridge, he began his cooking career with Tom Kerridge at The Hand & Flowers, moving on restaurants like El Celler de Can Roca and The Fat Duck. But when Brexit was announced, he knew he had to get away from the UK.

“I remember being at Glastonbury when they announced Brexit. The whole crowd just went into one big collective sigh.” He remembered the long September lunch he’d enjoyed at Henne Kirkeby Kro the year before; the beautiful, large garden, the tranquil setting in windswept West Jutland, but, most of all, the people and the wonderful hospitality he’d experienced here.

So, he went to work under Paul Cuningham for two years before taking his cooking to Copenhagen. A city saturated with amazing restaurants, he had to push himself to the limit to keep his own restaurant, Connection, afloat. But last October, as Bates was closed for the holidays and about to board a flight for Japan, Henne Kirkeby Kro's manager Garrey Dawson tempted him back with an offer he couldn’t refuse.

“A position like this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It’s like finding a lottery ticket with the winning numbers on it.” Alan Bates officially took over in March this year, and with Cunningham sidelined indefinitely, a new team to break in, and the pressure of retaining two Michelin stars, this first months were a baptism of fire.

“I like to think that I’ve thrown away the imposter syndrome. That the cards have been dealt, and all I can do is my best,” Bates says during the evening service. But the next day, after he’s given it some thought, he admits that he was extremely nervous during the initial, intensely busy weeks. That’s not the case anymore. There’s still a lot of work to do, but he feels right at home under the thatched roof of the old inn. Here, with a team of seven chefs, and people handling the business side, Bates can now fully concentrate on what he does best.

“Running a business is not my passion. I like to cook. I’m only 36 years old now, and I feel like I’m living in fantasy land,” he says, almost giddy when talking about his future on Denmark's West Coast. “I cannot outgrow this place. I feel like I can cook here for the next 20 years.”