Danish Michelin Star chef cooks to make a difference Favorite 

A couple of weeks ago Danish chef Rasmus Munk made Michelin-starred dishes, now he prepares pasta salad and tartlets for the homeless in Copenhagen.

In the past few weeks, COVID-19 has forced several restaurants in Denmark to close, including the well-known Alchemist.

But closing the restaurant doesn´t mean that the owner and star chef, Rasmus Munk, stops doing what he loves the most, cooking. The clientele and the venue, however, have changed radically.

Homeless and socially vulnerable citizens in Denmark have, in many cases, nowhere to go during the pandemic. With almost everything closed, their living conditions have deteriorated. And that is where Rasmus Munk wants to make a difference.

The pandemic has sparked new life into one of Munk’s pre-existing projects, which was conceived a few years ago. The project is called JunkFood, but while Munk was busy running his restaurant, he had little time to devote to it. However, during these times when the Alchemist is closed, the JunkFood project grew wings.

Rasmus Munk has always been unique in the world of gastronomy and the Alchemist restaurant was called “the World’s Most Ambitious New Restaurant” in an article in Robb Report, with a mix of art, theatre, activism and food all in one.In his fifteen-seat, two-Michelin-starred restaurant, Munk once served a blood-looking cherry sauce, to persuade his clients to sign up to be an organ donor. Munk says that his cooking for the homeless is a continuation of the philosophy of the Alchemist.

“This project is, in a way, just another aspect of that with the focus now shifting to making a difference on a more one-to-one scale. We have had a fantastic response from the industry and have been supported with both ingredients and help in delivering food to the shelters.”