Katherine Bont is a key member of the service team at Noma in Copenhagen. She started out as a chef in her native Australia and worked in Thailand and Japan – she ran a nine-room hotel and restaurant in Hokkaido with her husband Kim – before joining Noma nearly four years ago. Earlier this year she returned to Japan for Noma’s Tokyo residency, which ran for five weeks at the Mandarin Oriental (you can listen to a great report on it here). In 2015 she has also been to Hong Kong, Taiwan and Australia, encountering lots of interesting food along the way.
To continue our new 6×6 series exploring what people are eating in different parts of the world, we asked Katherine to recall her six most memorable food experiences of the past six months. Here’s what she chose.
Ramen in Tokyo
Afuri, Shibuya, Tokyo
“A bowl of ramen for me is the ultimate comfort food. Having lived four years in the snowy north of Japan, I really appreciate all different types of ramen: the rich bone broths, the light salt or soy broths, the thick miso broths (a specialty of Hokkaido). Decent ramen is not readily available in Copenhagen (though we make it at home sometimes) so it was one of the first things I had to have upon arrival in Tokyo early this year for #nomajapan. Afuri is a favorite and it’s open until the early hours of the morning. I just love the addition of yuzu to the bowl and will always add extra toppings of soft egg, roast pork and nori. ”
1-1-7 Ebisu, Shibuya, Tokyo 150-0013, Japan; +81 3-5795-0750
Breakfast in Taipei
Yonghe Soy Milk King, Taipei, Taiwan
“Breakfast in Taipei really is something and Yonghe Soy Milk King is king! Fresh, frothy soy milk served cold as a drink, and warm as a broth with fried bread, dried shrimp and pickles. At the front as you walk in, there is a small army of men producing fried bread sticks, which you eat warm, wrapped in a thin egg omelette and slathered in the vinegar and chilli oil. Something dreams are made of… ”
No. 102, Section 2, Fuxing S Rd, Da’an District, Taipei City, Taiwan 106; +886 2 2703 5051
Fish and chips in Queensland
The Boat Shed, Scarborough, Australia
“Sitting by the water eating fish and chips with friends and family whenever I return to Australia is, for me, one of the most wonderful experiences imaginable. My first meal when I arrived back earlier this year was with family and I can still vividly remember the breeze, the sound of the ocean, the sand between your toes… and the mountains of chips, fish, calamari and tartare sauce washed down with ice-cold Bundaberg ginger beer.”
The Boat Shed, 2/63 Landsborough Ave, Scarborough QLD 4020, Australia; +61 7 3880 0555
Family meal at Noma
Noma, Copenhagen, Denmark
“Family meal [for staff] at Noma must produce some of the most diverse spreads around. We have 20+ different nationalities in a team of more than 80 staff (around 30 of whom come for a period of three months to do a stage in the kitchen). Each week two new members of the team are chosen to prepare the meals for the following week. They have time to plan a menu with our kitchen manager and, though there are some guidelines, they have quite a lot of freedom. We have eaten meals from Brazil, Turkey, Nepal, India, Mexico, Spain, Japan, Korea and everywhere in between. On our first week back from Japan we had some delicious Korean food including homemade kimchi and really appreciated, after three months without staff meals, how lucky we are each and every day.”
Strandgade 93, 1401 København K, Denmark; +45 32 96 32 97, www.noma.dk
Udon noodles made from potato bread by my husband on a Sunday morning
At home, Copenhagen
“My husband Kim (@kimwejendorp) has been at Amass since it opened, playing a part in perfecting this bread which is loosely based on a Norwegian fermented potato lefse. Kim is a wonderful cook. After cooking Thai food with David Thompson for years and living with me in Japan, he has a deep interest in Asian flavors and techniques. One morning at home something magical happened… He blended day-old potato bread with water and flour and made thick squidgy “udon noodles”, which he then topped with slow-cooked broccoli, soft egg and a tosazu (vinegar, bonito and soy) dressing. There was everything to love about this. ”
Donuts by Louise Bannon
Noma, Copenhagen
“Mmm donuts! We’ve had an Irish girl called Louise (@louise_bannon) making the staff-meal desserts at Noma. She has spoiled us with macarons, rich fudgey brownies, cakes, biscuits and often donuts. They’ve been filled with flavoured creams and custards, dusted with dried berries and various sugars and eaten with different jams or compotes. My favorite was filled with a Spanish chervil ice cream and then dusted with sugar, dried blackcurrant and fennel.”
Follow Katherine on Instagram