Dear restaurants, I love you and I always will.

I have loved you since the first day I bussed tables as a teenager. As I became enamoured with your smells, your noises, the swearing, the running, the guests, the food, the people, and the conviviality, I ended up dedicating my life to you and cooking. I love all of you, the great restaurants, the fun ones, the inventive ones, and even the shitty ones.
My love for you has never faded. You are my home, my language, my identity. I understand you, and for the most part, you understand me. You have spoiled me with success, recognition, and attention. Plenty of attention, and my ego loves you for it.
But now, we need a break. Because loving you, as I have loved you, fills up my entire spirit, and takes all my time, focus, and energy.
Someone else deserves that today. And I, myself, deserve to dedicate myself wholeheartedly to the greatest gift I was ever granted. Despite you taking up most of my soul, I have been blessed with the love of an incredible woman and an outstanding family of 5. They deserve not only more of my time, but also more of my presence, my energy, my heart, and soul.
I did 10 years of apprenticeship, 10 years of Relæ and Manfreds, and now, after 10 years, I will say goodbye to Bæst and Mirabelle.

This time, rather than shutting it all down, I can proudly hand off a wonderful house of gastronomy, conviviality, and outstanding food to my long-time partner in crime, Ulrik Mikkelsen. He has given me the opportunity to exit my life as a restaurateur in a way that I could only dream of, and I will now, for the first time in 25 years, take my time.

What the future brings, only the future knows, but writing another book might finally be something I will actually be able to do. After some paternity leave, I will enjoy my freedom and let my curiosity and ideas take me wherever I want to go.

Thank you, and see you soon!