A stone’s throw from Kongens Nytorv lies one of the city’s hottest restaurants. At the address Bredgade 20, ‘MASH’ can be seen in large letters above the door. Some people may come to think of the American TV series of the same name, but then it was an acronym for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.
At the restaurant in Bredgade, MASH means something else, explains Francis Cardenau. Here it stands for Modern American Steak House.
We have the best meat in all of Denmark. Possibly the whole world. It’s fantastic that Danish cattle producers can produce meat of this quality from cows which basically only eat grass, says Francis Cardenau, who opened MASH in April together with his two colleagues, Jesper Boelskifte and Eric Gemal Witting. The three of them also own the restaurants Le Sommelier and Umami.
In Danish Crown’s special cold store – the ‘Gold Store’ – some of the best chefs in Denmark select their meat.
The chef Francis Cardenau selects the meat according to his own quality criteria.
Deliveries from the Gold Store
Every week, MASH takes delivery of 35 short loins from Danish Crown’s Gold Store in Kolding. The Gold Store is a cold store where the best restaurants and chefs in Denmark can have meat stored and aged according to individual wishes. The meat is selected according to Francis Cardenau’s exacting criteria and then aged for 90 days. Hence the name Danish Dry Aged.
The first six months have gone really well. We’ve been getting good feedback, especially for our Danish meat which is extremely tender, slightly sweet and succulent thanks to the time it’s been allowed to age. And we are already getting enquiries from several places around the world about the quality of our Danish meat, says Francis Cardenau.
For all to see
The premises were previously occupied by an art gallery, Galleri Asbæk, but have been converted in a style which is reminiscent of a slaughterhouse. With tiled walls, subdued lighting, red carpet, and seating upholstered in red leather and carefully chosen, soft American jazz tones. Visually an up-to-date diner from the 1950s. In the middle of the long aisle which runs between the café and the exclusive restaurant – adjoining the kitchen – is a glass display cabinet with whole short loins and various cuts.
This is our cold store, but also a presentation tool. We use it to tell customers about Danish Dry Aged meat and the various cuts we serve, says Francis Cardenau.
The beef for MASH is aged for 90 days. It is called Danish Dry Aged and kept in the Gold Store.
The American way with a twist
The menu is very straightforward. The dishes primarily consist of steaks ranging in size from 200 grams to a massive 1200 grams, as well as chicken and fish. If you are vegetarian, this is not the place to visit to appease your appetite.
We have concentrated on steaks, inspired by our study trips to the best steakhouses in the USA. But I have added a bit of a twist to our dishes – primarily from French and Danish cuisine. Together they create a Danish brand which we want to market worldwide as possibly the best meat in the world, says Francis Cardenau with a smile.
Read more about MASH at www.mashsteak.dk.