#clausmeyer

We get the American association with liquorice. The word alone conjures an image of some sort of gross, twizzler-like candy with a funny aftertaste. This is simply not the case in Denmark. Thinking of Danish liquorice as American liquorice would be like comparing a fine dark chocolate to a stale Hershey's bar. In Denmark, the liquorice is a gourmet speciality. It can be made into fine hard candies, or even used in recipes almost like a salt, where it brings out more flavor and adds complexity to whatever dish you make. And then there is Johan Bülow. Johan Bülow is the king of the candy store; the Dane-revered liquorice guru. His liquorice is made of fine liquorice root coming from around the world and used in some of Copenhagen’s top restaurants. So, of course, we needed to get in touch. These are pretty, right?

We were pumped. As a man who grew up on liquorice (and also has an entire shelf dedicated to liquorice in his Park Slope apartment), the idea of meeting the team behind Lakrids by Johan Bülow an exceptionally exciting prospect. Our heads were spinning with excitement on the train ride from Aarhus to Copenhagen. Or perhaps it was the shots of liquorice Snaps we were doing with friends from Aarhus until 4am the evening prior. And then again, it also would have been better if we didn’t miss out first train to Copenhagen and made to stand on the platform for a very hungover 2 hours to wait for the next train (which was probably only 20 minutes in reality). The train did, however, allow us a surprisingly comfortable 3 hour nap. When we finally arrived in Copenhagen a bit more refreshed, we were met with one of Johan Bülow's top men, Peter, who is more of a liquorice enthusiast than a marketer. He told us to meet at a restaurant owned by Claus Meyer, the man behind the major Scandinavian project in NYC. Claus Meyer has already contracted to open a high end Scandinavian food court in Grand Central, making it a first to have an international presence in such an iconic landmark in New York.

Peter excitedly explained all of the uses for liquorice. He told us the story of how they have been able to convert liquorice non-believers into avid liquorice fans by using different ingredients and tempting people to try just a bite. Peter even pulled a variety of liquorice powders and syrups off the shelf of his store, so that we could taste them along with the foods at the Claus Meyer Deli such as the flæskesteg sandwich and a roasted duck leg. It was liquorific! And then the question was asked: "Would you like to take home bags containing all of our different products to try at home?"

HVAD?!? "Yes, that would be nice." We politely replied while trying to contain our urges to perform a happy dance in the middle of Meyers Deli. "Great!" Peter replied. "I will make sure to have our store put together bags with everything you might want to try and you can pick it up tomorrow. The code word is 'pølsewoman'." Since coming home, we have experimented with the Lakrids on hot dogs quite a bit and are coming close to having the ultimate Lakrids hot dog recipe. Here is a sneak peak, but maybe we can use that in another afsnit!