“It’s all about great hospitality and food, made from quality ingredients with interesting flavour combinations,” the pair explain. “We also love when people embrace what we create with an open heart and a sense of curiosity, as that is the feeling we cherish most when dining at a restaurant.” Those unexpected combinations include oysters served with a kiwi kosho, a salad of pistachio and black cardamom and squid accompanied by celeriac and ventrèche, an unsmoked, salt-cured pork belly.

Arguably the Alf philosophy is best shown by their brunsviger, a traditional Danish coffee cake. At Alf, it’s transformed into something closer to a Kouign-amann, and topped with tonka bean ice cream. It blurs the lines between Danish and Parisian, and it introduces ingredients that you might not expect. Just as importantly, though, it’s fun. “We’re cooking and we’re having fun,” says Malte. “We strive to give people an experience of what we love when we go out to eat.”

“My approach to cooking is simple,” he continues. “The ingredients are incredibly important, but so is the mood.” In terms of produce, Malte is particularly inspired by food markets across Europe, and Denmark’s farm shops in summer. “The ingredients start the creative process and set the level of ambition,” Jeppe adds. For both of them though, the vibe  is equally important. “My creativity comes to a half if I’m not in a good mood,” Malte explains. “So I work hard to ensure the mood in the team and in life outside the restaurant is great.”

With their produce-first approach, Malte and Jeppe both love ingredients that show the passing of the seasons. “The first potatoes of the season have a special feeling and magic about them,” Malte says. Jeppe, however, chooses a different ingredient as his favourite. “Shelling peas is a timeout for quiet contemplation, and they are a signal that we made it through another winter,” he says. “Bring Malte some peas, cream, lime and chervil, and prepare yourself for take-off.”