Café Stranden – West Jutland Gastronomy
A good meal begins with good ingredients, and they are certainly not taken for granted at Café Stranden on the Jutland west coast Café Stranden at Henne Strand in West Jutland enjoys a perfect location in the first row of dunes, with a magnificent view of the North Sea. Jeppe Hjulstad runs the café, which he took over when Hans Beck Thomsen retired in 2019. Jeppe Hjulstad trained as a chef at Hjerting Badehotel and as a waiter at Henne Kirkeby Kro, and has been at Café Stranden since 2010, for the first 10 years together with Hans Beck Thomsen and since 2019 as an independent restaurateur. The restaurant is naturally located in a holiday area that attracts both tourists and regular guests. Since guests arrive throughout the day, they have developed a slightly different ordering concept: guests order and pay at the counter in the bar, after which the food is served. Café Stranden's kitchen is inspired by the French brasserie and is therefore relaxed and simple, built on good ingredients.
Uncomplicated Brasserie
Jeppe loves what is simple, uncomplicated and informal, and it shows in Café Stranden's interpretation of a brasserie. In this interpretation, all the elements of a restaurant come together: atmosphere, service, ingredients and, not least, well-prepared meals. Several things are done a little differently in the restaurant to honour the relaxed style. For example, you cannot reserve a table, and you order and pay for your food at the bar.
Café Stranden's dining room is dominated by the panoramic view, with the ever-changing North Sea as a backdrop, and by the lovely light that contrasts with the dark furniture. Besides the magnificent view, you will notice that the room is decorated with art featuring nude figures. This has been a subject of debate and has even been written about in American media; the team themselves feel that it contributes to the relaxed atmosphere of a holiday area.
The brasserie style runs throughout the kitchen, where they like to make French-inspired food using high-quality ingredients that should preferably be local. From freshly caught fish from Hvide Sande, to vegetables produced in the surrounding villages, and not least gourmet ice cream from Kastbergs, which is used in delicious, inspiring desserts. Desserts you might find on the menu could be something like this:
Triple mousse with strawberry sorbet
Jerusalem artichoke chips with browned butter and vanilla ice cream
Poached pear with salted caramel ice cream
Café Stranden's collaboration with suppliers
At Café Stranden, they have clear views on the ingredients they use in the kitchen. They should be properly made, and preferably of local origin. That is why our collaboration with Kastbergs Gourmet-Is is a perfect match.
It is unique that Kastbergs, as a producer, makes many of its products with local ingredients, such as their fantastic strawberry sorbet, made with Danish strawberries from Samsø, which is also true of their rhubarb sorbet. “This is exactly how we want our suppliers to work, with top quality and a close, personal touch,” says Jeppe Hjulstad, and he continues: “We can't imagine working with anyone else.”
In addition to our shared views on ingredients, handling and sustainability, both parties benefit from an open and constructive dialogue. When Kastbergs experiments with new recipes, Jeppe is always happy to share his opinion, and Kastbergs can also create special productions for Café Stranden. Most recently, Kastbergs made a vanilla yoghurt for Café Stranden, which used it in a dessert in the autumn of 2022.
Staffing challenges
Like many other restaurants, one of the biggest challenges is finding qualified staff, especially chefs and waiters. This problem only grows when you are located in a holiday town in West Jutland like Henne Strand. That is why Café Stranden has several tools in the toolbox to secure staff, so the restaurant can keep running.
First and foremost, they prioritise creating a good working environment where everyone is respected and community comes first. Most of the company's approximately 40 employees are part-time and local, and they return again and again, year after year. Several study in Aarhus and choose to work through the summer to enjoy the atmosphere and the community.
In addition, they work with their menu, which is naturally dynamic, but also adapted to the number of chefs available.
The Board – A Source of Food Waste Reduction
It is well known that chefs often change jobs to seek inspiration and to hone their skills. Jeppe Hjulstad is grateful to have worked with skilled professionals who have been generous in sharing their approach to ingredients, cooking and several other essential skills a restaurateur should possess.
An important quality is reducing food waste, not only because it is good business, but also because you respect the ingredients and do not want to throw good produce away. To this end, a chalkboard hangs high and central on the wall at Café Stranden. On this board, the dish of the day is written up, preferably several of them. These dishes largely consist of leftover ingredients from the preceding days, and so they use these ingredients in an effort to reduce food waste as much as possible. Jeppe learned from his mentors to respect the ingredients and that money is found in the corners.
Many of Café Stranden's guests know the board very well and often order from it to get something extraordinary. The chef creates something delicious, the kitchen uses up its leftovers and the guests are happy.
With food waste in mind, Kastbergs says thank you to Café Stranden for wanting to share their story with us.