In this episode of the How to Live in Denmark podcast, host Kassandra Melish explains how Danish cultural pride is expressed through food rather than folk costumes. She introduces the nation’s signature dishes—crispy fried pork (flæskesteg), open‑faced rye‑bread sandwiches (smørrebrød), berry porridge dessert (rødgrød med fløde)—and highlights seafood, vegan‑friendly options, and beloved sweets such as salt licorice and fresh pastries. Melish describes the structure of Danish work‑day meals, noting that most employees eat lunch in corporate canteens, that breakfast out is rare, and that weekend brunches are common in larger cities. She outlines restaurant service conventions: ordering at the bar, paying up‑front, minimal table service, early kitchen closing times, and the lack of a tipping requirement. The host also warns about social etiquette, emphasizing the Danish expectation of long, relaxed dinner evenings, staying seated for hours, and avoiding early departures. She shares a personal anecdote about unintentionally offending locals by leaving a dinner too soon and mentions the quirky habit of eating a hamburger with a knife and fork. The episode concludes with a plug for the How to Live in Denmark and How to Work in Denmark books and social‑media channels.
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Hello and welcome to the How to Live in Denmark podcast. I'm Kassandra Melish. Unlike the Norwegians. and the Swedes and some Germans, the Danes don't show their cultural pride by dressing up in 19th-century folk costumes. As a matter of fact, the first time I ever saw a Danish version was at a Danish culture festival in California. Instead, Danes express their cultural pride through food. When visiting Denmark, you'll be offered Danish cuisine, and expressing enthusiasm for it will go a long way towards generating harmony with The good news is Danish cuisine has something for everyone. If you're a carnivore, don't miss the Danish pork dishes, particularly flæskesteg. That's a crispy, fatty fried pork that's the official national food. For people who prefer fish, there's a great selection in this country surrounded by water. Curried herring and fried plaice are popular, and so are many types of salmon. I'm not a big fish fan, but I'm sure I could enjoy some of the dishes. I like the thinly sliced smoked salmon served on rye bread with chives, dill, and a bit of chopped red onion. That is so good. Vegans can enjoy a great selection of root vegetables, wonderful fresh Danish berries, or the sweet elderflower juice that is sometimes blended with vodka or champagne. Denmark's famous thick bread, rupol, is vegan-friendly and can be eaten with potatoes on top as a type of smørrebrød, the open-faced sandwiches that are popular at lunchtime. These sandwiches are particularly big with builders and other working-class guys. Most of the shops that sell them open up at 7 AM so the guys can buy them on their way to work and then close at 2 PM when they're done with lunch. In addition, Danes adore cake and candy, in particular salt licorice, which is a national passion. And make room in your food plan for a real Danish pastry, which are nothing like the ones you get in a plastic bag from the vending machine at home. Made daily with fresh cream and the famous Danish butter, they are worth every calorie. There's also an old-fashioned dessert that's a kind of berry porridge called rødgrød med fløde. I have never been served this dish in real life, but Danes think it's hilarious to try to make foreigners pronounce it. Much of your dining with the Danes will probably be lunches at corporate canteens, which all but the very smallest employers provide for their employees. Going out for lunch is rare in Denmark, and some of the smaller towns may not even have restaurants open at this time of day. A weekday breakfast at a restaurant is very unusual, although weekend brunch is popular in the big cities. At any time of day, your restaurant experience in Denmark will be different than in many parts of the world. Because Denmark has no cheap labor. Restaurant employees are highly paid, and there are fewer of them than you'll see in many other parts of the world. In many cafés, you will order at the bar, pay in advance, and then pick up your own food when it's ready. Higher-end restaurants do have servers, but they're not particularly attentive, which is how the Danes like it. They don't like to be pestered. Most restaurant kitchens close at 9 PM, and unless the place is also a bar, you're usually expected to be out the You do not have to tip, although you can always slightly round up— maybe pay 200 crowns for a bill that's 185 crowns. In Asia or the U.S. or Southern Europe, dining out is often part of a longer evening. You go to dinner and a movie afterwards, or dinner and out for karaoke or drinks afterwards. But in Denmark, the dinner is the evening. When dining at a friend's house or in a restaurant, you are expected to sit in one chair for many hours, conversing with the people on both sides of you and polishing off multiple bottles of wine or beer. When I first arrived in Denmark, I unintentionally offended many people by leaving too early. I was thinking from the American point of view. I didn't want to stay too long and make myself a nuisance. But that's not how the Danes think. Long evenings are something you will have to get used to, along with some Danes' disconcerting habit of eating a hamburger with a knife and fork. And that's the How to Live in Denmark podcast for this week. You can buy our How to Live in Denmark and How to Work in Denmark books on Amazon and Saxo, and you can follow all our content at howtoliveindenmark.com. Or follow us on Twitter or Instagram at How to Live in DK. The two is a number. See you next time.
