Allan Poulsen is a Danish chef with a background in some of the country’s leading kitchens, who has become known for an unusually intimate restaurant concept: Noorrm, which he runs from a single table in his own dining room in Solbjerg, a small town just south of Aarhus. After years cooking at established restaurants, he has turned to a highly personal, ultra-small-scale form of Nordic fine dining.
His cooking is rooted in Nordic ingredients handled at a high level, served to a handful of guests at a time in a home setting rather than a conventional restaurant dining room.
TL;DR
- Danish chef with experience at leading Danish restaurants, including Henne Kirkeby Kro and Nimb
- Runs Noorrm, an intimate restaurant in his own dining room in Solbjerg, south of Aarhus
- Noorrm seats up to about 12 guests at a single table
- Serves a long menu of around 20 servings built on Nordic ingredients
- A personal, ultra-small-scale take on Nordic fine dining
Allan Poulsen key facts
| Nationality | Danish |
| Current restaurant | Noorrm, Solbjerg (south of Aarhus) |
| Format | One table for up to ~12 guests; menu of around 20 servings |
| Previous kitchens | Henne Kirkeby Kro; Nimb; Det Gamle Mejeri |
| Style | Nordic fine dining at a small, personal scale |
Career
Allan Poulsen built his experience in a series of respected Danish kitchens. He was a chef at Henne Kirkeby Kro on the west coast of Jutland – the restaurant later taken over by Paul Cunningham in 2012 – and also worked at Nimb in Copenhagen and at Det Gamle Mejeri. That grounding in Danish gastronomy shaped the high-level, ingredient-focused cooking he now serves under his own name.
Noorrm
Poulsen’s current project, Noorrm, takes the small-restaurant idea to its limit. Rather than a conventional dining room, he serves guests from a single table set up in his own home in Solbjerg, a town of around 4,000 people south of Aarhus. The table seats up to roughly a dozen guests, who are served a long sequence of about 20 servings built around Nordic ingredients – an experience closer to being cooked for at home by a top chef than to a traditional restaurant visit.
Signature style
Poulsen’s approach is defined by scale and intimacy as much as by the food itself. Cooking for only a handful of guests at a time lets him work with an unusually high level of care and personal contact, using quality Nordic produce across a long tasting sequence. It is a deliberate move away from large restaurant operations toward something smaller, more direct and more personal.
Allan Poulsen in context
Poulsen’s very small, personal restaurant sits at one end of a Danish fine-dining scene that ranges from destination inns to Copenhagen’s flagship kitchens – the broader world of chefs such as Jesper Koch in Sonderjylland, Soren Selin of AOC and Rasmus Kofoed of Geranium.
Allan Poulsen FAQ
What is Noorrm?
Allan Poulsen’s intimate restaurant, run from a single table in his own dining room in Solbjerg, south of Aarhus, seating up to around 12 guests.
Where has Allan Poulsen worked?
At leading Danish kitchens including Henne Kirkeby Kro, Nimb and Det Gamle Mejeri, before starting Noorrm.
Where is Noorrm?
In Solbjerg, a small town of about 4,000 people just south of Aarhus in Denmark.
What kind of food does he serve?
A long menu of around 20 servings built on Nordic ingredients, cooked at a high level for a small number of guests.
How big is the restaurant?
Very small – a single table for up to roughly a dozen people, in a home rather than a conventional restaurant.
