ALCHEMIST

A marriage of design and dining at The Alchemist. The Alchemist restaurant in Copenhagen aims to transform and transcend the nature of food and dining.

The Final Stage

Fritz Hansen’s Ro™ chairs were selected for the Balcony, the final stage of the Alchemist experience. High back chairs put guests at ease during coffee and final bites. The goal was to design a space where people can discuss the experience they’ve just shared. ‘After four hours of dining and drama, this is the place to wind down. We wanted to create a casual, relaxing atmosphere where you can digest and discuss the holistic immersive experience’, says Chef Rasmus Munk. Munk is the mastermind behind Alchemist and its unique approach to dining. He says that the idea of the Balcony came from an image of a tree crown extending over the restaurant’s planetarium dome. Floating lamps in the room symbolize the leaves, and the burnt wooden panels symbolize the trunk. Purple, dark blue and blue were chosen for the Balcony to enhance the mystique and otherworldly atmosphere at Alchemist. Ro™ chairs appear in purple.

Q&A with Rasmus Munk Chef/Co-Owner of The Alchemist, Copenhagen – Expect the unexpected

WHAT UNIVERSE HAVE YOU WANTED TO CREATE ON THE BALCONY?

The Balcony is the final act in the Alchemist experience, and after four hours of dining and drama, this is the place to wind down. We wanted to create a casual, relaxing atmosphere where you can digest and discuss the holistic immersive experience.

WHAT EXPERIENCE SHOULD GUESTS HAVE ON THE BALCONY?

We want them to relax and, above all, feel comfortable when they are served coffee, tea, cocktails or digestifs together with our petit fours.

HOW DOES RO™ SEATING SUPPORT THAT EXPERIENCE?

Sitting in the Ro chairs is a luxury experience, and the design of the chairs create a secluded, intimate space when they are put together in groups.

WHY WERE THE SPECIFIC COLOURS CHOSEN? DO THEY HAVE MEANING?

They harmonize with our general dark color palette with dark blue, gold and purple. The colors are chosen to enhance the mystique and otherworldly atmosphere at Alchemist.

HOW DID YOU GET THE IDEA REGARDING THIS UNIVERSE?

The idea behind The Balcony was an image of a tree crown, extending over our planetarium dome. The floating lamps symbolize the leaves, and the burnt wooden panels symbolize the trunk.

Inside the Alchemist

The full Alchemist experience lasts for 3 – 5 hours and the only prerequisites are curiosity and presence of mind. Up to 50 culinary impressions are accompanied by beverage pairings as diners relocate to different spaces throughout the meal. Restaurant Alchemist covers 2,000 square meters and three levels of a renovated industrial building in Refshaleøen, just outside the Copenhagen’s centre.

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