A Dedicated Chocolate Nerd
Becoming a pastry chef wasn’t necessarily in the cards for Ronnie Holmen when he was young. The interest in cooking was always there, but it wasn’t baking and chocolate that drew him in. A meeting with a teacher in elementary school, who thought Ronnie could benefit from “blowing off some steam” before starting further education, became his entry into this world.
“I had a two-week internship at La Glace, and I realized that I was actually good at it. I was impressed by what you can create with your hands that both looks great and tastes good. It really captivated me,” Ronnie Holmen explains.
When the opportunity arose, he started an apprenticeship as a pastry chef at La Glace, and since then Ronnie Holmen has worked at places like Henne Kirkeby Kro, restaurant Herman, and at D’Angleterre. Today, he runs his own business, partly baking cakes to order and partly advising and product developing for other companies.
“I’m probably the guy you call in if you need a different, creative way of thinking about things,” he explains.
Furthermore, he has also launched his own chocolate brand, as that world has truly captivated him in recent years.
“I’m a chocolate nerd to my fingertips. I love it, and you can make anything with chocolate; figures, decorations, filled chocolates, cake. It’s a universal product that everyone likes. It’s just about taste and type,” says Ronnie, continuing:
“I think whether you’re a chef or a pastry chef, you choose a path – find what you think is the coolest. For me, that’s chocolate, and I have really nerded out on it. I’ve taken a chocolatier education and an education in making ice cream, with the focus on gaining more knowledge and nerding about chocolate specifically.”
For most people, working with chocolate, especially tempering it, is associated with a certain awe. For Ronnie Holmen, it’s also what makes it fun.
“Actually, it’s easy to work with chocolate once you’ve cracked the code, but it’s a science that you have to learn to master, and I think that makes it even more fun,” he says.
We Ask – Ronnie Answers
We’ve asked Ronnie Holmen a series of questions so you can learn more about who he is. You can find out what ingredients he always has in his fridge, and get his best tips for starting to work with chocolate.
Education?
I’m a trained pastry chef from La Glace in Copenhagen. I started in August 2002 and finished in February 2006.
Why did you become a pastry chef?
I’ve always been involved in cooking and interested in it, but maybe not so much in baking cakes. In elementary school, I was sent in that direction because I had a counselor who thought I should blow off some steam before moving on in life. He knew someone at La Glace in Copenhagen, so I got an internship there for two weeks.
I was really fascinated by the calm and discipline in a kitchen. There is an expectation that everyone is there for each other, and you’re there to learn. It was so cozy and a great place to be!
I was also impressed by what you can create with your hands. What caught me in the long run was that you can create something truly fantastic that people will eat, even though they think it’s almost too nice. There’s a wow-effect with cakes and chocolate, and you get an instant reward – people become happy and impressed. I like that.
What is your best memory from the kitchen?
It’s generally the camaraderie in the kitchen. Whether you’re talking about service, and the rush that comes with running service, because it only exists there. Or when you generally work in a kitchen. Regardless, those in the kitchen become your second family. You get to know each other because you’re working so many hours, and you share a common passion. It’s a family you get on a professional level.
What dish do you like to cook the most?
Good, Mexican food. It’s so easy to make special and delicious. I like to make a nice guacamole, a good bean salad, and then some pulled chicken or pulled pork.
What’s your show-off dish?
It’s a bit difficult, I think. But making something that plays to the eye and also tastes good. It could, for example, be a delicious creamy chocolate mousse, nicely glazed, with various compotes or gels in it, so it has different flavors. Then I would top it off with some nice decorations. It could be some crumble or chocolate decorations like a tuile.
But I could also make a sharp, delicious strawberry tart. It also tastes insanely good, and it looks great.
What don’t you like to make?
I love making cakes, but I hate baking layers. For example, cake layers. It’s mega boring, and there’s no reward. For me, there’s nothing satisfying about standing and stirring cake layers. It’s a step in the process that just needs to be done. I think it’s one of the most boring things I can make: Preparing and baking layers.
What dish do you make most often in your own kitchen?
Mexican dishes – in various ways. It can be made super easy, mega delicious, and it can be varied in many ways.
What’s your favorite dish?
A good portion of crispy pork with parsley sauce. It’s not that I’m a huge fan of classic Danish food, but in some ways it has something to offer. I don’t eat crispy pork often, but I love it when I do.
What’s your favorite cake?
The cake I like to make the most is “Lucky You,” which you can get at La Glace. I won gold in the Danish Championship for Young Pastry Chefs with it in September 2009, so it means a lot to me. The cake consists of a base of pumpkin meringue, mascarpone, raspberry, caramelized, salted pumpkin seeds, and chocolate mousse. It’s covered with chocolate ganache.
The cake I like to eat the most is a delicious strawberry tart, made with Danish strawberries when they’re in season.
What’s your favorite ingredient?
Chocolate. Without comparison.
One thing you always have in the fridge?
Trimoline. It’s an invert sugar like glucose, and you use it, for example, in a chocolate ganache to make it softer to eat and give it more structure. It’s a nerdy product, but I always have it so I can make a good ganache.
When it’s summer, I always have cream in my fridge. Then I have it for creams, for cooking, for cooking, for the sweet kitchen – and of course to eat with sweet, Danish strawberries.
Best restaurant experience ever?
It goes many years back, but it was when Ronny Emborg was the head chef at restaurant AOC in Copenhagen. It was probably the best dining experience I’ve ever had.
It was gastronomy on an insanely high level. Seeing a master at work, who was really trying to push the boundaries of what you should and can serve. It was a delight both for the eye and the senses, and you could taste that a lot of hours and a lot of passion had been put into the dishes.
Do you have a favorite restaurant?
AOC has a special place in my heart. I’ve been there many times since the above experience, and it has become a go-to restaurant for me.
Furthermore, I like Søllerød Kro. I’ve worked there, so maybe I’m a bit biased, but it’s also one of the restaurants I’ve eaten at the most. You just get served mega delicious food.
Do you have a guilty pleasure?
Chips! I love chips. They are designed to make you happy and satisfied. It’s salty, crispy, and it’s all the textures that the mouth and brain want. It’s super delicious.
What machine(s) are your favorite(s)?
At work, it’s a chocolate tempering machine. It’s a machine that automatically tempers chocolate so it can be used in filled chocolates. I also love a good ice cream machine. At work, it’s a fantastic tool.
At home, I mostly use a hand blender from Bamix. I can’t live without it.
What advice would you give to people who want to pursue pastry/cake baking?
I would advise people to venture into trying to temper chocolate. You have to give it time and immerse yourself in it and find out what it takes to crack the code. But once you crack the code, it’s a product you can’t let go of.
It’s fantastic to be able to, so you can make confectionery for Christmas, Easter eggs for Easter, chocolate for summer, and so on. You can create so many good things and so many good memories that way.
Buy a good bag of chocolate. People are afraid to spend a lot of money on chocolate, so they buy 100 grams and temper it – you can’t do that because it’s too small an amount. Buy a kilo of chocolate and play with it. You can’t ruin it, and it doesn’t go to waste – what you can’t use, you can just save and temper next time. Try to play with it, get it tempered, and have a good experience with it.
What should you always have in the kitchen cupboard for use in the sweet kitchen?
You should always have cream, butter, and chocolate on hand. Then you can go a long way with cake baking, ice cream, and chocolate making.
Fact Box
Name: Ronnie Holmen
Age: 34 years
City: Vejle
Trained pastry chef from La Glace. Has also worked as a pastry chef and dessert chef at places like Henne Kirkeby Kro, restaurant Herman, and at D’Angleterre.
Currently working independently with his own company, where he does consultancy work and product development for various companies, and cakes to order. Also behind his own chocolate brand.
Find Ronnie Holmen on Instagram at @ronnieholmen and on the website ronnieholmen.dk.