{"id":144719,"date":"2024-07-10T17:28:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-10T15:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cookinc.it\/?p=144719"},"modified":"2025-09-26T12:44:41","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T10:44:41","slug":"to-the-belly-of-the-beast-a-year-of-going-deep-with-emilie-qvist-and-simon-basballe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cookinc.it\/en\/2024\/07\/10\/to-the-belly-of-the-beast-a-year-of-going-deep-with-emilie-qvist-and-simon-basballe\/","title":{"rendered":"To the belly of the beast"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Leaving behind a life in Michelin star kitchens in Denmark, chef couple <strong>Emilie Qvist<\/strong> and<strong> Simon Seidelin Basballe<\/strong> decided to put everything on hold for a year. Or rather, to finally let go of everything that can keep people back, or in check\u2014musts, routines, schedules, and the general hum-drum of everyday life. What ensued was months of boundary-less exploration of within and beyond the borders of Europe, a head-first immersion into people, produce and regional diversity.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After training in the kitchens of Matt Orlando, Christian Puglisi (Amass and Rel\u00e6 in Copenhagen), and Dan Barber (Blue Hill at Stone Barns), the young Emilie, then 26 years old in 2021, opened her restaurant, <strong>Medvind<\/strong>, in Hanstholm, a remote fishing village in northern Denmark. The focus was on cooking the best local products in a simple and honest way. Medvind was the perfect place at the perfect time, but after two years, Emilie felt the need to explore and learn. On the other hand, Simon had significant experiences in various Danish kitchens, from Copenhagen to Aarhus and Southeast Jutland. He was working at the restaurant <strong>Lyst<\/strong> when the desire to travel the world and cook together with Emilie, his life and adventure partner, became overpowering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-emphasis wp-block-paragraph\">And so, they choose to set aside everything and leave, finding themselves working in the kitchen together &#8220;officially&#8221; for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-answer wp-block-paragraph\">Emilie: &#8220;It was about saying \u2018yes\u2019 to those opportunities that come along as you cook in one place and meet people. People who are passionate about food and good produce also have a tendency to love culture, history, music, art, architecture\u2014and they love to share their experiences and contacts&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"2007\" src=\"https:\/\/cookinc.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/img_1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-24631\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cookinc.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/img_1-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/cookinc.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/img_1-300x235.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cookinc.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/img_1-1030x808.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/cookinc.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/img_1-768x602.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cookinc.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/img_1-1536x1204.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cookinc.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/img_1-2048x1606.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cookinc.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/img_1-1378x1080.jpg 1378w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\t\t<div class=\"paywall-block alignfull\">\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"surface-container-grayscale-low padding-row-xl padding-col-m\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"main-column\" id=\"customer_login\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"body-big-condensed margin-bottom-s\">Want to keep reading this article?<br>Log in or subscribe.<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"flex can-wrap\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"fill col-1-of-2 padding-l surface-object-grayscale-inverse\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<form class=\"woocommerce-form flex column space woocommerce-form-login login\" method=\"post\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"button-condensed margin-bottom-s\">Login<\/div>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"woocommerce-form-row woocommerce-form-row--wide form-row form-row-wide\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<label for=\"username\">Username or email address&nbsp;<span class=\"required\" aria-hidden=\"true\">*<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Required<\/span><\/label>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" class=\"woocommerce-Input woocommerce-Input--text input-text\" placeholder=\"username\" name=\"username\" id=\"username\" autocomplete=\"username\" value=\"\" required aria-required=\"true\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"woocommerce-form-row woocommerce-form-row--wide form-row form-row-wide\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<label for=\"password\">Password&nbsp;<span class=\"required\" aria-hidden=\"true\">*<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Required<\/span><\/label>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input class=\"woocommerce-Input woocommerce-Input--text input-text\" type=\"password\" placeholder=\"password\" name=\"password\" id=\"password\" autocomplete=\"current-password\" required aria-required=\"true\" \/>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"woocommerce-LostPassword lost_password margin-bottom-s\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"label-small-sans margin-top-s text-on-grayscale-opacity-high\" href=\"https:\/\/cookinc.it\/en\/my-account\/lost-password\/\">Lost your password?<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"redirect\" value=\"https:\/\/cookinc.it\/en\/2024\/07\/10\/to-the-belly-of-the-beast-a-year-of-going-deep-with-emilie-qvist-and-simon-basballe\/\" \/>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"form-row\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<label class=\"woocommerce-form__label woocommerce-form__label-for-checkbox woocommerce-form-login__rememberme\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input class=\"woocommerce-form__input woocommerce-form__input-checkbox\" name=\"rememberme\" type=\"checkbox\" id=\"rememberme\" value=\"forever\" \/> <span class=\"label-small-sans\">Remember me<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/label>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" id=\"woocommerce-login-nonce\" name=\"woocommerce-login-nonce\" value=\"c04df66889\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wp_http_referer\" value=\"\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144719\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type=\"submit\" class=\"woocommerce-button button medium dim woocommerce-form-login__submit\" name=\"login\" value=\"Log in\"><span class=\"label\">Log in<\/span><\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/form>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"fill flex column gap-s space col-1-of-2 surface-container-grayscale-inverse text-on-grayscale-inverse padding-l\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"flex column gap-s\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"button-condensed\">Subscribe to Cook_inc.<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"body-small-sans\">With a subscription, you\u2019ll get full access to Cook_inc. \u2014 from in-depth stories to exclusive content. Join the fam!<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/cookinc.it\/en\/subscriptions\/\" title=\"Find out more\" class=\"self-start button medium bright\"><span class=\"label\">Find out more<\/span><\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Leaving behind a life in Michelin star kitchens in Denmark, chef couple Emilie Qvist and Simon Seidelin Basballe decided to put everything on hold for a year. Or rather, to finally let go of everything that can keep people back, or in check\u2014musts, routines, schedules, and the general hum-drum of everyday life. What ensued was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":72111,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"serif-full-gradient","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"selected_color":"","palette":"{\"media_id\":72111,\"colors\":[[33,38,32],[193,155,135],[109,97,77],[137,150,122],[139,139,149]],\"selected\":\"rgb(33, 38, 32)\",\"gradients\":{\"a1\":[\"#f6fff1\",\"#ebffe6\",\"#a6f5a7\",\"#8bd88d\",\"#70bc74\",\"#56a15c\",\"#3c8645\",\"#00531a\",\"#002d0b\",\"#002106\",\"#001503\"],\"a2\":[\"#f6fff1\",\"#ebffe6\",\"#d5e8d0\",\"#b9ccb4\",\"#9eb09a\",\"#839680\",\"#6a7c68\",\"#3a4b39\",\"#1a291a\",\"#101f10\",\"#061407\"],\"a3\":[\"#f6feff\",\"#ecfcff\",\"#bcebf2\",\"#a1ced5\",\"#86b3ba\",\"#6c989f\",\"#527e85\",\"#1f4d53\",\"#002b2f\",\"#001f23\",\"#001417\"],\"n1\":[\"#fcfdf7\",\"#f9faf4\",\"#e2e3dd\",\"#c6c7c1\",\"#aaaca6\",\"#8f918c\",\"#767873\",\"#454743\",\"#242623\",\"#1a1c19\",\"#0f120e\"],\"n2\":[\"#f8fef2\",\"#f5fbef\",\"#dee5d9\",\"#c2c9bd\",\"#a6ada3\",\"#8c9388\",\"#72796f\",\"#424940\",\"#212720\",\"#171d16\",\"#0c120c\"],\"error\":[\"#fffbff\",\"#fff8f7\",\"#ffdad6\",\"#ffb4ab\",\"#ff897d\",\"#ff5449\",\"#de3730\",\"#93000a\",\"#540003\",\"#410002\",\"#2d0001\"]}}","authors":"[{\"role\":\"Words by\",\"related\":[{\"postType\":\"collaborator\",\"postTypeLabel\":\"Contributor\",\"title\":\"Alisa Larsen\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cookinc.it\/en\/collaboratore\/alisa-larsen\/\",\"ID\":144699,\"value\":144699,\"label\":\"Alisa Larsen\",\"thumbnail\":false}],\"title\":\"\",\"unique_id\":\"MTAzODM5NzEwMjUwODI1NTQw\"},{\"role\":\"Photos by\",\"related\":\"\",\"title\":\"Emilie & Simon\",\"unique_id\":\"NTQwNDI2NTUzMzE0NTk5NTUw\"},{\"role\":\"Zurich photos by\",\"related\":\"\",\"title\":\"Fl\u00f3ri\u00e1n Kalotay\",\"unique_id\":\"NjExODM5NzY3NDMxMzcxNDAw\"}]","magazine_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1619],"tags":[],"location":[1804],"class_list":["post-144719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reportage-en","location-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cookinc.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cookinc.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cookinc.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookinc.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookinc.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144719"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/cookinc.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144719\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":167030,"href":"https:\/\/cookinc.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144719\/revisions\/167030"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookinc.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cookinc.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookinc.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookinc.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144719"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookinc.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=144719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}