The Danish jewelry designer Sophie Bille Brahe, 45, grew up in a household where food was always central. “My mom had family in Rome, so we spent time there and learned their specific ways: ‘You can only cook cacio e pepe like this. Don’t use those tomatoes to make arrabbiata, use these.’” It was her brother, Frederik Bille Brahe, 42, who went on to become a professional chef (at his Copenhagen all-day cafes Atelier September and Apollo Bar & Kantine), but Bille Brahe also cooks regularly at her home just north of the capital, where last-minute guests often drop by for dishes like spaghetti alle vongole.
Bille Brahe and her brother share an appreciation for what she calls “the very best way” to do something. That approach applies to her work for her brand, founded in 2011, which has become known for elegant gold pieces featuring asymmetrical pearl clusters and diamonds arranged in delicate curlicues. The designer always wears several of the line’s diamond rings, shaped like the initials of her children and partner, and tends to dress in the same clothes again and again. She values simplicity, prioritizing beautiful materials over anything too precious.
Those ideals were also on display during a leisurely meal that Bille Brahe hosted last July at the vacation home of her friend and the C.E.O. of her company, Anne Sofie Møller, and Møller’s boyfriend, Alexander Ziegler Petersen, in Vejby, a small seaside town an hour’s drive north of the city. “It’s a classic little piece of Copenhagen life, with small houses and lovely beaches,” Bille Brahe says. In celebration of Scandinavian midsummer, she’d invited friends and family to come together for an afternoon that unfolded into a weekend of swimming, eating and unhurried conversation.
On the first day, after a morning spent traveling and gathering ingredients, the group came together in the kitchen, where Bille Brahe leaned into a communal approach to cooking lunch. Then the friends made their way out to a table in the garden and ate surrounded by rose hip bushes and, beyond, the Kattegat Sea.
The attendees: In addition to Møller and Ziegler Petersen, the cohort included Bille Brahe’s partner, the brand consultant Jeppe Møller, 39; Bille Brahe’s mother, Elisabeth Bille Brahe, 70; her brother, Frederik, and her sister-in-law, the fashion designer and model Caroline Bille Brahe, 31, and their Border collie, Mester; Bille Brahe’s head of communications, Søs Bjerrisgaard, 37; the fashion designer Shila Gaonkar, 35; and the stylist Emilie Johansen, 41, Bille Brahe’s best friend and the godmother to her children. The group was intentionally small. “Sometimes you go to a dinner and have the feeling you need to talk separately to the person on your left and right,” says Bille Brahe. “I find it’s easier to make sure everyone is feeling good and included if there’s only one conversation.”
The décor: Bille Brahe borrowed pieces from Møller and Ziegler Petersen’s house to dress the table, but she also brought items from her own home to add a personal touch: “Linens, bowls and plates from [the Swedish interiors brand] Svenskt Tenn,” she says. “Some bowls from Puglia. I wanted it to not be too uptight.” She finished the arrangement with a giant bunch of white-and-pink daisies, some from a local farm and some picked from the backyard, drawing inspiration from the Danish author Karen Blixen, who “would create these unusual bouquets with cabbage from her garden as conversation starters.”
The food: The menu centered on locally sourced seafood — langoustines, oysters and grilled fish (“People travel a long way to buy from Den Friske Fisk,” says Bille Brahe of the Vejby purveyor that she’d stopped by that morning) — complemented by abundant farm-fresh vegetables and piles of wild blackberries and raspberries from neighboring farms. “It wasn’t super controlled or planned. We just chose what was seasonally available,” Bille Brahe says. She invited guests to assemble their favorite salads to share with the group: She made panzanella; Gaonkar made her favorite fennel salad. Her mother contributed aioli for the langoustines, while her brother enjoyed a rare evening off from cooking. For dessert, Bille Brahe brought a cake from Copenhagen’s oldest patisserie, Le Glace: a voluptuous Danish confection called Sportskage that’s composed of whipped cream, profiteroles and nougat on a macaroon-and-caramelized choux pastry base.
The drinks: “I always drink bubbles if I can,” says Bille Brahe, noting her brother’s bemused tolerance of her preference for Prosecco with ice rather than Champagne. She knew her guests — and their favorite drinks — well: red wine for her mother, Bellinis for Johansen. “I always try to have enough so people have exactly what they want,” she says.
The music: Since the group ate alfresco, Bille Brahe opted for the sound of lapping ocean waves over a playlist. When cooking at home, she prefers a little music for atmosphere. “I grew up listening to ‘Lucia di Lammermoor’ sung by Maria Callas,” she says. “It was my grandfather’s favorite.”
The conversation: Bille Brahe tries to avoid talking about business outside of working hours, despite being close friends with her C.E.O. Even in the office, she gravitates toward personal connections: “At lunch I ask the team, ‘Are you cooking something cool for your kids?’” At this meal, the discussions flowed in part because the gathering was child free (with the exception of Frederik and Caroline’s toddler, Ursula). “Usually there would be 10 kids,” Bille Brahe says, including her son, Johan, 11, and daughter, Beate, 5, and Jeppe’s two children from a previous relationship. But during a recent adults-only dinner at a friend’s house, she noticed the difference: “I love having the kids at dinner, but you just also need to respect that you’ll never finish a sentence.”
An entertaining tip: Bille Brahe appreciates some spontaneous movement between the main dishes and dessert. “A bit like at a wedding,” she says, “I don’t need to sit down for dessert after sitting down for hours — I want to get up and dance and talk to other people.” True to form, after the table was cleared, she instigated a clamber down to the beach for coffee, cake and an evening swim as the sun began to set.
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