Get. This. Now.
Yogurt, granola and zucchini jam at Atelier September, Copenhagen

It arrives in a simple porcelain bowl – pale green strands of zucchini resting on thick, tangy yogurt. Toasted granola adds crunch, while a handful of fresh basil leaves and a veil of matcha powder complete the composition. This is Atelier September’s zucchini jam yogurt bowl – a breakfast that, for many in Copenhagen, feels like ritual.

The jam itself is quietly brilliant: zucchini sliced wafer-thin and steeped with lime, ginger, vanilla and sugar, cooked down briefly, then left to rest in its own reduced syrup. It’s not sticky or cloying. It’s almost translucent. Spoon it up with the creamy yogurt and granola, and you get something that lands somewhere between breakfast and dessert. The basil, added just before serving, is what lifts it – a sudden note of freshness that ties the whole thing together.

Bille Brahe’s influence

Since it opened in 2013, Atelier September has been one of Copenhagen’s most quietly influential cafés – less for any one dish than for the mood it set. That mood, somewhere between minimalist domesticity and soft-edged elegance, is very much shaped by Frederik Bille Brahe, the chef and restaurateur behind it.

Bille Brahe trained at culinary school but made his mark on Copenhagen by doing something else entirely: breaking away from the dinner-centric, showpiece model of Nordic cuisine and focusing on daytime food. His approach was personal and pared back, drawing on French café culture, Japanese order and Danish restraint. He’s also the force behind Apollo Bar, located in the Kunsthal Charlottenborg courtyard, and Kafeteria at the National Gallery. But Atelier September remains the most intimate of his projects.

The zucchini jam recipe is his. He developed it over 15 years ago and kept it close, serving it on and off at Atelier September until sharing it publicly for the first time during a pandemic lockdown.

A café that shaped how Copenhagen eats

Atelier September’s original location on Gothersgade (now closed) helped define the look and feel of modern Nordic cafés: blond wood, white walls, high ceilings and a sense that time had slowed just slightly. The café has since moved to Kronprinsessegade, and expanded to Århusgade and Hellerup.

There’s no takeaway version. No jar of jam to buy. The only way to try it is to show up – no reservations – and wait for your bowl to arrive, the way it has since 2013.