Historical milestones
- 1999 - The building id opend to the public, søren k, espressobar øieblikket and the canteen is opened. -the Fondless Kitchen is a reality.
- Culture Night of 1999 is rememberbed mostly for the queue, strecthing all the way to the canal.The bar Øieblikket was pushed by 2 meters due to pressure of the visitors.
- Jakob Studsgaard is Restaurant Managerer and Jens Heding is Head Chef.
- 2000 - First restaurant review of the new millenium – 4 out of 5 chef's hats, we missed out on top marks due to a, still great, comdian who shall remain nameless, but who hosted a rather loud dinner party in the vicinity of food critic Jonna Dwinger.
- 2001 - Espressobar øieblikket is rebuilt into a proper coffee bar with all the trimmings. søren k makes the top 100 Conde Nast Travelers list of the wolrd's best new rastaurants. The office is moved from the kitchen to a seperate room elsewhere in the building.
- 2002 - The canteen is rebuilt so as to be able to handle more guests. Cooling and heating facilities is stablished along with a self-cleaning area and an area with self-service machines known as café Holm.
- 2003 - Niels Barfoed received his own table in the rstaurant. Reportedly he is now the only person in the Royal Library with a private dinnerplace.
- Christian Malmø is Restaurant Manager, Tora Bjarnason is Head Chef and Anne Caroline Skov is Café- and Cateen Manager.
- 2004 - Jytte Hilden retires from her post ad Cultural Manager in the Diamond. Ingrid Ficher Junge replaces her.
- 2005 - Øieblikket extends its serving area with and outdoor area, which includes lounger and an ambient beach feeling.
- 2006 - Siphons and gels are all over the menu. øieblikket extends its number of seats, and can now seat 120 guests indoors. Outside there are 100 loungers. "Hot spots" - wireless internet - are established.
- 2007 - The Fondless Kitchen is replaced by the Unscrupolous Kitchen...Out with asceticism and in with butter....
- Ole Bjørn Gundermann creates 6 uniques paintings for the restaurant.
- 2008 - søren k takes over the running of the canteen at KUBIS Nord, also known as Nørre Allé.
- Uwe Bødewadt is new Cultural Manager in the Black Diamond.
- Price repeats Dwingers 4 chef's hats, Rasmussen gives 5 stars in Berlingske, top marks fromMorten Brink in Nyhedsavisen and a strange belching by Ole Troelsø in Børsen.
- 2009 - We are moving with greater haste towards ecology, free range, sustainability and the like - mostly in theory but også in practice. We formulate a food policy.
- Product packages with all-inclusive prices are introduced to meetings and conference products in cooperation with the library.
- 2010 - The canteen on Nørre Allé is rebuilt with new food buffets, coffee machines, self-cleaning areas ... and is still being swamped every day. Patisserie is stablished and we start our own production of cakes and the like.
- 2011 - we have a new website… Jan Sørensen is Restaurant Manager, Jens Søndergaard is Head Chef and Janne Lamhauge is Café- and Canteen Manager.
Facts
Events
We have extensive experience with all sorts of events: Weddings, birthdays, christenings, confirmations, anniversaries, receptions, conferences, meetings, assemblies, product launches, courses, concerts, shows, lectures, company parties, just to name a few. We can do almost anything!
Painting
New 13.2 meter long painting created by artist Jonas Hvid Sondergaard inaugurated September 29th 2011. The picture brings a lot of color into the room, and can be seen from every table, the experience of the image depends on where it is seen from. The painting is made specifically for the restaurant, and is titled "Fancy Colour Diamond".
The building
The Black Diamond is the extension to the Royal Library which was inaugurated in September 1999. The area of the Diamond covers 20.733 m2. The materials are primarily silk concrete, Blue Oyster sandstone from Spain, American maple, steel and glass. 2.500 m2 of the exterior facade is covered in black polished granite from Zimbabwe.
Danish magazine and newspaper drawing
The Museum of Danish Magazine and Newspaper Drawing is an integral part of the Royal Library. Initiated by the Library in the Summer of 1998 the Museum was inaugurated by Her Majesty the Queen on October 7th 2000.
The National Photo Museum
The National Photo Museum contains approx. 50.000 works of art, covering Danish and international photography as well as special collections such as the largest Scandinavian daguerreotype collection.
The Diamond Bookstore
The Diamond Bookstore has a large variety of Danish and International books on literature, music, photography, architecture and design - as well as books from the Royal Library. Posters, and postcards, bookmarks and cards are among the many temptations in the store.
The Head Chef
The Head Chef Jens Søndergaard has previously worked as Head Chef at the Michelin restaurant Kokken, Tyven hans kone og hendes elsker. Jens has worked at Akvavit in NY and Custom House in DK.
Kitchen values
It has to be light, it has to be healthy and it has to be tasty!
The Montana Room and the pillar hall
Shows changing cultural history and current theme exhibitions often based on the library's own collections. Some exhibitions are also produced as parallel poster-exhibitions that are shown in other parts of the country.
Meeting and conference rooms
The Black Diamond contains a number of good meeting rooms for rent. The rooms are named after great Danish authors, namely Saxo, Holberg and Blixen. Furthermore The Quenn's Hall is often used for concerts, larger assembies and conferences.
The name søren k
Our name søren k is spelled with small letters. søren k stands for Søren Kierkegaard who is probably the most internationally recognised Danish author and philosopher, together with HC Andersen. The rooms above our restaurant are called Regine, who was Søren Kierkegaards great love.
Spise og drikke
Søren k caters for everything in The Black Diamond. This includes two canteens, conference catering for up to 600 people, sandwiches, salads, soups and cakes for the Espressobar øieblikket and gourmet experiences at lunch and dinner for our guests in the restaurant søren k.
Timeline for the house
Jytte Hilden was Minister of Culture when the building of the Black Diamond was planned back in 1993. The building is designed by the architectural firm Schmidt, Hammer og Lassen. The construction began on October 7th 1996. It was ready for inauguration on September 7th 1999.
