World Plate: Don't ask for Danish at Taste of Denmark

John Lehndorff, Rocky Mountain News

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

If he hadn't gotten cold feet, Ronny Tronoe might never have learned how to transform butter, sugar and flour into sheer pastry bliss.

Growing up in Roskilde, Denmark, about 20 miles west of Copenhagen, Tronoe, 36, had a newspaper route when he was 14 years old.

"One Sunday I came to this bakery in town at 4 in the morning. It was below zero outside and I had frozen toes," he said as he sat outside his Taste of Denmark in Lakewood on a recent sunny morning.

"The baker asked me if I wanted to come in and warm up by the oven and put icing on some pastries. I got to eat some, too, for quality control," he said with a big grin.

Tronoe started working at the bakery in his hometown, eventually becoming an apprentice for almost four years. "Now it's 22 years I've been baking," he said.

In 1991, he worked in Solvang, Calif., as a bakery trainee student.

"I had always dreamt of the U.S. - the weather, the beaches, all that," he said, noting that he had to come to America to meet the Danish-born woman who would become his wife, Diana Tronoe.

The couple moved back to Denmark in 1992, got married and operated a bakery for nearly three years before moving to Colorado, where Ronny worked at the Tivoli Deer restaurant, in Kittredge. The Lakewood residents opened Taste of Denmark on Dec. 29, 1999. Diana helps with bookkeeping and payroll and managing the bakery's seven employees, with another about to be hired.

The pastry and bread recipes are "all in here," Tronoe said, pointing to his forehead. Some of the recipes are 200 years old.

The glass cases and racks in the 800-square-foot, takeout-only establishment are loaded with an eye-grabbing array of treats. Kringles topped with vanilla almond custard sit next to almond twists decorated with poppy and sesame seeds.

Tronoe pointed out Copenhagen cookies - actually jam-crammed minipies - lamb's ears, chocolate-crowned cinnamon crisp and glorious glazed almond minitarts. Yeasted items include perfect cinnamon rolls and sweet raisin-cardamom bread and buns.

While he also makes some American desserts such as brownies and pies and French-inspired items including croissants, he most definitely doesn't make any "Danish," the ubiquitous American cheese- or fruit- filled soft pastries.

"Danish is more of a general description for a lot of things. I don't understand it, because they are not similar at all to what we make," he said. His most similar creation is the buttery spandau pastry with custard or fruit tucked in.

During the summer - when the bakery sells at farmers' markets in Lakewood, Littleton, Southwest Plaza and Highlands Ranch - Tronoe is one busy baker.

"I work 12 hours a day, seven days a week. I come in at 2 a.m. to start the pastry and bread doughs," he said, noting that all items at the bakery, including the flaky croissants, are made from scratch, not a mix.

"It's about how much love you put into it," he said, adding that he eats two chocolate-filled croissants every morning to keep going.

Butter - extra-rich Lurpak butter - largely explains why Denmark became known as one of the world's great bakery-art centers. "It's so good, . . . best butter in the world," Tronoe said in his light Danish accent.

In an average week, Tronoe uses about 800 pounds of butter, 1,000 pounds of flour and 60 pounds of almond paste, a favored Danish flavoring along with cardamom.

As Tronoe took a break to chat, a steady stream of regulars poured into the bakery, and he knew each by sight or name.

"We get a lot of Danes," he said. "They like to speak Danish with me. There's Norwegians and Swedes, but we get all sorts of nationalities.

"The Germans like our country rye bread because it's crusty outside, soft inside. The Hungarians and Czech people like the strudel."

Tronoe expressed optimism about the future of his butter-driven business. He wants to find an apprentice, work less and have more time to play with his children, Sarah, 6, and Lucas, 3, who have dual American-Danish citizenship and are bilingual.

Breathing room also would allow the couple finally to fulfill another dream, Tronoe said.

"We're permanent residents, but we want to become American citizens. All we have to do is file and take a test. No big deal."

THE LAST WORD: horkaernebrod: a hearty flax-seeded, round yeasted loaf

NEXT REVIEW: John Lehndorff is on vacation this week. You can find his reviews, columns and 2006 Dining Guide at www.RockyMountain News.com.

Taste of Denmark

• What: Authentic Danish bakery

• Where: 1070 S. Union Blvd., Lakewood

• Hours: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday; until 4 p.m. Saturday; until 2 p.m. Sunday

• Price range: $1.25-$6

• Information: 303-987-8283

• John's favorite items: Everything, but especially the round rye loaf, the delightful iced cinnamon strip pastry and the butter-infused croissants

To nominate a restaurant for this column, e-mail lehndorffj@Rocky MountainNews or call 303-954-5103.