In 2019, Anna Søgaard arrived in Manchester with four years of Danish culinary training and a grounding in its renowned fine dining scene under her belt. A sous chef job at Erst, a new natural wine bar and restaurant in the city's Ancoats area, was behind the move, but Anna quickly settled into life here, thanks in part, she thinks, to the UK acting as something of a bridge between America and Denmark, where she was raised. ‘There were a lot of things I missed about the States that we have here in the UK, but it was still Europe and I was close to Denmark,’ she smiles. ‘It just felt right – and the people in Manchester are so welcoming.’ Fast forward four years and Anna is gearing up for her next move, helming the kitchen of Bistro Freddie and Shoreditch, a Crispin Group venture, her first head chef role and a step which puts her on the capital's restaurant radar.
It might seem obvious to her now, but Anna didn’t realise the professional kitchen was where she would call home for some time. Raised by her Danish father and half-Danish, and first generation American, mother (‘I feel like I really genuinely am half Danish and American, I don’t think I’m more one than the other’), she says that while her family always enjoyed home-cooked meals, she wouldn’t necessarily describe her upbringing as foodie. It was while supporting herself through a communications degree in the States that she picked up a hospitality job and quickly found an affinity with the rush of service. ‘I was waiting tables and loved that whole environment, that whole kind of machine that is working in a restaurant,’ she says. ‘That buzz really fit my personality, I liked how fast-paced it was, I liked the noise and the drama and how close people get, the bonds they make.’
That spark, and a hobby of cooking dinner for friends, might have been nudging her in the right direction, but it wasn’t until her father, an architect who’d spent his career enthused by his work, gave her some sage advice. ‘My dad sat me down and he said ‘figure it out. Figure out what you’re passionate about. What do you love to do? And make that into your career’.’ With the price of training in America prohibitively steep, she moved back to Denmark at twenty-three to train there, signing up to a four-year course with plenty of hands-on learning. ‘I was a lot older than a lot of my classmates,’ she says. ‘A lot of them were eighteen, nineteen, but I don’t think that if I'd have started that young, I would have had the discipline, so in that sense I’m glad I waited. It was really hard work – the standards they have for chefs there is incredibly high. Having never worked in the kitchen before it was a shock, especially because most of the kitchens I have been in I have been the only woman. But I loved every minute and really tried to soak in everything that I could.’
As well as getting a taste of Copenhagen’s fine dining scene, it was there that Anna met chef Nick Curtin – of the Danish Restaurant Alouette – who became, and has remained, an influential mentor. ‘He really took me under his wing and not only taught me skills and cooking, but showed me how to be a good leader,’ she nods. ‘He made the kitchen feel like everyone had a voice. He took mentoring his chefs so seriously. That’s what stuck with me. He was always brutally honest with me. Still now, every career move that I’ve made so far, he’s been the first person I’ve called.’ By 2019, Anna was ready for the next chapter and the role at the then soon-to-open Erst seemed like a perfect fit, its focus on natural wines, which she shared, catching her eye. ‘I moved over a couple of months before we opened, and was part of the development stage of the restaurant concept,’ she says. ‘It was just the best experience of my career, being part of something from the ground up.’
Despite having the feel of a neighbourhood spot, Erst managed to swiftly attract national reviews (Jay Rayner described it as one of the best meals of the year) and earn a spot in the Michelin guide. Anna looks back on that time fondly, describing it as feeling as though they were part of a movement, with fellow independents like Flawd Wine and Higher Ground also adding to the city's culinary patchwork. But the lure of making her own mark soon won out, and she found herself ready for pastures new. ‘I could have stayed at Erst forever, it’s been the best job I’ve ever had, but I just felt like maybe it was time for me to do my own thing,’ she says. ‘I’ve had all these learning experiences along the way, some good, some bad, but they've all accumulated into me finding out who I am as a chef and, and what I want to do.’