Søren & Helle’s cows

The island of Barsø is situated across from Genner Fjord, about 11 km North-East of Aabenraa. The island has only 16 inhabitants. Søren and Helle Svennesen, the island’s only farmers, are among them. Their entire production process is organically certified. In fact, Barsø was the first island in the “Association of Small Danish Islands” to get the 100% organic certification.
Søren and Helle has a large herd of free-range dairy cows that we are very fond of at Syttende.

The herd includes the cows Mathilde and Søjde who supply our kitchen with raw milk every week. And to be precise, it is Jesper’s father Hans who supplies the milk. Hans pays the princely sum of 11 Danish kroner to take the small ferry to Barsø for milk every Tuesday. So it is thanks to Søren, Hans and the beautiful Søjde and Mathilde that we at Syttende have perhaps the finest milk in the whole country.
It is also on Barsø that Syttende’s two Wagyu cows live.

Wagyu cattle are a breed of beef cattle that originated in Japan, but they thrive very well in Southern Jutland, where they can graze on the beautiful fields with a wonderful sea view.

They are actually so close to the sea that the cows can dip their hooves into it on a hot summer day.