Chef Jacob Bickelhaupt
Photos Courtesy Of Konro
Most people willing to drive for a phenomenal meal tend to head south to Miami. After all, the Magic City is in the midst of a culinary boom that has the whole nation paying attention. However, those in search of a truly unique and commanding gastronomic experience should consider shifting their direction northward to West Palm Beach, where, hidden in a seemingly unremarkable shopping center, a diamond in the rough awaits. Take note, this is not in the posh part of town. With minimal signage and an unassuming exterior, Konro might be a bit challenging to find. But these minor obstacles are well worth the effort. Once inside, your culinary perceptions will be profoundly shaken and transformed.
Sommelier Nadia Bickelhaupt
Under the careful guidance of husband-and-wife team Chef Jacob Bickelhaupt and Sommelier Nadia Bickelhaupt, diners embark on a 10- to-14-course tasting menu that is Michelin-star-worthy and brimming with hospitality and warmth.
Blending elegance with familiarity, the interior’s black walnut walls are adorned with playful art that includes portraits of Mickey Mouse, Frida Kahlo and Albert Einstein. A U-shaped quartz counter faces the compact, modern kitchen where the couple showcases their passion and extraordinary talent with the fluidity and timing of synchronized swimmers. There is no staff, just the two of them orchestrating each meal from start to end. Every detail, from the avant-garde plates to the eclectic playlist (personally curated by Nadia), is meticulously chosen to create an evening that borders on the divine.
“As a husband-and-wife team, we are so intimately involved in the experience and our connection with guests, and we wanted to make people feel like they were coming into a Michelin-starred chef’s home for a dinner party while enjoying the highest quality dining experience. We welcome repeat guests almost every evening, with whom we become very close, which has become one of the most beautiful and fulfilling aspects of Konro. Our goal was always to create a world-class dining experience, but one where people feel completely comfortable, not one that is stuffy or intimidating,” Nadia, 35, explains.
Takamori A5 Drunken Wagyu
Uni and Rice Pearls
Jacob, a self-taught chef, refined his skills at prestigious places like Chicago’s Charlie Trotter’s and earned two Michelin stars for his restaurant 42 Grams. Then, as a result of the COVID-19 shutdown, he began hosting dinner parties with Nadia in their Denver home, carefully planning, prepping and presenting intimate experiences that would eventually lead to the creation of Konro.
“My creative process begins with flavor first, texture and umami [a savory, rich taste often described as the fifth basic flavor]. As I focus solely on the most beautiful and unique ingredients from around the globe, I get excited about the possibility of creating something familiar yet exotic to elevate the guests’ dining experience to something they thought they could never have. I ultimately just want to make people happy,” the 41-year-old says.
Coconut Cream Dumpling
In search of warmer weather, the couple relocated to West Palm Beach in July 2022 and opened Konro in October 2023. Their menu, inspired by an omakase-style approach [a meal consisting of dishes selected by the chef], is anything but traditional Japanese fare.
“Japanese culture and cuisine are at the forefront of my inspiration; however, by no means are we a Japanese restaurant. I love how Japanese cuisine and culture can create such depth and flavor through simple complexity. That being said, my cuisine is much like my choices in music — it is not a narrow, tunnel-vision cuisine like French or Italian, for example. Being a self-taught chef gives me the flexibility and freedom to express myself and who I am rather than executing what someone taught me. It is not the easiest way to train yourself, but for me, it has been more fulfilling in many ways than I ever could have imagined because I am able to draw inspiration from around the world without putting myself into a box,” Jacob says.
Crispy Chicken Skin Cone
Indeed, the dishes are unlike anything diners have experienced before. With a seating capacity of just 10, Chef Jacob personally prepares, plates and describes each dish with meticulous care, while Nadia expertly pairs each course with wine. Previous menu highlights have included Otoro Croustade, Kombu dry-aged otoro (tuna) from Japan, with domestic osetra caviar, oyster leaf, Meyer lemon and charred leek purée. Another standout is the crispy chicken skin cone seasoned with freeze-dried lucuma fruit, topped with whipped foie gras ganache and filled with cloudberry preserves. Jacob’s signature dish is the A5 Takamori Wagyu, made with a housemade Japanese whisky soy sauce aged for 10 years and triple seared over binchotan coals on the restaurant’s namesake Konro grill.
Salt-Crusted Roast Beet and Caviar
All the while, Nadia pairs wines with equal insight, passion and dedication, enhancing each of Jacob’s creations without overwhelming them. “My job is twofold: I am a steward for winemakers with incredible stories who make beautiful products, but most importantly I want to enhance the already incredible flavors in the dishes. I strive to have the cadence of my pairings mirror the cadence of the menu. Interestingly enough (and never purposefully), I find myself serving a lot of wines that come from husband-and-wife teams,” she notes.
Essence of the Sea
Nadia takes pride in steering away from trends when selecting the wines she will serve. “As long as it fits with the food, I always want to highlight producers who have incredible stories — families working together, husbands and wives, winemakers growing in impossible conditions and somehow making it work. What we do is such a passion project, that I want to highlight producers who share the same ethos and work ethic that we do,” Nadia says.
This level of detail and dedication comes at a premium. Diners can opt for 10 to 14 courses, add a wine pairing or equally thoughtful non-alcoholic pairing (created by Jacob, who is sober) with prices beginning at $390 for a roughly two-and-a-half-hour experience, offered Wednesday through Sunday nights. The numerous repeat visitors and regulars are a testament to the value and impact of the experience. From Jacob and Nadia, it’s about more than just serving a meal, it’s about offering a deeply personal experience to each guest.
“Most businesses start with numbers first — the dollars and cents, how to fill as many seats as possible. We focus on the guest experience first and believe that everything else will fall into place. We only have 10 seats around a chef’s counter and we interact intimately with every single guest throughout the meal. We truly believe if you put your heart and soul into an experience that guests can see that it is an extremely special experience and it is one that they want to support. With as much care as we put into every single guest, we hope and believe that they will choose to celebrate their most precious moments with us. Ultimately this is an edible art experience, and a dining experience much more than a restaurant,” Nadia says.
Canelé Recipe
Yields 12-16
“At Konro, we have no pastry chef, and canelés are the first true pastry I taught myself to make — even though they are outwardly simple due to a limited and inexpensive ingredient list, they require an innate understanding of your oven, measurements and timing to create a pastry that is perfectly crispy on the outside and custardy on the inside.” — Chef Jacob Bickelhaupt
Ingredients:
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup bread flour
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons clarified unsalted butter
• ¼ cup dark rum
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup beeswax
• ½ cup ghee
Method:
• Add all the ingredients except the beeswax and ghee in a stock pot and use a hand blender to mix completely.
• Heat on the stovetop over a medium-low temperature and stir continuously with a rubber spatula until the temperature reaches 142 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Chill completely to 93 degrees Fahrenheit over an ice bath and then chill for 24 hours in the refrigerator.
• Add clarified unsalted butter (ghee) and 3 ½ ounces of beeswax in a small saucepan. Warm over low heat on the stovetop until completely melted. Turn off the heat and let sit until the temperature reaches 176 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Place the copper canelé molds in the freezer for 15 minutes.
• Once the timer goes off, grab canelé molds from the freezer. Pour the beeswax mixture into one mold at a time just below the top. Then, pour out completely back into the beeswax saucepan. You should have a perfectly lined copper mold. Repeat for the rest of your molds one at a time.
• Using a kitchen scale, pour about 2 ounces of canelé batter into each beeswax-lined mold.
• Add all molds to a foil-lined baking tray.
• Bake the canelé in a preheated 475-degree Fahrenheit oven for 15 minutes.
• Reduce temperature to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for an additional 30 minutes.
• Remove from oven and turn them upside down over a sheet tray lined with foil, placed on a cooling rack.
• Allow the beeswax mixture to pour off.
• Cool to room temperature.