Konro is a fine dining restaurant off the beaten path in West Palm Beach serving a wildly creative tasting menu of whatever chef Jacob Bickelhaupt has dreamt up for the night. Nadia Bickelhaupt, Jacob’s business partner and wife, takes the lead as host and also presides over the wine pairings. Though the food at Konro is exceptional—and every bit worth our trek from Miami—the intimate dinner party experience is perhaps more noteworthy, a 10-seat counter that feels both familiar and thrillingly unknown.
This is achieved in no small part through Nadia, a bright and bubbly foil to Jacob's more quiet, methodical presence behind her in the kitchen. Though speaking to her from across the counter comes easy, like catching up with a friend over drinks, Nadia is an accomplished sommelier with thousands of hours of education and self-study under her belt. Each of her selections comes with a story, and her approachable delivery makes for genuinely interesting dinner table conversation as the night progresses.
The pacing picks up around mid-meal, when it’s almost a one-for-one ratio of drinks per plate. But take your time: You’ll want to have all your faculties to appreciate just how well how each of Nadia’s pairings complements the chef’s whimsical, multi-layered food. After venturing to Konro to try the restaurant for ourselves, we were eager to learn more about the young somm’s journey to Konro and pick her brain on all things wine and hospitality. Keep reading for firsthand insight into one of South Florida's most interesting chef's counters right now, and check out our full rundown of Konro, too.
Time Out: Can you give a brief overview of your career prior to Konro?
Nadia Bickelhaupt: Although I worked full-time in hospitality through college, I spent more of my career in an executive role, which I loved dearly. I find so many parallels in what we now do to my previous experience. I would emphasize “hospitality” with my retail teams, and I think that is the crux of what we do at Konro. We strive for that level of warmth that makes you feel like you are at a high-end dinner party in our personal home. I think we have succeeded in that regard, in the relationships with have built with our repeat guests.
What was your impetus for pivoting into fine dining and taking on the host/somm role?
COVID-19 shifted many people’s worlds, and it certainly did ours! I was lucky to remain working during the lockdown that closed many restaurants and small businesses. Jacob desperately missed doing what he loves—creating in the kitchen—so he started Konro as a pop-up in Denver. BYO is not prevalent in Colorado so I suggested that we offer a beverage pairing as well and inadvertently signed myself up to take on that task and, as they say, the rest is history!
Can you explain some of the education and work that went into preparing for this role?
Although I received my diploma from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust, my education has been a combination of both structure and self-study. I have put in thousands of hours to date, still making a point to dedicate a minimum of an hour and a half a day to reading and studying on my own. Wine is fascinating—I truly believe it is something you never stop learning about. That being said, I do believe that there is an innate sensitivity to flavors that some people are blessed with, and that is something I have worked to hone over the last five years.
The pairing choices are extremely emotional. I always strive to complement, not overpower Jacob’s dishes.
What's your process for coming up with the pairings?
The pairing choices are extremely emotional. I always strive to complement, not overpower Jacob’s dishes. I am so blessed to have a job where I get to try so many incredible wines and foods, but very few make it on the pairing menu. I usually find myself gravitating towards grower producers and also small, family winemakers.
What are your favorite parts of the job?
Oh gosh—this is nearly impossible to answer. It is such a gift to try all these incredible foods and wines and meet so many amazing people who put everything they have into making beautiful products. That being said, I think for me, the biggest gift is the connections that we make with our guests. We now have meaningful friendships with people from all over the world, and those are the relationships that we will carry with us for the rest of our lives. It has been incredibly special to celebrate surprise engagements, baby announcements, and so many of life’s monumental moments with our guests.
In Colorado, we had a young couple dine with us who had been trying so hard to have a baby, and she found out that she was pregnant right before our dinner. Jacob wrote the announcement on a plate to tell the husband that they were having a baby. So many happy tears were cried—including my own. They just dined with us again about a month ago as parents of a thriving, healthy young boy. That aspect is something we never take for granted.
Any challenges or advice when it comes to working with your partner?
I find that work actually brings us together on hard days. On difficult days where we just are not on the same page about anything, and everything ends up coming together to create a beautiful experience— we are reminded that we are always on the same team.
The biggest challenge is taking the time to disconnect. We are 50/50 partners in business and in life. We run the business just the two of us and it is extremely difficult to refrain from talking about work on say, a Sunday, which is our only day off. We both encourage each other to rest, not check emails, etc., knowing that we need a refreshed foundation to work from, but it’s far, far easier said than done.
What’s your favorite pairing on the menu lately?
My favorite pairing right now is a sparkling rosé from the UK called Gusbourne—this gem really surprised me! I have a wine rep I am close with reach out to me and ask to show me a more unusual wine. I skeptically tiptoed into the appointment but ended up being blown away. I ended up being the only account in Florida who purchased their products and have been such an evangelist of theirs ever since.
Up until 9,000 years ago, the UK was attached to the rest of the EU, and as a result, compositionally speaking, it is a part of the “Paris basin,” meaning that its soil is the same composition as what you find in Champagne and Burgundy. Because temperatures are rising in Champagne, it is getting increasingly difficult to grow grapes there. As a result, many champagne houses are now actively trying to purchase property in the UK for the soil composition and lower temperatures.
I could speak volumes about the founders of Gusbourne and what they are creating there, but specifically, the sparkling rosé tastes like strawberries and cream in the loveliest way. I have been pairing it with a mango dessert Jacob has been making this summer—a stunning coconut cream mango pate a bombe with toasted coconut feuilletine, brown butter vanilla creme anglaise, coconut and banana gastrique, and topped with a lemon balm touille.