- Crypto millionaire Niklas Nikolajsen welcomes people to his property in Zug for 20 minutes and shows off his million-dollar kitchen, which made headlines in England.
- Three Michelin chefs helped with the planning, and there are appliances that even the owner of the house doesn’t know what they are for.
- “We had to build a kitchen just to accommodate the china,” he says. Nikolajsen’s favorite gadget has to do with the series “Downton Abbey”.
“The $1 million kitchen in which even the extractor hood bears a family coat of arms” – with this headline the British “Times” recently reported on the kitchen of a “wealthy Swiss family” from Zug.
That’s amusing Crypto millionaire Niklas Nikolajsenwho owns the kitchen: “I wish I had gotten off so cheaply!”
The native Dane (51) spends 20 minutes at St. Karlshof, the historic property that he acquired in 2018 and fully restored with his wife Anna-Christine. The St. Karlshof goes back to the 17th century. The associated St. Charles Borromeo Chapel was completed in 1616 – the Swiss Psalm, today’s Swiss national anthem, was composed in it in 1841.
A total of around 69 million francs
Now Nikolajsen – Swiss since 2023 and very proud of it – is sitting on a royal blue velvet sofa, with a large glass of red wine in front of him. Lake Zug glitters outside.
He makes it clear that the number quoted by the Times only took into account the interior designer’s invoice. “The stonemasons were not included. Not the kitchen lift, not the ventilation system and not the electricians either.”
In fact, the kitchen cost 2.15 million dollars, the equivalent of a good 1.7 million francs. That’s a lot of money, and Nikolajsen likes to talk about it.
«I’m actually pretty proud of how much I put into St. Karlshof. To date, a total of 68.5 million francs has flowed into the property, restoration, chapel, antiques and works of art.
Three Michelin chefs as consultants
The million dollar kitchen is located in the basement of the main building. It is used for larger events, weddings, exhibitions and other public events.
These events must take place at least six times a year, according to the agreement with Zug. «I don’t open my house just because the authorities say so. I really love sharing,” says Nikolajsen.
Three Micheline chefs gave their input on how the kitchen should be designed and equipped. Nikolajsen beams as he walks through it and marvels at all the top-notch equipment. Some of them even he doesn’t know what they are for.
Only rinse for the tasting spoons
But: “I love good food and knew exactly what a functioning Michelin kitchen needed.” This includes details that laypeople hardly know. For example, a small, specially recessed sink just for the chefs’ tasting utensils. The spoons are rinsed there before trying again.
Nikolajsen is always opening new drawers and cupboard doors behind which there is pure high-tech, pointing to various ovens and noting that you can easily fry “16 chickens at the same time”.
“Downtown Abbey” and a kitchen for porcelain
But even if the highest of all gastronomic gods supported him, ultimately the requirements of the monument protection were decisive: “The kitchen had to visually match the historic building. The devices and the entire concept had to look as if they belonged to the Belle Époque or Edwardian style.”
He adds: “Behind all these beautiful cabinets are blast chillers, steamers, cooking stations and dishwashers, plate heaters, grills – everything you can imagine.” There is hardly any classic storage space. “We had to build an additional kitchen to accommodate the china.”
“Not always the most useful things in life”
His favorite part here is not the most expensive device, but the most playful: the intercom in the form of a pendulum-controlled bell system. “My wife got the idea from the British TV series Downton Abbey,” he says, sounding very enthusiastic again.
Nikolajsen thinks that a modern system or even a telephone call would be completely missing the point and miss the point – although the ringing intercom system is rather impractical in a modern home, as he says. “It’s not always the most useful things in life that bring the most joy,” says the crypto millionaire.
No place for vegetarians
In any case, the heart of family life is not the kitchen in the basement, but the one on the second floor. Hygge luxury reigns here on a good 50 square meters with white wooden benches and Royal Copenhagen tableware.
The highlight is a connected preparation kitchen: “You cook there and can create chaos, but then you can close the door and eat in the tidy kitchen. My wife loves it,” enthuses Nikolajsen.
He also likes to swing the wooden spoon himself. “I make a great meat sauce and some Danish farmhouse dishes,” he says. “And I’m the grill boss. There are no vegetarians in this house.”
«Envious people? Not my experience at all»
And the shopping? «When I moved to Switzerland 15 years ago and later worked as President of Bitcoin Suisse, I was hardly seen in the supermarket. But now I’m in early retirement and have my family.”
That’s why he shops every two months: “Then I bring a van with me and fill it completely. My wife might do the shopping a little…closer to everyday life.”
He sees the St. Karlshof as something permanent – as something that should “live on for another hundred years”. When asked whether the crypto Croesus also experiences envy, he waves it off. “Many people told me: The Swiss will hate you because you are rich. That’s not my experience at all, on the contrary.” He often hears how amazing it is what they have done with the historic property. “But it was really a lot of work.”
Sweat, maybe even tears, and gigantic costs of almost 70 million. Would he do it again? “A year ago I would probably have said no, no, never again,” says Nikolajsen. «This year I’m recovering from this project. Ask me again next year.”
What do you think about a kitchen that costs over a million francs?
Ann Guenter (gux), has been working as a foreign editor for 20 Minuten since 2012. She has also been chief international reporter since August 2015.
