Louise Nimb

Louise Sophie Thora Nimb (9 October 1842 3 May 1903) was a Danish chef and owner-manager of several restaurants in Copenhagen in the 19th century. Her cookbook, Fru Nimb's Kogebog (Mrs. Nimb's Cookbook), was published in 1888, one of several books published by her.

Early life Louise Sophie Thora Nimb was born in Holstebro in Denmark on 9 October 1842. She was the youngest of nine children. Her father, Aron Abraham Gunst, was a Jewish merchant who had moved to Holstebro from Dresden in Germany. Her mother, Zerina Dellevie, had been born in Hamburg of Italian parents. She was both a skilled housewife and someone who helped her husband with his business. She also took an active part in the social life of Holstebro. Louise Nimb learned housekeeping and cooking from her mother and from the family maid. In 1852, the family moved to the Danish capital of Copenhagen, where Nimb went to school.

Marriage and work At the age of 18, in 1861, she married Vilhelm Christopher Nimb. They had two daughters, Henriette and Zerina Emilie, and a son, who died shortly after birth. Together, the couple took over the running of an inn, called Nyholte Kro, which her father-in-law owned. The inn was well located to pick up business from stagecoaches, passing landowners and even royalty. Limb designed the inn so that it was cozy and comfortable, with a living room just for ladies. She improved her cooking skills by working with the inn's skilled and experienced cook. Unfortunately, the arrival of the railways made the business unviable, so they took over a restaurant in the Student Association (Studenterforeningen) in Copenhagen. They expanded their activities in 1868 with the restaurant Nytorv 3 and the restaurant in the Danish parliament. In 1877 they took over Divan 2 on the lake at Copenhagen's Tivoli Gardens, which came to be known as "Nimb's Terrace". In her hands the Divan 2 changed style and character, beginning to attract members of the upper class. As one journalist wrote, she "civilized the Copenhagen restaurant life". Her two daughters joined the work and were given increasing responsibility. Henriette was only 17 years old when she took over the management of a restaurant from her parents.

The Nimbs constantly expanded their business. In 1882 they took over a restaurant in the Industrial Association (Industriforeningen), management of which was later passed to their daughter, Zerina. In 1885, they opened a restaurant in the Panoptikon, a wax museum opened by the former director of the Tivoli, Bernhard Olsen, and soon after they took over a restaurant in the Erichsen Mansion, a building on Kongens Nytorv that had just been restored. Finally, they took over the restaurant in the Officers' Association and in 1896 in the Noble Club. Also, Nimb organized courses at her home for housewives. Despite their wide-ranging activities they never became rich and in 1880 were taking in a lodger, the Danish writer Herman Bang, who was to write beautifully about her on her death in 1903.

Legacy

Nimb's daughters continued the restaurant business, but her cookbook, which ran to three editions during her lifetime, slowly went out of vogue (it was republished in 1996). Her daughters opened the Fru Nimb restaurant in the Tivoli gardens in 1909. In 1930 the Danish National Broadcasting Company made Nimb famous across the country with live broadcasts of contemporary dance music. Three restaurants and two bars continued to bear the Nimb name in 2022. The name also lives on in the Nimb Hotel, an upmarket, suite-only, hotel that is also in the Tivoli Gardens.

Death Nimb died in Copenhagen on 3 May 1903. Her remains are buried in the same plot as her husband and two daughters.