Geographically, Aarhus lies in the centre of Denmark , on the east coast of the Jutland peninsula. In gastronomic terms, however, the country’s second city has historically been sidelined by the culinary might of its capital, Copenhagen , the home of the “New Nordic” movement and chef Rene Redzepi’s restaurant Noma.

Then, in February this year, the Michelin Guide levelled the playing field by awarding three Aarhus restaurants – Frederikshoj, Gastromé and Substans – a coveted star rating in its first Nordic cities guide.

It will have come as no surprise to the locals. The starred trio are long established and it’s obvious before you leave the airport that Aarhus is a city in love with food; you can snack on gourmet hot dogs while you wait for your luggage to turn up on the carousel. There are dining and drinking opportunities everywhere in the compact city centre, from the delis and cafés of the cobbled Latin Quarter to the modern bars and restaurants in the central shopping area.

That there is an appetite for Michelin-style food is clear from the presence of Nordisk Spisehus in the smart Frederiksbjerg borough, just south of the city centre. It is, to my knowledge, the only restaurant in the world that recreates (with permission) signature dishes and menus from Michelin-starred establishments around the world.

But I was here to sample the real thing, so I took the short bus ride from the Banegardspladsen (station square), with its impressive Twenties colonnaded railway station, to Frederikshoj on the edge of the Marselis Skoven forest that runs for four miles along the coast. Formerly a staff lodge for the Royal Palace, the restaurant was opened by chef Wassim Hallal in 2009. Lebaneseborn Hallal, who moved to Denmark at the age of four in 1984, is Aarhus’s answer to Gordon Ramsay, with a string of cookbooks and television appearances to his name.

Mammen sources most of his produce from Jutland but has no qualms about using lemons, chocolate or pistachio

As I would come to discover in the course of eating at all three Michelin-starred restaurants, Hallal is typical of Aarhus’s leading chefs in dismissing the ultra-regionalism espoused by Redzepi and his acolytes.

“If I want to use some white truffle from Italy, I’ll do it,” he tells me before I sit down for dinner in Frederikshoj’s minimalist dining room. He is as good as his word, serving up a tasting menu of delicious dishes that include foie gras served four ways and pearls of spherified onion “caviar” layered on top of real caviar. But there is plenty of local produce, too, including potatoes from the nearby island of Tuno transformed into edible replicas of pebbles, and chanterelle mushrooms foraged from the forest.

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Next stop: Gastromé, occupying a former dress shop in the Latin Quarter. Run by Soren Jakobsen and William Jorgensen, it is the epitome of Danish designer chic, with stark white walls and blond wood flooring. I ate in the private basement dining room. Although more rustic in style than Frederikshoj, it was clear as soon as I saw fresh black Italian truffle being shaved over a cube of herb-fed Danish pork in its own consommé that the chefs shared Hallal’s rejection of Nordic culinary puritanism.

Topping. A photo posted by Substans (@substans1) on Nov 8, 2015 at 11:27pm PST

Michelin has had a big effect at the hip Substans, tucked quietly between a rowdy British-style pub and a German beer hall. Since winning the star, tattooed chef Rene Mammen has reduced the number of seats from 50 to 35, abandoned à la carte in favour of 10 or 15-course tasting menus and installed an interior of bare brick walls and a white resin floor patrolled by bearded waiters in smart shirts and leather aprons.

Mammen sources most of his produce from Jutland but has no qualms about using lemons, chocolate or pistachios. As with my previous two Michelin experiences in the city, the meal began with a flurry of “snacks”, including spaghetti squash with fresh curd, olive oil and raw Jerusalem artichoke, before the series of larger dishes, such as local codfish in a mussel, corn and malt broth. By sidestepping the restrictions of the New Nordic kitchen and expanding on classic Danish frikadeller (meatballs) and smorrebrod (open sandwiches), Aarhus’s top chefs have found an exciting third way to express their national cuisine. In the process they have made Denmark’s second city a real contender for pre-eminence in the nation’s culinary rankings.

Three great Aarhus dishes

Frederikshoj: tuna mosaic A visually stunning chequerboard created from square slices of red and white tuna that are topped with caviar croutons and avocado and lemon cream. Three Aarhus signature dishes

Gastromé: Danish veal, chanterelle and peas Slow-cooked tenderloin of mushroomcrusted Danish veal served with roasted Skagen chanterelle mushrooms and Danish peas.

Substans: rodgrod A modern take on this classic Danish pudding, a sweet porridge of berries and groats. Mammen makes his version with local raspberries, blueberries and brown sugar.

Essentials

Ryanair (0871 246 0000; ryanair.com) flies from Stansted to Aarhus and nearby Billund. British Airways (0844 493 0787; ba.com) flies from Heathrow to Billund from May 2016. Eating there Frederikshoj (0045 8614 2280; frederikshoj.com) A three-course menu costs Dkr705 (£67); the nine-course Frederikshoj de Luxe menu costs Dkr2,500 (£237) Gastromé (0045 2878 1617; gastrome.dk). The three-course Half Throttle menu costs Dkr498 (£47); the sevencourse Full Throttle menu costs Dkr798 (£75). Substans (0045 8623 0401; restaurantsubstans.dk). The sevencourse Big Tour menu costs Dkr950 (£90); the four-course Not So Big Tour menu costs Dkr650 (£62). More information visitdenmark.co.uk; visitaarhus.com