Kokken laver en let forret med fisk, før hun sender hovedretten ud.

Kokken means the cook / the chef, while en kok means a cook / a chef.

In Danish, the definite article is often added to the end of the noun:

• en kok = a cook
• kokken = the cook

So kokken laver ... means the cook is making ..., not just a cook is making ....

Here, laver means makes or prepares.

The verb is at lave, which is very common in Danish and can mean:

• to make
• to prepare
• to do, in some contexts

In a food context, laver is often best translated as prepares:

• Kokken laver en let forret = The chef prepares a light starter

Because forret is a common-gender singular noun, and in the indefinite singular common gender, the adjective usually stays in its basic form.

So:

• en let forret = a light starter

Compare:

• en let forret = common gender singular
• et let måltid = neuter singular
• den lette forret = definite
• lette forretter = plural

So lette would be used in definite or plural forms, not here.

Forret means starter or appetizer.

It is the first course of a meal.

Related words:

• forret = starter / appetizer
• hovedret = main course
• dessert = dessert

So the sentence contrasts the first course with the main course.

Because fisk here means fish as an ingredient, not one whole fish.

In Danish, as in English, you often leave out the article when talking about food in a general or material sense:

• med fisk = with fish
• med kød = with meat
• med ost = with cheese

If you said med en fisk, it would sound more like with a fish, meaning one specific fish, which is not the normal meaning here.

Because før introduces a subordinate clause.

In Danish main clauses, the verb often comes second:

• Kokken laver ...

But in subordinate clauses, the word order is usually more straightforward:

• conjunction + subject + verb

So:

• før hun sender hovedretten ud

not

• før sender hun hovedretten ud

This is a very important difference between Danish main clauses and subordinate clauses.

Here sender ... ud means something like sends out or serves out.

In restaurant language, it means the chef sends the dish out to the guests or to the dining room.

The verb is at sende ud, a verb + particle combination. In Danish, the particle often appears later in the clause:

• hun sender hovedretten ud

This is similar to English:

• send the main course out

So ud belongs with sender, even though it comes at the end.

Hovedretten means the main course, while en hovedret means a main course.

Again, Danish often marks definiteness by adding the article to the end of the noun:

• en hovedret = a main course
• hovedretten = the main course

In this sentence, it refers to a specific main course, so the definite form is natural.

Yes. Hun means she, so the sentence identifies the chef as female.

If the chef were male, you would say:

• før han sender hovedretten ud

If you wanted to avoid specifying gender, Danish sometimes uses other strategies, but in this sentence the chef is clearly referred to as she.

That comma is connected to Danish comma rules.

Før hun sender hovedretten ud is a subordinate clause, and Danish punctuation may place a comma before it.

A useful thing to know is that Danish has had different comma conventions, and in modern writing you may sometimes see the sentence both with and without that comma, depending on the system being used.

So both of these may be seen:

• Kokken laver en let forret med fisk, før hun sender hovedretten ud.
• Kokken laver en let forret med fisk før hun sender hovedretten ud.

The version with the comma is not strange.

Med fisk describes the forret.

So the structure is:

• en let forret = a light starter
• med fisk = with fish

Together:

• en let forret med fisk = a light fish starter / a light starter with fish

It tells you what kind of starter the chef is making.

Yes. Danish present tense often covers both a simple present and a present progressive meaning, depending on context.

So Kokken laver ... can mean:

• The chef makes ...
• The chef is making ...

In this sentence, English would most naturally often use is preparing or is making, because it sounds like an action happening in a sequence before serving the main course.

Usually, yes, but its exact translation depends on how it is used.

Here før is a conjunction meaning before:

• før hun sender hovedretten ud = before she sends out the main course

But før can also appear in other expressions connected with time, so the translation may vary slightly depending on context. In this sentence, before is the straightforward translation.