FRAMEWORK
Food, art, and activism are at the core of everything I do. All three components can be turned up and down to fit my clients’ needs, the situation, and the task at hand.
FOOD
Food is an essential source of energy, and together with sex, it is crucial for our existence.
We are social creatures who need face-to-face interaction and social connection. Eating a meal together creates a sense of belonging. It has the power to build trust, which can make us achieve decisions and consensus, make us more likely to respect each other, and make it easier to work together. Food is culturally conditioned and can help us discover differences in attitudes, practices, and rituals. It can shed light on our most fundamental beliefs about ourselves and others.
Food is one of the most efficient ways to influence our senses, satisfy our stomachs, and touch our hearts in a way that can be used to create behavioral change. For me, food is about sharing, caring, and daring. It’s about love and life and a never-ending source of creative exploration and development.
ART
Art is the expression of creativity and imagination, sharing how we perceive the world.
Food art is when food becomes both a meal and a medium to convey a message or a feeling or present the familiar in a different light. Everything you can imagine can be transformed into edible interpretations.
Edible interpretations are about transforming ingredients into delicious, aesthetic treats that satisfy our hunger and need for pleasure. It is about challenging our habits, raising awareness, moving our mindset, or simply touching something deep inside us.
When food evokes emotion, it becomes art.
ACTIVISM
Activism is a human activity aimed at challenging the status quo and creating change.
Activists are often considered fearless, provocative, honest, persistent, and passionate. All these are characteristics that I take with me into my approach and work. I use activism to create subtle, incremental change bottom-up in playful and innovative ways. We can all contribute to large-scale environmental and societal change by becoming more aware of our daily actions.
There is activism in my walk-the-talk attitude and in the way I break things down to build them up again in a different shape, challenging conventional thinking. I seek to excite and engage my audience, using ingredients such as storytelling, seduction, poetry, humor, and moments of surprise to create impact.
THE ANATOMY OF A PROJECT
In order for me to help your dreams become reality, most projects, more or less, follow the same process. However, don’t let this scare you off - depending on the scale and scope of your project, we can move pretty fast.
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"All projects begin with curiosity"
The opening can be a simple phone call, an impulsive reaction on Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn, an e-mail unfolding dreams based on a previous experience, or a recommendation from another client that results in a first meeting.
In this meeting, it is essential for me that you are clear about what type of engagement you are looking for. Do you want to hire me for a job? Is it a collaboration, a strategic partnership, or a marketing/branding opportunity?
Further, I use this meeting to collect information that unfolds motives, intentions, expectations, the purpose of gathering people, and desired outcome. At this stage, I will ask the basic questions: Why? What is the occasion? Who are the participants? How many? Where, and finally, What?
Often, clients can only answer some of the questions at this point. Therefore, I can be hired as a consultant in the "Research, Idea & Conceptualization" phase.
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"Unfolding the project"
In this phase I will help you clarify:
• The overall purpose of gathering
• The venue (scouting/research/booking)
• Idea and concept development
• The desired outcome
Together, we will unfold the opportunity space and open for possibilities. Ideas and concepts are discussed and developed. I facilitate a decision-making process and we arrive at the final idea/concept from which I can give you a proposal and price estimate.
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"It's a deal"
When we have arrived at the final idea/concept, you will receive a proposal which includes distribution of tasks and responsibilities, estimated price, conditions for payment and cancellation fee, and confirmation deadline.
When you have returned a written confirmation, the dates will be reserved and locked in my calendar.
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"The play begins"
This phase is experimenting and allows one-of-a-kind ideas to grow.
I am sketching, testing and prototyping in- and outside the kitchen.
Menus and production plans are developed, the flow is defined, logistics and creative solutions are made.
Venue and facilities are prepared. Props found, designed and produced.
Agreements are made with staff, suppliers, venue and other contributors to the final production.
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"Showtime!"
This phase runs from one to several days according to the scale of event.
Staging and decorating the venue and surroundings.
Food ingredients are arriving, and food is being prepared and cooked.
Onboarding and informing staff.
Welcoming guests.
Serving and executing according to production plan, but always with space for last minute problem-solving and improvisation.
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"All projects are opportunities to learn"
Evaluation and feedback is, in my opinion, an important, unfortunately, often underrated part of a project.
I value the learning opportunity that lies in getting feedback from clients after digesting the experience.
It is essential for everyone to improve and develop. I personally value this as it has helped me to create long-lasting and trusting relationships with my clients and collaborators.
METHOD — YOUR STORY IS MY SCRIPT
Customization is at the core of everything I do. I create value by translating your dreams into culinary experiences—your story is my script!
ENSEMBLE & CREW
I hire for personality and embrace diversity. I strive to bring together talented people with an anything-is-possible attitude.
My ensemble often consists of individuals with different skills, talents, and backgrounds. We are all curious by nature, ambitious, and flourish when given freedom within the given frame. We feed each other with ideas and turn into an interwoven organism that creates exceptional results by adding a high degree of playfulness to our work. Together, we challenge what is possible and master the fine art of improvisation.
RESEARCH - LOCATION & INGREDIENTS
I scout for suitable locations that respond to my clients’ needs and add significant value to an event. I ensure access to special venues by building good relationships with the owners. My crew is always the first to arrive, making sure everything is ready to Plug'n'Play.
To create an interesting meal, I need interesting ingredients. Knowing where the ingredients we put in our mouths come from is essential to my cooking. I visit dedicated heroes within agriculture in fields, farms, harbors, factories, nurseries, and laboratories and bring back beautiful, healthy products to my kitchen.
I have no limits when it comes to exploring unknown ingredients and giving new life to well known. Testing and investigating, inventing, and reinventing are important parts of the preparation.
KITCHEN BIBLES
The kitchen bibles are my old-school, hand-written, and hand-drawn scrapbooks, filled with food for thought, recipes, dreams, funny comments, reviews, and photos from projects, I have done over the years. The bibles tell my story and demonstrate processes from start to finish and everything in between. They are original in size and shape with stains from cooking and rings from coffee cups. Friends describe them as volumes of endless inspiration just waiting to be published.
PLAYGROUND & KITCHEN LAB
South of Copenhagen, between the field and the forest, I have my playground. A 150 square meter countryside kitchen lab used to recharge, experiment, dream, imagine, invent, play, produce, and prepare. Here, mistakes are as good as success. Wonderful flavors, surprising meals, tasting-menus, culinary art pieces, and crazy ideas grow from initial thoughts to reality.
CREDITS
Photography:
Frontpage: Marie Brandt, Malwa Grabowsky, Story Book Studio, Louise Bøgeskov Hou
Approach: Louise Pape Thomsen, Malwa Grabowsky, Story Book Studio, Kemal Slijepcevic, Marie Brandt, Jackie Stofsick, Renee Cohen