Cooking in Community

Why would a talented young chef choose to open a restaurant in a part of Denmark so disdained by other Danes that they refer to it as the rotten banana?

For Emilie Qvist, opening a restaurant (or two!) in a place with more pigs than people meant cheaper rent and closer proximity to nature. But as she explained in her talk at MAD7, it also gave her the chance to make an impact. With first Medwind and now Lyspunktet, she found a way to support the local economy, showcase local fishing and farming, and create a place for local residents to celebrate the big and small moments of their lives. “You become someone there,” she said. “Someone who knows your farmers’ names, and what their struggles are, someone who knows your neighbors.”

About MAD
MAD is a non-profit transforming our food system by giving chefs and restaurateurs the skills, community, time, and space to create real and sustainable change.