Culture

Christine Schauflinger's Strudel

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 14:16:00 GMT

A moment of paper-thin, doughy zen from strudel queen Christine Schauflinger, chef and owner of Gasthaus Theuerwang.

Chinampas are the Future

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 13:05:05 GMT

Pablo Usobiaga of Arca Tierra believes the future lies in the past.

He works directly campesinos—peasant farmers—to recover Mexico’s 4,000-year-old chinampas: floating gardens that once fed 1.5 million people. Today, less than 10% of them survive.

Campesinos are their custodians. Some of society’s most overlooked workers, campesinos are in fact on the frontlines of our climate crisis. As Pablo explains, they are guardians of critical knowledge. Learning from them is how we’ll walk ourselves back from the ecological cliff.

What Happens When We Don't Kick The Ladder Away

Thu, 17 Jul 2025 08:09:18 GMT

Asma Khan entered the restaurant world at 45. Then she became the first British chef on Chef's Table.

At MAD7, she shared how her London restaurant, Darjeeling Express, came to life. She made the bold decision to open a restaurant staffed by grandmothers and mothers—home cooks who had never worked in professional kitchens, armed with "terrible knife skills but huge hearts." 

Chefs constantly credit their mothers and grandmothers as their biggest culinary influences. But these women are rarely part of the restaurant team. Asma built her kitchen differently, bringing softness to an industry obsessed with toughness. She’s proven that kindness is a form of strength. 

Cooking in Community

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 11:27:43 GMT

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 Medvind 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.”

In the rotten banana, in other words, she found community.

How to Take Over Your Parent's Restaurant in Five Easy Steps

Sat, 21 Jun 2025 07:00:00 GMT

Following his father suffering a debilitating stroke in 2019, Justin Pichetrungsi made the daunting decision to take over his family’s 43-year old restaurant, Anajak Thai, in Los Angeles, California.

From working as an art director at Disney to deciphering his family’s recipe cards, he reflects on what it means to inherit something sacred. And how, apparently, it all starts by arguing with your parents.

Leaders are the Glue, Not the Light

Sat, 14 Dec 2019 00:00:00 GMT

Clarence Slockee and Christian Hampson run Yerrabingin (We Walk Together), Australia’s first Indigenous rooftop farm that interweaves indigenous knowledge and collaborative design thinking in South Eveleigh, Sydney.

Here they share their insights on how Indigenous values of collective wisdom, kinship (relationships to each other), and custodianship (responsibility to our mother earth) inform the matriarchal model of leadership in Indigenous cultures, and are key for transformational change. Placing this in stark contrast to patriarchal, top-down, forms of leadership, they suggest that “Leadership must be a voice, but also give a voice.”

This talk is part of the Sydney MAD Monday event on Leadership, 4 November 2019. Sydney MAD Mondays is a collaboration between Carriageworks, MAD, and Kylie Kwong that brings together voices from across the Australian food community for talks on what leadership looks like in our changing world. MAD Mondays are open to the public and held throughout the year and around the globe.

Cultural Resilience | Lydia Miller | Sydney MAD Mondays

Wed, 19 Dec 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Lydia Miller is a Kuku Yalanji woman and the Executive Director of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts at Australia’s national arts funding body, the Australia Council. In this talk, Lydia shares her thoughts on the importance of preserving the aboriginal culture and history that she belongs to. For many years she could not understand why she was part of a minority when her ancestors were the founders of the land. However, she quickly realized that she had the duty of preserving this heritage by developing the cultural resilience forged by the first nation's people in Australia.

This talk is part of the Sydney MAD Monday event on Resilience, July 16 2018. Sydney MAD Mondays is a collaboration between Carriageworks, MAD and Kylie Kwong, and brings together voices from across the Australian food community for talks on the role today’s restaurants play in taking care of the environment.

Bridging The Gap Between Men and Women | Jytte Vikkelsøe

Fri, 23 Nov 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Jytte Vikkelsøe is a Copenhagen based psychologist and author whose research focuses on conflict resolution and the complex dynamics of romantic love. Her most recent book is the bestselling Derfor Forelsker Du Dig Aldrig I Den Forkerte (Why You Never Fall in Love with the Wrong Person).

At the sixth MAD Symposium, Jytte Vikkelsøe explains that for too long, biology, history, and culture have prolonged and entrapped our views on men and women. We need to better understand and address the differences in the treatment of both the sexes to find equality between them.

Owning It | Rosio Sanchez

Thu, 11 Oct 2018 00:00:00 GMT

The Mexican-American daughter of two immigrants, Rosio Sanchez has been instrumental in introducing Mexican cuisine to Denmark. After roles as the Head Pastry Chef and in the R&D kitchen at noma, she now runs the acclaimed restaurant SANCHEZ and taqueria Hija de Sanchez.

Rationalizing identity, heritage, flavor, and experience is a task no chef is trained for. At the sixth MAD Symposium, Rosio points out the gap which exists between seeking perfection and inspiration under the vision of others, and the contradictory desire to cook what matters to you as a person. Bridging that gap, as Rosio explains, is no easy task, requiring you to align what you do for a living, and what you care about in life.

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 in their restaurants, their communities, and across the world.

Indigenous Foodways | Aboriginal Elder Charles Madden

Sat, 09 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Aboriginal Elder, Uncle Charles Madden, officially welcomes guests of MAD, Carriageworks and Kylie Kwong's Sydney MAD Monday to Gadigal Country. MAD Program Manager Bella Napier, chef at restaurant Billy Kwong Kylie Kwong, and Director of Carriageworks Lisa Havilah introduce the evening's talks. Moderator Caroline Baum provided background to the conversation.

These introductions opened the Sydney MAD Monday event on Indigenous Foodways, April 16 2018. Sydney MAD Mondays is a collaboration between Carriageworks, MAD and Kylie Kwong, and brings together voices from across the Australian food community for talks on the role today’s restaurants play in taking care of the environment.

A range of speakers reflected on the growing demand for Indigenous Australian ingredients in restaurants across the country. What role can restaurants play in shaping the ways this demand is met?

The conversation was moderated by Caroline Baum, an Australian journalist, author and broadcaster. Palisa Anderson of restaurant Chat Thai and first generation farmer of Boon Luck Farm shared stories from her childhood, as well as her farming practices and approach to utilizing sustainable Indigenous ingredients in her cooking. Gayle Quarmby of Outback Pride Project, the largest bushfood-growing organisation in Australia, shared how her company provides opportunities for remote Aboriginal communities to access an industry where their traditional knowledge is valued. Elder Uncle Max Dulumunmun Harrison, an initiated Yuin man and the knowledge holder and teacher of the guides at Ngaran Ngaran Culture Awareness shared his understandings of sacredness and the land. A member of the Birri-Gubba People and the Yugambeh language group, novelist and scholar Nicole Watson of the University of Sydney Law School reflected on the national narratives of Australia and engaged us in telling new stories about Australia.

Watch all videos from the Indigenous Foodways Sydney MAD Monday on MAD's vimeo and youtube channels.

This talk was made possible with the support of Carriageworks and Kylie Kwong! A huge thank you to our two partners.

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.

How to Meet Demand for Australian Bushfoods

Sat, 09 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT

This discussion is part of the Sydney MAD Monday event on Indigenous Foodways, April 16 2018. Sydney MAD Mondays is a collaboration between Carriageworks, MAD and Kylie Kwong, and brings together voices from across the Australian food community for talks on the role today’s restaurants play in taking care of the environment.

A range of speakers reflected on the growing demand for Indigenous Australian ingredients in restaurants across the country. What role can restaurants play in shaping the ways this demand is met?

Watch all videos from the Indigenous Foodways Sydney MAD Monday on MAD's vimeo and youtube channels.

This talk was made possible by Carriageworks and Kylie Kwong. A huge thank you to our partners!

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.

MSG and Umami

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The Korean-American David Chang is the chef and owner of the Momofuku Restaurant Group, which began in 2004 with a modest East Village noodle shop and today includes some of the most iconic contemporary restaurants and bars in the world. These are Momofuku Noodle Bar, Momofuku Ssam Bar, Booker & Dax, Ma Pêche, and Momofuku Ko (which holds two Michelin stars) in New York; Momofuku Noodle Bar, Momofuku Daisho, Momofuku Shoto, and Momofuku Nikai in Toronto, Ontario; and Momofuku Seiobo in Sydney, Australia.

Chang’s work is often singled out as among the most influential in spreading a now-common restaurant philosophy that eschews pomp in favour of quality cooking, informality, and accessibility. His food is American in perhaps the most real sense of the word, harnessing the cultural exchanges that mark his home city and country.

Chang is also a founding editor of Lucky Peach, a quarterly journal of food and writing published in collaboration with McSweeney’s.

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.

Appetite as a Guide Between Nature and Culture

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Massimo Montanari is one of the leading experts in Food History and Culture and plays an essential role in the popularization of scientific research to the general public. Massimo is currently professor of Medieval History at the University of Bologna in Italy. He has been invited as visiting professor to many leading universities in Europe, Japan, the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Massimo is a consultant and contributor to the publishing house Laterza. He was among the founders of the magazine “Food & History,” published by the Institut Européen d’Histoire et des Cultures de l’Alimentation (Tours), and was its director until 2008. He is a member of the Scientific Committee of the same IEHCA. In 1997 he founded, together with colleagues from other Italian universities, the “Centre of Studies on the history of the countryside and peasant labor,” based in Montalcino (Siena), of which he is the president. In 2001-2002 at the Faculty of Humanities, University of Bologna, opened a Master in History and culture of food (Storia e Cultura dell´Alimentazione), later transformed into a European Master, carried out in collaboration with the University of Tours (France), Barcelona (Spain) and Brussels (Belgium).

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.

Rotten, Fried Bananas

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Like many chefs of his generation, Enrique Olvera first studied gastronomy outside of Mexico but did not return to his home country to cook French or Italian food, as would usually have been the case. Instead, Olvera and his colleagues decided to embrace their vast culinary heritage to develop restaurants that make the claim that Mexican cuisine is worthy of a cosmopolitan restaurant setting.

Olvera and his Mexico City restaurant Pujol have become the most visible representatives of this movement and the chef’s annual gastronomic summit, Mesamérica, has served to highlight the country’s highly regionalised cuisine while simultaneously creating an active community of chefs.

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.

Asking the Winds of the Seasons

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Shinichiro Takagi is one of Japan’s leading chefs with strong ties to his home region of Ishikawa. His highly acclaimed kaiseki restaurant is Zeniya, in Kanazawa, where he cooks meals in the traditional kaiseki style. There is no set menu at Zeniya. Shinichiro uses fresh ingredients and local fish in his restaurant. He thinks about the food in 12 seasons throughout the year. In this speech from MAD2, he talks about fierce adherence to seasonality. His interesting thinking certainly brings innovation to the international cuisine scene.

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.