Literature, Film & Music

The Vegetable Orchestra

Mon, 29 Sep 2025 08:36:58 GMT

Carrot and parsnip flutes, watermelon bongos, a pumpkin string bass and cabbages—of the heavy metal variety—filled the tent when Vienna's Vegetable Orchestra proved that fresh produce makes beautiful music.

Sometimes you should play with your food.

Matty Matheson & Courtney Storer in conversation with Lisa Donovan

Mon, 14 Jul 2025 13:25:10 GMT

Matty Matheson and Courtney Storer have been close friends for years, but their connection deepened at MAD six years ago.

Today, the supremely dynamic duo works together on The Bear. Courtney serves as culinary producer on the iconic series. Matty works as consultant, producer, actor, and the chef who brings lionhearted authenticity to every kitchen scene. At MAD7 with Lisa Donovan, they unpack how the show uses intense, theatrical reality to examine human connection.

Their conversation is expansive. They dig into working with actual family while creating chosen family. The vulnerability required in both acting and cooking. How food becomes a character itself—carrying both nostalgia and trauma.

S1E5 - Nina Persson & Staying Creative

Tue, 13 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Redzepi sits down with Nina Persson, the lead singer of the iconic 90s pop band The Cardigans. They talk about her unlikely start as a musician, the impact of mentors who can recognize your talent, and the tension they both feel between staying creative, and giving their fans what they want. And it wouldn’t be an episode of MAD Talks without a discussion of foods that changed each of them, including Turkish sausage, corn on the cob, and one very special pineapple dish.

Conducting the Kitchen

Fri, 23 Nov 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Ture Larsen has composed many works and arrangements for theatre, film, jazz ensembles and symphony orchestras. Today, his focus is teaching surgeons to leverage their non-verbal communication skills in the operating room.

Randi Beier-Holgersen, Senior Surgeon of Nordsjælland Hospital,, Denmark, is responsible for the training and education of junior doctors and medical students.

At the sixth MAD Symposium, Ture Larsen and Randi Beier-Holgersen introduce their research on utilizing the non-verbal communication skills of conductors as an educative tool for leaders in other fields. With the help of the crowd, and "guest conductors," David Zilber and Mette Søberg of noma, they demonstrate the power of non-verbal communication, providing examples and uses for it within the restaurant environment.

Links Between the Culinary and Music Industries

Fri, 23 Nov 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Nina Persson is the lead singer of the Swedish band The Cardigans. She kicks off day two of the sixth MAD Symposium in performance with her husband Nathan, before a conversation with Tatiana Levha, MAD Alumni and owner of Le Servan and Double Dragon restaurants in Paris.

The two discuss the similarities between music and cooking, comparing the power of both musicians and chefs as spokespersons and figures of change.

Bridging The Gap Between Men and Women

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.

Rewriting History

Thu, 20 Sep 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Jeannette Ehlers is a Danish-Trinidadian multi disciplinary visual artist who aims to disrupt the dominating narratives and replace them with ones that acknowledge the aspects of history that have thus far been ignored. Ehlers engages themes of visibility, identity, and collective memory, such as her work I am Queen Mary, which represents one of four queens who led the 1878 labor revolt in Saint Croix, a former Danish colony.

Presenting her works at the sixth MAD Symposium, Ehlers discusses how it is possible to reframe history so that it is inclusive to all and provides examples how to do so through her works. Ehlers engages us, urging us to see how art, and other mediums like food, can provoke, lead and guide, people to better self-understanding.

What On Earth Just Happened

Tue, 11 Sep 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Lynda Obst is one of Hollywood’s most prolific producers. Obst has been credited with inventing the contemporary Romcom. Her films have garnered two Oscar wins and eleven nominations. She has written Hello He Lied: Other Truths from Hollywood and Sleepless in Hollywood.

At the Sixth MAD Symposium, Obst shared her eye-opening account of life in the center of the storm, providing us with an insight into a culture of abuse and sexualized narcissism. In closing, Obst urges us to acknowledge our shortcomings and to build stronger and safer work environments for the future.