Food Studio / Interview

Max Hansen is a Dane, born in the outskirts of Helsingør/Elsinore where he was raised with his five brothers. He is a chef, a celebrated chef. When Food Studio shared the duties of organising a pop-up dinner in Ålesund, he was in charge of the kitchen together with colleague Kasper Nikolajsen and provided a fantastic dinner cooked exclusively with local ingredients.We couldn't miss the chance to interview him and talk about his views on Norwegian food, managing restaurants and hyper-stuffed lunch boxes.

Bøgedal Bryghus, a small craft brewery located in Jylland in Denmark, delivers beer for a number of acclaimed restaurants, including Noma and Aamanns in Copenhagen, as well as Maaemo in Oslo. Their beers are especially celebrated for the full-bodied malt flavor, the result of an old traditional brewing method making the so-called “Godtøl”, directly translated good beer. And good beer it certainly is.

The past year Maaemo has been given a lot of attention, also here in Norway, but maybe most of all from abroad. With their non-compromising approach to organic and local ingredients, the art of cooking, design and the whole food experience, they have mesmerized many, driven bloggers bananas and made food critics wish their dice had more than six eyes. But if you ask them, they are just getting started.

"With these kinds of projects one must be surrounded by passionate souls, by people that love what they do and what they stand for." Jon-Frede Engdahl reaches out his hand and offers a good cup of coffee. It’s easy to talk with him about raw materials, market shares, possibilities, ecology and idealism. One story leads to another and, before you know it, it’s lunchtime and the restaurant is suddenly filled with hungry women and young mothers on maternity leave.