On August 20 and 21, MAD Academy held its first Alumni Kitchen Pop-up. Under the auspices of the Copenhagen Cooking Festival, five talented alumni came together in Copenhagen to plan, cook, and serve an extraordinary meal designed to both delight and provoke its guests.
Led by coordinator Aly Beveridge and aided by the suggestions and support of Academy alumni around the world, the team created a tasting menu in which each course asked a pointed question about food systems and restaurants’ role in them, and invited diners to consider the impact of their own habits and values surrounding food.
The pop-up was a huge success: not only did all three seatings sell out, but the alumni managed to create one of those magical nights, when beautiful food, a convivial vibe, and a sense of purpose combine to generate a powerful sense of connection and community.
Photographs: Betina Garcia
Illustration: Anna Weimer
MAD’s own Roberta Garavano planned and executed a dinner that both delighted and provoked—much like the event design by illustrator Anna Weimer that turned the staff uniform into what one team member called “the toughest t-shirt in town” to get.
Lily surveys her domain. The Copenhagen Cooking festival and Fiskerizakajen provided the space; the alumni made it all their own.
It started like any other restaurant meal. Welcome glass of kombucha: check. Cheese-stuffed crudités to nibble on: check. Cozy table with your dining companion, ch.... not so fast. A few minutes into service, the team came out and made everyone join their tables together.
Lily surveys her domain. The Copenhagen Cooking festival and Fiskerizakajen provided the space; the alumni made it all their own.
One guest later commented that changing the seating was a key moment for her—, “it was like, oh, this isn’t going to be an ordinary dinner.”
The guests were incredibly good sports and quickly got into the vibe, even as the pace quickened for the kitchen. “The energy was so good, especially on the second night because we had two turns, which made it more intense,” Aly says. “You don’t want it to be too easy because then it just gets boring.”
With a first course of two nearly identicallooking pieces of toast, the team intended to highlight the difference in flavor between a biodynamic tomato served on bread made from heritage grains and a conventionally-grown hothouse tomato on a loaf made from industrial flour. For the latter, Aly bought "the worst tomatoes I could find; they were super-green, but I still should have left them in the refrigerator the whole time.” The effect was slightly undermined, however, by the white bread her partner Marton made to pair with that component Turns out that Marton’s such a talented baker that even when he’s using terrible flour, his bread still tastes good (though the purple TK was better).
It may look like ordinary tofu, but this dish, intended to provoke some thinking about cultural appropriation, was actually based on the popular Burmese Shan street food, and was ingeniously made from Danish gray peas instead of soy.
Lily surveys her domain. The Copenhagen Cooking festival and Fiskerizakajen provided the space; the alumni made it all their own.
Team members each took turns introducing the food and drink. Some were more physically expressive than others.
The actual palate cleanser was a weed sorbet served in a hollowed-out bell pepper intended to get guests thinking about why they think of some plants as weeds and others as vegetables.Not everyone was feeling it.
It was not a passive meal. While the team took a quick break—a pointed reminder that we need to re-evaluate restaurant working hours if we want everyone to thrive— guests were left to figure out portion sizes . And for one volunteer at each seating, there was the chance to experience the kitchen
Even at MAD, the camera eats first.
At the end of the meal, guests were presented with a bill that included the true costs of everything that went into the meal. And yes, that includes the parking ticket that Aly got because she couldn’t walk away from a critical moment in the life of her crème anglaise to feed the meter.
Stay tuned for the next one!
“It took the MAD alumni team a lot of courage to ask and try to answer these questions throughout the dinner,” wrote one happy guest after it was all over. “They put together a great experience.”