MAD Monday – Service
An evening discussion on the art and craft of hospitality
Monday, 9 March 2020 | 18:00-20:30
Klub, Linnésgade 25, 1361 København K
From white gloves to tattoos, from handshakes to hi-fives, and from crystal glasses to handmade ceramics: the look and feel of dining and drinking out has changed. But what about the people and practice of service itself?
Join MAD and the Copenhagen hospitality community on March 9 at Klub for an evening of conversation about the artful craft of service, and the blood, sweat and tears of those who perform it. Informed by perspectives from the past, we’ll look at the role of servers today, and hear from bar and restaurant owners and staff about what it takes to deliver a great guest experience now. Service is a balancing act between performance and personality. How, then, do servers communicate a restaurant’s values while simultaneously making guests feel cared for and ‘seen’? And what do they do when things go awry?
Alongside the local restaurant community and members of the general public, we’ll delve into the world of waiters, bartenders, concierges, and sommeliers, hearing stories from those who have dedicated their lives to the service of others. (All talks will be in English)
Kamilla Seidler’s restaurant LOLA will provide the snacks, and there will be drinks from Broaden & Build.
Program
18:00 – Welcome snack and drink
19:00 – Talks program starts
20:30 – Talks program ends
Tickets – SOLD OUT
Price: DKK 125 (includes attendance to talks, snack, and drink)
Tickets available here.
Come hear from…
Christoph Ribbat – Professor and Author of “In the Restaurant: Society in Four Courses”
Christoph Ribbat (b. 1968) has held teaching and research positions in Bochum, Boston, and Basel and is now Professor of American Studies at the University of Paderborn, Germany. His fields of research include, cultural history, sports studies, and food studies. Ribbat is the author of “In the Restaurant: Society in Four Courses” which, through snippets from other authors and storytellers, profiles restaurants from eighteenth century Paris to modern day temples of gastronomy.
Monica Berg – Bartender and Owner of Tayēr & Elementary
Monica Berg started her career in Oslo, where she gathered up experience at a variety of venues before she took over the H. Butlers Bartending School in her early twenties. She later honed her skills at London’s Pollen Street Social, and then at Oslo’s award-winning bar Himkok. In recent years, she launched her own liqueur, Muyu, and co-founded P(our), a non-profit and educational symposium for the bar industry. In 2019 Berg won the World’s 50 Best Bars “Bartenders’ Bartender” award, and with her partner Alex Kratena opened Tayēr+Elementary in London.
Julie Orlando – Owner of Amass and Broaden & Build
Julie started her career as one of the first hired waitresses at noma in 2004. Here she met her now husband, Chef Matt Orlando, and with him travelled to New York to work at Per Se for a couple of years. After New York, the couple settled in Copenhagen where they opened their own restaurant, Amass, in 2013. Julie took the lead on the Front of House team and functioned as Restaurant Manager and Host.
James Spreadbury – Restaurant Manager at noma
Born and raised in Adelaide, Australia, James spent his early career working in the restaurants and wineries of McLaren Vale. In 2009 James was hired at noma and was swiftly promoted to lead the restaurant’s service team. For the past decade James has been a part of noma’s pop-ups in Japan, Australia, and Mexico, and the restaurant manager whilst noma was named World’s 50 Best “Best Restaurant in the World” four times. When the restaurant re-opened in 2018, James retained his role and still leads the service team today.
Daniel Willis & Johnny Smith – Founders of The Clove Club Group
Daniel Willis and Johnny Smith began their careers as band mates before giving up the music business to pursue a career in hospitality after the success of their London pop-up, The Clove Club – a modern British restaurant the two founded as Restaurant Managers alongside chef Isaac McHale in 2013. The Clove Club now occupies 27th place on the Worlds 50 Best Restaurants list. Today, alongside McHale, Willis, and Smith run The Clove Club Group, which also includes the restaurants Luca and Two Lights.
About MAD Mondays
“MAD Mondays” is our ongoing series of talks that are open to everyone with an interest in food and an appetite for change, and are our way of keeping a regular conversation going. Convening on Mondays—the traditional day of rest for restaurant workers—MAD Mondays are an opportunity to expand ideas and discuss the issues that are most important in the world of food and hospitality.
